42 COMPETITION LAW IN TOURISM proximity and supply of the same demand of flights are important factors104. Destination management services105 could also be singled out, however, the Commission has left open the question of whether the supply of destination management services constitutes a separate market106. As for cruises, provision of oceanic cruises, involving a journey of a multi- -night sequence on board of a ship undertaken for leisure purposes in maritime waters, has been considered distinct from the supply of coastal, ferry or river cruises107. Concerning digital markets, online intermediaries play an increasingly important role in travel service selection, and although consumers use various aggregating options to facilitate the search, they can go directly to the website of the travel service provider. It is essential to first distinguish general search engines from the specific ones, the latter being search engines for specific online content such as travel services in the given case108. Despite both OTAs and MSSs being active in the intermediation of travel services online and aiming to attract consumers interested in organising their travel109, the market for MSSs and OTAs could be considered separate for various reasons. The type of platform (websites or apps) does not seem to have a significant influence on the definition of the relevant product market, as most major MSS providers are active across all platforms and the distinction between apps andwebsites is gradually disappearing. Furthermore, consumers often begin their travel research on one platform and continuing it on another one110. Ultimately, the Commission has left this question open111. Further segmentation of online distribution of travel service is possible, namely per type of travel service, such as flights or hotels, however, the Commission has not concluded on this aspect either112. The MSS and OTA markets could be further segmented in B2B, including 104 COMP/M.6828 – Delta Airlines/ Virgin Group/ Virgin Atlantic Limited, para. 33. 105 I.e. specialised receptive services offered by destination management companies upon arrival of passengers, (e.g. welcoming customers at airports or bus stations and transporting them to their hotels); Case M.8046 – TUI/ Transat France (2016), para. 90. 106 Ibid., para. 91. 107 Case M.2706 Carnival Corporation/P&O Princess (2002), paras. 103-109. 108 Case M.9005 – Booking Holdings / Hotelscombined (2018), para. 32; Case M.8416 – Priceline/Momondo, para. 21. 109 Case M.9005 – Booking Holdings / Hotelscombined, para. 43. 110 Ibid. para. 44. The practice of using two or more platforms at once is commonly referred to as “multi- -homing”. 111 Case M.8416 – Priceline/Momondo (2017), para. 40. 112 Case M. 8416 – Priceline/Momondo, paras. 41-51; see also: Cases M.8046 – TUI/Transat France, para. 101; M.6163 – AXA/ Permira/ OPODO/ Go Voyages/Edreams, para. 18 and following.
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