US travel website revenues top $60 billion
Annual online travel revenues in the US exceeded $60 billion last year, up 20% over 2005, latest figures show.
Almost 150 million people visited travel websites in the US in 2005, a rise of 35% on the previous year.
All travel segments posted gains last year, according to the study by research firm comScore Networks.
Travel agencies in the US saw a 19% gain in visits while suppliers saw a higher level at 21%. Branded supplier sites captured about 57% of online travel spend, up from 55% in 2004.
The research showed that 58% of airline ticket sales in the US are conducted online. Hotel sites captured a 59% share.
Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity emerged as the three most popular travel sites, with 46% of consumers indicating that they visited one of them first when researching travel services online. This was nearly double the proportion of people starting their research at a branded airline, hotel or car rental site (24%).
The top reason stated for beginning at one of the three sites was efficiency in seeking the lowest price (22%), with an additional 17% saying they expected these sites to provide the best deal, according to comScore.
The findings from an online travel industry overview also revealed that 72% of US consumers begin their leisure travel planning within eight weeks of departure, with only 28% saying they start planning more than two months ahead.
Sara Stevens, comScore Travel Solutions director, said: “The web is extraordinarily well suited to helping consumers make travel plans and increases in home broadband penetration should continue to fuel growth in the online travel sector.”
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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