Vacations and Travel - Technology And Travel

The TIA's 2004 Travelers'Use of the Internet survey reported that sixty-four million travelers used the Internet in 2003, about the same number as in 2002. Use of the Internet for travel planning had risen dramatically since 1997, when just twelve million Americans planned and researched travel online. The rate of growth in the online travel planning market slowed in response to the slower rate of growth of "wired" (Internet-connected) households.

Although the overall number of people doing travel planning online did not increase from 2002 to 2003, consumers were doing more travel research and planning online than ever before. Twenty-nine percent of surveyed respondents said they did all of their trip research and planning online, up from 23% in the previous year. During 2003 more than forty-two million people booked travel using the Internet, an increase of 8% from 2002. The Internet was also used more frequently to make reservations—more than two-thirds of respondents (70%) did at least half of their travel booking online, up from 56% in 2001.

The TIA report speculated that the Internet was responsible for changing booking patterns—more consumers booked later to take advantage of low prices on last-minute travel and specials available exclusively online. Airline tickets were the most frequently purchased travel products online, reported by 75% of all online travel bookers, followed by accommodations (71%) and rental cars (43%). The average amount spent online increased in 2003 to $2,600 from $2,300 in 2002. Travel companies found e-mail to be a useful promotional tool, with thirty-five million travelers signing up with supplier Web sites or online travel services to receive special offers, and ten million acting on an offer to take a trip they might not have otherwise taken, according to the TIA.

The study highlighted problems facing travel agents, who had seen a substantial portion of their business taken by online services. According to the TIA, in 2002, 26% of Americans, or fifty-four million adults, said they had used a travel agent to book at least one business, pleasure, or personal trip, flight, hotel room, rental car, or tour in the preceding three years. This figure was down from the reported 32% in 1999. One bright spot for travel agents was the continuing growth of the cruise industry, according to the 2004 CLIA report. The CLIA found that 88% of cruisers booked some or all of their trip with an agent, compared to more than half of all vacationers who said they never used a travel agent.