September 2008: Online Travel

Industry Stats & Data by eMarketer

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Online travel is spurring a renewed appreciation for traditional travel agencies

This year, US leisure and business travel sales are up, but that’s not necessarily good news for travel companies. US travel sales booked online will reach $105 billion, up 12% from 2007, according to eMarketer. But even though sales are growing, fewer travelers are booking their trips online. (eMarketer’s prediction for travel includes hotel, rental car, vacation package, intercity rail and cruise.)

This is not due to personal financial concerns—online travel bookers are an affluent demographic. Rather, it is caused by frustrations related to the planning and booking capabilities of online travel agencies (OTAs). This, in turn, is spurring a renewed appreciation for the expertise and personalized services offered by traditional travel agents.

Despite annual growth in online travel sales, the percentage of online leisure travelers who booked travel over the Internet decreased in 2007 to 55% from 63% in 2006. What is fueling online sales instead is the increased spending of those who continue to book travel over the Internet.

When added up, eMarketer’s forecasts of online leisure/unmanaged business travel sales and retail e-commerce sales equal US business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce sales. This year B2C e-commerce sales will reach $251.1 billion, a 13.4% increase over last year.

A June 2008 survey from Destination Analysts showed that travelers used the Internet to help them select lodging (46.5%), learn about destinations (39.7%), find attractions (34.4%), choose an airline (33.2%), and read about local culture, arts, heritage or events (31.8%). The most popular travel services booked online were airline tickets and rental cars.

The percentage of online leisure travelers who said that it is easy and enjoyable to use the Internet to plan and buy travel decreased this year compared with last year. Meanwhile, a higher percentage of online travelers believed that it was more convenient to research travel offline.

Find out more about eMarketer's digital marketing and new report, "US Online Travel: Planning and Booking"

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