A look at online travel booking industry growth in recent years
- The global online travel industry was valued at $512.5 billion USD in 2023 and is expected to reach $1.26 trillion by 2032. This is a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.99%. (Research and Markets)
- Key trends driving growth in the travel industry include increasing use of smart devices, easy access to high-speed internet connectivity, the rising popularity of solo travel, and an increasing number of business travellers. (Research and Markets)
- In surveyed countries, including the US, UK, Australia, Japan, and Singapore, 50% of travellers planned to travel more between March to May 2023, compared to the same period the previous year. (Tripadvisor)
- 31% of those who changed their travel plans in 2023 planned to reduce travel or take shorter trips due to increasing cost-of-living prices, while 27% opted for booking closer-to-home trips. (Tripadvisor)
- In 2024, global business travel spending was forecasted to surpass a record $1.48 trillion. (Global Business Travel Association)
- Between 2019 - 2023, travel apps global revenue more than tripled in size (Statista).
- Total global download of travel apps will reach more than $2 billion in 2024, and revenue from global travel apps is around $180 million. (Sensor Tower)
How people book: Researching and buying behaviors
- According to the 2024 Trends Global Survey, 80% of global travellers surveyed feel it’s important to be able to book their trips entirely online, with 86% of Millennials and 83% of Gen Zers leading the charge. (Hilton)
- 76% of global travellers said they look for travel apps that reduce the friction and stress of travel. (Hilton)
- Last year, the top five resources used by travellers for travel guidance were: search engines (46%), travel review websites (36%), recommendations from family or friends (35%), hotel websites (31%) and OTAs (28%). (Skift)
- Social media had the greatest influence on leisure travellers’ travel destinations, with 75% of travellers saying social media posts inspired their trips to a specific destination in 2023. (Statista)
- 56% of travellers in 2024 said they research and book activities in advance, with 25% saying they book activities four weeks or more before their trip. (Tripadvisor)
- 60% of travellers say they prioritise booking travel with one brand or credit card to maximize loyalty points, with Millennials being the most loyal group (67%). (Hilton)
- In 2024, 26% of travellers said they used an OTA for researching flights, and 36% said they used OTAs for booking flights. Travellers also used OTAs for booking hotels (43%), paid activities (28%), and packages (38%). (Skift)
- 62% of global adult Gen Z travellers said they used AI to help them save money on travel (EMerchant).
- Over 850 million people used a travel app to help them plan travel in 2023. (Business of Apps)
- By June 2023, travel app log-ins were 87% higher than by the end of 2019. (Adjust)
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Online booking statistics indicate a renewed outlook of travellers worldwide
- In 2023, a large majority of travellers (72%) said they preferred to book their trips online, compared to only 12% that preferred using a travel agency. (Statista)
- Of those that book travel online, 53% said it’s because of the speed at which they can plan their trip (perfect for last-minute trips), 47% said it’s easier to compare prices and 42% said it’s better to find cheaper deals. (Statista)
- 65% of all travel bookings were made online in 2023, with 35% of online sales happening via mobile. (Euromonitor)
- It’s forecasted that 75% of total revenue in the tourism and travel sector will be generated through online sales by 2029. (Statista)
- 95% of travellers surveyed in 2024 said they would cut spending in other areas (such as food or entertainment) to fund their travels. (Skift)
- 95% of travellers surveyed in 2024 said they planned to travel as much or more in summer 2024 compared to the previous year. Of those, 80% planned 1-2 summer trips, lasting five nights on average. (Tripadvisor)
- In 2023, 48% used their mobile device for destination research, 47% to compare transport and accommodation prices, and 40% to book flights and hotels.
- 97.8% of travel executives stated that AI would have an impact over the next 1-5 years in the industry. (Euromonitor)
- Over a fifth (22%) of global travellers have used ChatGPT or similar AI chatbots to plan travel. (Simple Flying)
- 80% of travellers who booked online visited an OTA "at some point" before booking, "even if travellers booked on another website." (TravelWeekly)
Biggest blockers and frustrations in online travel booking
- In a study of 15,000 Tripadvisor reviews, it was found that flight irregularities were the most discussed topic (36%) for disappointed travellers in 2023, compared to 20% in 2019. (TNMT)
- 43% of Americans didn’t like booking travel, including 23% of GenZ travellers. (TravelPort)
- The experience gap between booking travel and actually travelling is notably high — while 64% of people really like travelling, only 26% enjoy the booking process. (TravelPort)
- Many travellers reported feeling anxious when booking travel, most commonly due to the possibility of delays or cancellations (32%), pricing issues (18%), and long waiting lines at congested airports (17%). (TNMT)
- 79% of global business travellers have experienced a travel disruption in 2023 (TravelPerk)
- An average of 40% of travellers say they’re checking for travel updates more frequently because of the delays, while 35% say they now prefer to book options with flexible cancellation policies. (TravelPerk)
- In 2023, only 11% of leisure travellers and 16% of business travellers said they didn’t experience frustration when booking travel online. (Statista)
- In 2023, 45.1% of travellers said they were concerned about how much data companies hold on them in 2023 and only 23.1% felt in control of their data. (Euromonitor)
- 74% of travel agents surveyed believed buying and selling travel plans could be simplified. 86% of agents were in favor of modernising the user experience to boost online travel sales. (TravelPort)
- 43% of business travellers felt frustrated that the search function of travel sites was limited to the budget or the date. (Statista)
- 87% of business travellers said that they wanted booking business travel to be as easy as booking a vacation, but 42% said booking business travel is even more difficult. (TravelPort)
- The biggest challenges business travellers faced when booking travel were finding options that were within budget (34%), finding options that fit their schedule (30%), cancellations, changing trip plans (29%), and getting quick responses from customer support (25%). (TravelPerk)
- Travellers want all-in-one stops for booking travel. 45% of travellers preferred booking a trip from start to finish from a single website that presents options for flights, accommodations, car rentals, and extras, including 50% of Gen Z travellers. (TravelPort)
- Users spent, on average, 40% more via desktop than mobile devices when booking online. (SaleCycle)
Travel booking is going mobile
- 68% of online traffic for travel and hospitality websites in 2023 was from mobile devices, indicating a strong desire for more mobile accessibility and booking options (Statista).
- Although mobile accounts for around 60% of online travel traffic, desktop accounts for about 62% of sales — even though travellers do more research on mobile, they still use desktop to book. (SaleCycle)
- 39% of users would use an app over using the mobile website because of the speed, while 30% enjoy the increased functionality of a mobile app. (Condor Ferries)
- The mobile users’ average online order value has grown by 29% since 2020. (SaleCycle)
- The mobile travel booking market in 2024 is worth $228 billion, and is projected to grow to more than $526 billion by 2032. (Credence Research) .
- In 2020, the gap between desktop and mobile booking sales was 75% compared to 2022 where the gap was reduced to 40%. (SalesCycle)
How online business travel booking is evolving
- 82% of travel agents reported a need for digital retailing for both leisure and business travel. A better customer experience is a priority for both types of travel. (TravelPort)
- 87% of employees think that in-person meetings and business travel are important to company growth in 2024. (TravelPort)
- 76% of CEOs believe that increasing travel budgets would positively impact company revenue, and 62% of CEOs are actively planning to increase travel budgets this year. (TravelPerk)
- 86% of corporate travel managers said that airfares had affected their companies’ ability or willingness to travel (Deloitte).
- But around 30% of business travellers use unmanaged channels to book business travel rather than using corporate agents. Why? Business travellers are attracted to OTAs with better inventory and deals, more flexibility, and a better digital travel experience. (Deloitte)
- 40% of employees say that corporate travel is great for their personal and professional growth (TravelPerk).
- However, despite there being more interest in business travel, companies were worried about their carbon footprint. In fact, more than half of US corporate travel managers surveyed said they needed to cut business travel by 10-20% to meet sustainability targets. (Deloitte).
- 46% of corporate travel managers said they have strategies in place to reduce carbon emissions in 2024 and beyond, up from 30% in 2023. (Deloitte)
- In 2024, 63% of companies are investing more in sustainable travel and 80% of business travellers want more sustainable options when booking. (TravelPort)
- 88% of corporate travellers want full transparency into what they are buying when booking travel online. (TravelPort)
- In 2023, the number of companies choosing flexible itineraries to recover costs when trips don’t go to plan has increased by 35%. (TravelPerk)
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Role of online travel agencies in a digital world
- 80% of users booked with a single online travel agency (OTAs) in 2023, while 17% used just two OTAs. This indicates a strong loyalty to OTAs once users find one that meets their needs. (Yodlee)
- In 2023, 51% of travellers booked with OTAs, compared to 37% who booked directly with airlines, 23% who booked directly with hotels, and 13% who used vacation rental brands like Airbnb. (Expedia Group)
- 34% of Millennials would book with a travel agent over an OTA, with 60% of Millennials saying they’d be happy to pay more for travel agents’ advice, recommendations, and destination knowledge. (Condor Ferries)
- The average cart abandonment rate for OTAs was approximately 81%, indicating how travellers frequently used online travel booking websites to find and compare options. (Condor Ferries)
- In a scenario where prices are identical on hotel websites and OTAs, 70% of respondents in 2022 said they would book via an OTA. (Hospitalitynet)
- Some of the biggest reasons why people preferred OTAs were the security, convenience, loyalty discounts, and credible online reviews that they offered. (Hospitalitynet)
- 12% of people who book via OTAs say they do so because it’s faster than booking directly. (Hospitalitynet)
Travellers take a stand for sustainability
- 70% of travellers in 2024 prefer sustainable holidays and travel options that allow them to reduce their carbon footprint (Simon-Kucher).
- 75% of travellers are now choosing less crowded destinations with aims to reduce overcrowding. (Simon-Kucher)
- 64% of American travellers said in 2023 that they were looking for accommodation establishments with high sustainability innovation and practices. (Statista)
- In 2023, 79% of travellers said they were willing to pay up to 10% more for eco-travel and adventure travel with sustainable options. (Euromonitor).
- In 2022, 66% of travellers wanted travel companies to offer more sustainable travel choices. However, in 2023, that number increased to 74%. (GSTC)
- 74% of business travellers said it was important to them to reduce their environmental footprint in 2023. (Hilton)
- 66% of travellers in 2023 said that considering climate change was overwhelming as they considered travel plans (Hilton).
- Nearly half of travellers (49%) said that sustainable travel options were too expensive, but 43% said they would pay more for sustainable accommodation options. (GSTC)
- With more travellers interested in sustainable travel and eco-tourism, the ecotourism industry has now reached more than $172.4 billion dollars in 2024 (Statista).
- 78% of travellers want to stay in eco-friendly accommodation now, while 35% want energy-efficient options in accommodations, such as smart room thermostat controls. 40% of travellers want to travel outside of peak season to reduce impact, and 42% want to shop local when travelling to support local communities. (Avantio).
- Business travellers are also looking for more sustainable accommodation options, with almost half of corporate travel managers partnering with sustainable accommodation providers (Statista).
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Online travel booking is here to stay
- Access to one of the widest inventories of flights, accommodation, car rentals, rail, and more.
- Corporate travel rates and group booking options.
- Flexible fares that allow you to get back up to 80% of your trip cost when trips are cancelled.
- 24/7 customer support for when you need it.
- Carbon offsetting and our GreenPerk program to aid you on your journey to a more sustainable travel program.
- Policies and approvals to get travellers an easy way to self-book on a user-friendly platform while still keeping your program compliant.
- and much, much more!
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