The Changing Face of Travel and Tourism on the Internet
With the increasing online marketing of travel and other tourism related businesses, travel and tourism has emerged as the number one online segment in no time. Not only is tourism the largest industry in the world, it now accounts for 11% of the overall sales on the Internet. In 1999, E-business accounted for a whopping $ 13 billion. It has been found out that over 70 million travelers consult the internet to find out travel related information, including flight and hotel prices and schedules. The exponential growth of the travel market online is evident through the fact that it accounts for 45% of the online buyers, which is second only to the online market occupied by books.
In 1999, BizRate.com conducted a survey that found out that 85% of the respondents use the net to book flight tickets or hotels or to rent cars. Among these three categories, scheduled airfare booking is most popular. It has been noticed that more than 75% of the respondents would be more enthusiastic about purchasing tickets online again, if they are offered some discounts. Others however, (39%) say that earning frequent flyer points shall act as a strong motivation for booking tickets online.
A 1999 Cveillance survey had found out that there are about 116,000 travel sites on the web. Based on this analysis, it was researched that only about 6,500 travel sites are enabled with e-commerce facility, that is, the facility to provide online transactions. However, things have rapidly changed in the last decade, and today there are many more sites that provide e-booking facility to its users. Even traditional offline booking companies like Hotel Reservation Network (HRN) have shifted their telephone based reservation system to the Internet, thus adding substantially to its sales. Currently travel agencies and other intermediary agencies, account for more than half the online travel revenue.
Thus, when all is said and done, the huge influence that the travel business has on the online market cannot be denied. As such, tapping this already growing and developing segment shall prove to be a huge bonus for any travel agency or travel-related Business Company who might be looking for ways to expand and increase their market share.
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