Online pushing out other travel providers
Online channels continue to push out other providers and will generate the majority or 60% of US travel bookings by 2008, reports PhoCusWright.
“Offline leisure and unmanaged business gross bookings will continue to shrink dramatically over the next three years,” the company concluded.
This shift goes across all segments.
PhoCusWright projects that 64% of all leisure gross bookings will be made online by 2008, versus 45% as recently as 2005.
The unmanaged business segment is already dominated by the internet, due largely to the online delivery of many services previously reserved for travel agents to individuals and small businesses, said the research company.
The total US market continues to expand despite war, global health issues, threatening weather and airline bankruptcies.
Healthy overall travel trends are likely to continue through 2008.
But the company warned that economic growth in general might slow somewhat, due to possibly higher fuel prices and tighter control on corporate spending.
Growth this year and next will be stimulated largely by increased prices driven by demand and expenses.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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