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Online travel bookings hit new record
Online bookings at travel agencies, airlines, hotels and car rental services this summer is breaking all records. This is shown by the latest report of the Adobe Digital Index, which has analysed 51.5 billion website visits in Europe and the U.S. 'Remarkable' is the rapid increase in online bookings. Travel agencies are being skipped in favour of direct online bookings for hotel accommodation, flights and rental cars. Adobe has reviewed online bookings of 150 global travel-related websites between January 2009 and April 2013. Looking at the growth in recent years and the figures for the first months of 2013, a growth of 10.7 per cent is expected for Q3 compared to last year. The total online bookings in the quarter will therefore be € 41.5 billion.
From offline to online
Both direct and indirect bookings are showing a growth of over 10 per cent. Bookings on car rental websites grow strongest by 17.4 per cent, followed by online travel agencies with 13.5 per cent and hotels with 11.8 per cent. However, budgets are not merely going to online travel agencies, consumers increasingly book directly their hotel or flight directly on the site of the hotel or carrier.
Previous research by Adobe in the retail sector indicate that repeat customers have a huge impact on the profitability of sites: one per cent growth in the number of repeat customers is equivalent to approximately € 30 million in additional revenue per site. When more and more customers return to the site, this means a decrease in marketing costs for recruiting new customers. More and more travel related websites use digital marketing technology to offer content and targeted marketing activities to its customers.
Tablets
Tablets are now responsible for 7.5 percent of the total number of online bookings and the average value of a booking through the tablet has increased to 10 per cent compared to last year, to € 489, -. However, many organizations have not optimized their website for tablets. Adobe's analysis is showing that the organizations who have their optimized their websites for use on tablets get significantly more online bookings than websites which have not yet adapted for iPad use. The number of page views per tablet user and the time they spend per visit have declined over the years. This may indicate that customers want to find the information they need more quickly on other websites.
Tablets are now responsible for 7.5 percent of the total number of online bookings and the average value of a booking through the tablet has increased to 10 per cent compared to last year, to € 489, -. However, many organizations have not optimized their website for tablets. Adobe's analysis is showing that the organizations who have their optimized their websites for use on tablets get significantly more online bookings than websites which have not yet adapted for iPad use. The number of page views per tablet user and the time they spend per visit have declined over the years. This may indicate that customers want to find the information they need more quickly on other websites.
The findings of the study show that there is still lot to be gained with optimizing websites for mobile devices. The number of bookings is on the rise but in order to maintain this upward trend, travel related websites have to focus more on encouraging repeat visits. Loyalty is of course largely dependent on the satisfaction with the purchase, but just as important is to provide a good customer experience. In the current competitive market customer experience makes the difference between being successful or not. The full story can be read here: http://blogs.adobe.com/digitalmarketing/industries/retail-travel/online-travel-bookings-expected-to-hit-all-time-high-this-summer-54-billion/
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