International Online Travel Report

The trend to book travel online will naturally continue in 2012 - especially in emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil. In line with this trend the share of the online segment compared to the total travel market is expected to increase to almost one third worldwide, according to the latest "Global Online Travel Report 2012" by yStats.com.

However, in 2011 the value of the US online travel market was still higher than that of Great Britain, China, India and Brazil combined. and in 2012, the "Online Travel Segment" is forecast to represent almost a third of the total global travel market value. The UK is projected to remain the largest share of Europe's online travel market in 2013, followed by Germany and France. Gross bookings on the Asia Pacific online leisure/ unmanaged business travel market are expected to increase by more than +30% in 2012 compared to 2010. More specifically:

Online travel arrangements continue to gain in popularity across the entire American continent

Compared to 2011, revenue generated in the US online travel market is forecasted to grow in 2012 by a low double digit percentage figure. Clients who bought travel products online in 2011 made most purchases through online travel agents amounting to almost 50%, followed by search engines and websites of tour operators. In the category mobile bookings, hotels were booked most frequently, followed by flights and travel packages.

In Canada, in early March 2012 Expedia was the leading travel website: it generated twice as much traffic as the second placed website Flight Network. In Argentina particularly younger people tend to book travel arrangements online; however, internet use in this area is growing across all age groups.

Online travel sector is especially successful in Europe

In Europe the total number of bookings through online travel agencies increased by almost 20 % from 2010 to 2011. In Great Britain, more than half of all consumers avoid traditional travel agents altogether and book their holidays online instead. In Germany, in 2011 customers preferred travel agents for more expensive travel arrangements and online booking for cheaper tours. In this sector online revenue has grown considerably, while offline revenue has decreased. In France revenue generated with online travel bookings grew between January and September 2011 more than the total B2C E-Commerce revenue. Additionally, in 2011, B2C E-Commerce revenue in the category "Travel and Holiday Accommodation" was higher than in the next four categories combined. Almost half of all Italian online customers booked their accommodation online in 2011, making this the strongest category within Italian B2C E-Commerce. In Russia almost 50% of all passengers had purchased their flight on a travel website, while nearly one quarter had booked tickets via phone.

Growth potential in large parts of the Asia-Pacific region

Although growth in the category online hotel bookings is expected to slow down in the Asia-Pacific region between 2010 and 2012, it still exhibits double digit figures. In Japan the share of online travel bookings - in line with the soaring trend - surpassed for the first time 50% in 2010. Unique visitor numbers for travel websites were evenly distributed across all age groups in Japan, while the group of individuals older than 55 was slightly in the lead in the first quarter of 2011. In China in 2011, only 14% of all internet users had ever visited a travel website, but online travel bookings are expected to become more popular there too. The Indian online travel market is also estimated to grow by almost 30% in 2012. The data for Australia is outstanding: the category "Travel, Accommodation, Memberships or Tickets of any Kind" was the most popular online product category in June 2011.

Online travel market in the Middle East is catching up

Spurred by the introduction of online payment options, the online travel market in the Middle East is expected to grow considerably compared to 2011. Growth is predicted for the share of online travel bookings in relation to total revenue generated with travel tickets until 2015, compared to 2010 figures.

Source: www.ystats.com, Photo source: travel.roche.com