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Informative Articles

Alternatives for Business Travelers
"I'm coming home. I've been away too long. Been away so long. I'm coming home" – Ian Thomas, in Coming Home I still recall my road warrior days. It seemed like every other week, I was hopping on a plane for Orlando or Vancouver or Palm...

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...

San Francisco Travel - Discover the Mission District's Murals
With over 600 murals, San Francisco streets are a parade of vibrant and radiant murals that are painted on building walls and facades, fences, garage doors and more. The colorful Mission District is the epicenter of San Francisco murals with the...

Travel Health Insurance: Reimbursement Depends On Following The Rules
(NC)—Travelling, whether for business or pleasure, involves risk. A personal emergency may necessitate an early return, or you may need hospital treatment or air evacuation due to a medical problem. Travellers should be aware that the Ontario...

Travelers and Poor Blood Circulation
Is there a simple solution to a very serious medical problem? For many travelers, the answer is maybe. If travelers would take the necessary steps, it could help prevent Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). The main reason they don't is because not...

 
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.