Visitors return to UK travel websites
Traffic to UK travel sites has bounced back after sharp falls following the first SARS warning from the World Health Organisation (WHO) in March, according to new figures.
Internet intelligence firm Hitwise reports that last week the travel sector accounted for a 2.95% share of UK internet visits. This represents an increase of 17% since March 22, which marked the end of a particularly bad week for the industry – partly due to a “global alert” about SARS issued by the WHO on March 12.
Traffic to travel sites in the US have also increased by 3% in the same period, but in Australia and New Zealand the trend has continued downward with Australia seeing a 6% fall and New Zealand a huge 184% decline.
Hitwise also reports that visits to the World Health Organisation website increased by 81% last week, with the majority of traffic (39%) coming from search engines.
Travel sites which have seen the biggest increase in visits since March 22 include Thomson Holidays (up 168%), Portland Direct (up 163%) and Teletext Holidays (up 160%).
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