做業(yè)內(nèi)領(lǐng)跑者

????旅游刊物出版商Travalliance創(chuàng)始人馬克?墨菲深知，時下廣為流傳的旅行社將被淘汰的預(yù)測并不準(zhǔn)確。即使現(xiàn)在大量消費(fèi)者選擇在線旅游預(yù)訂，但“目前，70%的郵輪旅游、各種旅行及飛機(jī)票預(yù)定還是由旅行社經(jīng)手，”馬克?墨菲說。但同時他也清楚地認(rèn)識到，在科技不斷進(jìn)步的今天，旅行社業(yè)務(wù)正趨于多樣化，例如有些旅行社甚至可以在家辦公，這讓許多跟不上潮流的傳統(tǒng)店面式旅行社被迫關(guān)閉。

????為了迎合旅行社工作模式的不固定性，這位來自新澤西州西塔普頓市的企業(yè)家創(chuàng)辦了一個新的刊物：Agent@Home雜志。不僅如此，他還據(jù)此擴(kuò)展出眾多小眾產(chǎn)品，如提供網(wǎng)上課程服務(wù)的網(wǎng)站：TravelAgentAcademy.com；為讓旅行社及時掌握某特定類型產(chǎn)品的最新情況，開設(shè)了眾多分眾網(wǎng)站，如內(nèi)河旅游路線銷售（Sell River Cruises）等；并提供平臺，讓旅行社能夠廉價且快速地建立自己的網(wǎng)站。同時，他還繼續(xù)經(jīng)營名為旅游部落（Travel Tribe）的消費(fèi)者旅游社區(qū)，并把它和其他項目一起進(jìn)行統(tǒng)籌管理。同時，公司的銷售總額也在穩(wěn)定增長；預(yù)計到2011年，銷售額將從2009年的950萬美元攀升到1,100萬美元。

????譯者：李淑玉/汪皓

Stay ahead of trends

????Mark Murphy, founder of Travalliance, a trade publisher in the travel industry, knew that widespread predictions about the death of the travel agent were wrong. Even with many consumers booking travel online, he says, "travel agents still sell about 70% of cruises, tours and airline tickets." At the same time, he knew that some travel agencies based in traditional storefronts were closing, as improving technology made it possible for agents to work from home.

????To target these mobile folks, the Westampton, N.J.-based entrepreneur started a new publication: Agent@Home magazine. He also branched out into niche products, such as TravelAgentAcademy.com, a site offering online courses; niche websites to get agents up to speed on particular types of products, such as one called Sell River Cruises; and a platform that lets agents build their own sites quickly and inexpensively. Meanwhile, he continues to grow a consumer travel community, called Travel Tribe, that he brought under the same corporate umbrella, and the company's overall sales are percolating. They grew from $9.5 million in 2009 to a projected $11 million in 2011.