Wednesday 6 June 2007

holiday reviews survey


55% of internet users book their holidays directly online
Research conducted by Nielsen/NetRatings on behalf of marketing agency Harvest Digital and pan-European advertising network Adviva across the Adviva network reveals that 55% of internet users book their holidays directly online. Only 7%research and buy their holidays from travel agents on the high street and 1% book on Teletext. 9% of internet users book their holidays on the high street after researching online and a further 17 per cent research holidays online then book over the telephone proving that the internet is the most important channel for researching and buying holidays.

Two thirds of internet users take two or more holidays a year.
Silver surfers are enjoying more regular holidays and late bookings online A beach holiday is the most common type of holiday booked online followed by a long-haul trip, cruise or fly-drive whilst activity holidays are more popular on the high street. Two thirds of online shoppers usually take two or more major holidays (one week or more) a year and a quarter have three or more holidays. Older people are particularly likely to take regular holidays with 23% of people aged 55 and over taking three holidays per year compared with just 16% of internet users overall. This group is also likely to book a holiday at the last minute: 28% of people aged over 55 booked their holiday a month or less before departure, compared with 25% of under 24's and 18% of internet users overall.

More than three quarters of holidays now researched or booked online
Fiona McKinnon , European Corporate Development Director at Adviva comments, "Our research reveals the degree at which the internet has changed our traditional means of booking and researching our holidays. The most noticeable shift is from the high street with more than three quarters of holidays now researched or booked online. This is reflected in the high number of people booking late deals and taking more holidays than the average British consumer. The easiest, quickest and most responsive way for travel brands to influence internet users in their holiday decision making process is to advertise online."

Consumers trust user-generated reviews the most when booking holidays
Mike Teasdale from Harvest Digital adds, "Consumers are telling us that word of mouth is very important in terms of choosing a potential holiday. In the past, that would have been a casual chat over a pint: now it seems that the online equivalent is sites like TripAdvisor.com where an entire community are posting tips and recommendations about good places to go." Online travel booking and research is even more common for 25 - 34 year olds, and for people booking within four weeks of their departure date. On both cases 68% of people would book directly on the Internet. The survey also revealed that three quarters of people book their own holidays with no major differences in the travel booking habits of men and women.

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