Online Travel Revenues To Rise By 19% In 2005
Merrill Lynch, predicts that online travel agency revenues will rise by 19% in 2005, reaching $27.7 billion. The analyst claims that online travel sales are winning a larger share of the overall travel market, accounting for nearly 30% of the total this year, up from 25% in 2004 and 21% in 2003.
Data published by internet research specialists Nielsen//NetRatings Travel revealed that travel websites attracted 2.2 million more European women in February 2005 compared to the same period last year, enjoying a 23% year on year increase (see Travel Websites Attract 23% More European Women In February 2005).
Women are shown to now account for 44% of visitors to travel websites, compared to 36% in 2004, with Sweden, the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland and Italy all experiencing growth.
Research firm Accenture, show that business travellers are doing more of their booking online, with 71% claiming to prefer booking online, a rise of 14 percentage points from 57% in 2003 (see 71% Of Business Travelers Book Online).
US analysts, eMarketer, argue that there is still room for growth in the online travel market, stating that a significant percentage of business travellers research travel offline but still book by another method. The fact that many business travellers want offline confirmation after booking online suggests limited trust of web reservations.
