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5 Romantic Travel Resolutions
A new year always means a chance for a new start. You and yours can begin this new year by making some travel resolutions together, regardless of your time and budget restraints. Put aside those old travel habits and make some new ones! Let this...
Crime Against Caribbean Travelers: Should You Believe the Hype?
Since the 1980s, the Caribbean region has been struggling against its own inner demon: crime. Citizens of the Caribbean have quickly learned that rising crime rates on one island can negatively affect other islands in the vicinity. While the islands...
Online Travel Bargain
Are holiday bargains for true or have catches hidden? REMEMBER YOUR LAST CONVERSATION WITH THAT family relative who couldn’t talk enough of how much they saved on their last holiday package deal? Or that colleague bragging about his $59 round-...
Travel Insurance? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Travel Insurance! (Do We?)
Should you have travel insurance? An interesting question. But if you question the need for travel insurance, perhaps you are the same person who questions the need for any kind of insurance. Most people have auto insurance, health insurance,...
Understanding The Travel Agent Position
Getting To Know the Work of a Travel Agent
For people who are fond of traveling to different places,
visiting marvelous beaches, and taking a trip to the most exotic
island paradise, the job of a travel agent seems to be a far
better job...
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Online Travel Statistics
The Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) released their annual Travelers’ Use of the Internet study in December 2003. The study shows an increase in the number of people using the internet to research and book travel.
TIA found that 30% of the adult U.S. population (63.8 million) consult the web for travel information. These travelers spend (on average) $300 more on travel, and nearly 40% had an annual household income above $75,000.
Online travelers surf to two or more travel websites, spending an average of 37 minutes. They research and compare prices, check schedules and book trips. The number of people actually booking online increased by 8% over 2002 and grew to 42.2 million people in 2003. Within this group of online travelers, 32 million people made travel arrangements exclusively through the internet (a figure expected to grow according to the TIA).
10 million travelers responded to
email campaigns, causing the TIA to believe that email campaigns are stimulating unplanned travel.
TIA stated that the top 10 travel websites are:
Expedia
Travelocity
Orbitz
Yahoo Travel
Cheap Tickets
Hot Wire
VIPfares
Priceline.com
ITN.net
TravelNow.com
If your business supplies lodging, real estate, shopping, recreation, dining, events or tourist related specialty services, it may be wise to place advertisements with these websites. If you are not making full use of the internet for your marketing campaigns you are missing 30% of your potential market.
As online travelers’ habits become more sophisticated you will find them expecting to find and book everything from one location.
About the Author
MARKETING COORDINATOR and WEBSITE DESIGNER-Radha Khalsa, has extensive experience in the areas of marketing analysis, strategic planning and project management.
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