More than half of holidaymakers are rejecting travel agents in their quest to design dream holidays on a budget and turning to technology, with 20% using mobile, finds the latest study into travel trends commissioned by the Tradedoubler Insight Unit.
“One in five now book holidays using a mobile, a figure that rises to 28 per cent amongst mobile-savvy 25-34 year olds. Airlines, hotels and holiday operators without a presence on the right performance channels are going to lose out,” Dan Cohen, Regional Director, Tradedoubler.
Amongst those who had taken a holiday in the past two years, 62% chose to put their own itinerary together, booking flights and hotels separately. Far fewer opted for traditional cost-saving, one-stop options such as package holidays (41%) or all-inclusive trips (20%).
The second major trend uncovered by the research is travellers’ use of performance marketing sites and apps – such as price comparison, loyalty and reward, voucher code or cashback. More than half use such sites to help them find the best price: 59% for holidays, 57% for hotels and 53% for flights.
Even at the research stage of choosing a holiday destination, 44% of travellers are using price-focused performance marketing sites – almost as many as those that seek out ideas and information via online travel agents (50%).
“Holidaymakers now have unprecedented levels of information and offers at their fingertips and it’s driving a significant shift in how they research and book holidays,” says Dan Cohen, Regional Director, Tradedoubler.
Across Europe, €98.1 billion is spent online on travel, making it the largest online business sector. Forecasts estimate that this figure will grow by seven per cent a year, reaching €112.2 billion in 2014 and 41% of all consumer travel spend is online; this will rise to 44% by 2014.
