Insights May 2009
Where do travelers go online first when making vacation plans? Are search patterns to select a destination different from those to book an airline ticket or select a hotel/resort? The results of our just-released 2009 National Travel MONITORSM reveal the answers to these questions. And, not surprisingly, consumers’ search behavior has changed in recent years as they have become more familiar with search technology, and as the number and type of online travel planning/purchasing sites has grown exponentially.
Travelers visit search engines such as Google, Yahoo or MSN first when considering destination alternatives. The Web sites of a specific countries or destination boards are visited next, followed by online travel agencies such as Expedia and Travelocity. Only 1% of travelers commence their destination search by visiting a blog:
|
VISIT FIRST WHEN SELECTING DESTINATION
|
|
| Source |
%
|
| Search engine like Google, Yahoo, MSN |
34
|
| Web site of national tourist office/CVB |
23
|
| Online travel agency like Expedia, Travelocity |
22
|
| Web site of hotel chain |
8
|
| Web site of individual hotel or resort |
7
|
| Web log |
1
|
Search patterns when selecting an airline or lodging accommodations are understandably different. As one might expect, online travel agencies are visited first by consumers when searching for both airlines and lodging accommodations. Brand-specific sites follow closely in searches for airlines, yet less so for lodging accommodations. Meta search engines that compare fares are now visited first by just over one out of ten travelers when searching for airlines and only one out of twenty travelers when searching for hotels:
|
VISIT FIRST WHEN SELECTING AIRLINE
|
|
| Source |
%
|
| Web site of online travel agency like Expedia, Travelocity |
42
|
| Web site of specific airline |
41
|
| Meta search engine that compares fares |
13
|
|
VISIT FIRST WHEN SELECTING HOTEL/RESORT
|
|
| Source |
%
|
| Web site of online travel agency like Expedia, Travelocity |
31
|
| Search engine like Google, Yahoo, MSN |
26
|
| Web site of specific hotel chain |
21
|
| Web site of individual hotel/resort |
10
|
| Meta search engine that compares rates |
5
|
To learn more about travelers’ search behavior and the other travel trends most likely to impact destination and travel-service marketing practices in the year ahead, we invite you to order a copy of the 2009 National Travel MONITORSM by visiting the Publications section of www.ypartnership.com.
May 29th, 2009 at 10:34 am
There are no surprises in these results as the pattern of search has for the most part been the same for the last few years, especially with commodity items like air, car and to some degree hotel.
What would be more interesting as it relates to search is what are the search patterns for consumers looking for a cruise? As this is a more complex purchase, how does the agent model impact search and purchase patters.
May 29th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
I was unsure whether it was strange, purposeful or an oversight that you did not ask whether people call a traditional travel agency or agent. Perhaps you could let me know.
Joe da Rosa
Chairman
Balboa Travel Inc.
May 29th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Considering the general lack of top of mind awareness of not for profit cvbs by consumers as opposed to the very familiar (heavily advertised) for profit Googles and Yahoos, I am pleasantly surprised that this “gap” is not as disparate as one might perceive.
May 29th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Even though DMO’s have been around for more than 50 years longer than Google et al we are still in the ball game as far as providing service to travelers. In order to be more competitive DMO’S need to promote the services that are available. We can then justify and sustain our funding.
May 30th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Good question about cruise search. Unfortunately, we don’t examine this process in the Travel Monitor…but will next year!
May 30th, 2009 at 8:34 am
Steve, I concur with your assessment. These results underscore the importance of any destination’s Web presence when it comes to the critical aspect of destination planning/selection.
May 30th, 2009 at 8:35 am
Ric, please see my comment on Steve’s remarks. We’re all on the same page.
May 30th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Peter - was there any difference in the trends for the drive market? How are they searching/planning?
May 30th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
No significant differences noted from “air/hotel” users.
June 1st, 2009 at 11:22 am
Peter - Once again, thanks for insightful data. When seeking a destination, clearly the search engines will often take a person to specific websites for hotels. Is their any internal data that would suggest what percentage of search engine results take travelers to hotel/inn websites that don’t reflect the small (7-15%) who go first to a chain or specific property site? I’m not surprised by the numbers but my gut says that the search engines drive property-specific results which, in turn, may help travelers plan their trip.
June 1st, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Where does Trip Advisor (or other user review sites eg igougo, virtualtourist, etc) fit in?
June 1st, 2009 at 10:49 pm
Thanks, Peter. And I wish I/we could give you a definitive answer but we don’t have the data!
June 2nd, 2009 at 6:11 am
TripAdvisor now ranks fourth in the incidence of blog visitation for travel planning purposes (behind Youtube, Facebook and Myspace).
June 2nd, 2009 at 1:07 pm
The question posed in the survey was about what ite was visited first when selecting a destination. What’s the connection or conversion rate of what travelers learn on their first visit to Google, Expedia et al and the influence of the final, actual buy decision.
June 2nd, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Not sure what the conversion rate is on the first visit, but I believe the eventual conversion rate in less than 5% of total visitation.
And where are you now?
June 10th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Peter - Based on your study, what % of travelers went to an OTA without a specific destination in mind? How many travelers switched or changed their original destination after researching on an OTA? Thank you for your time and consideration.
October 10th, 2009 at 7:08 am
Hey I love your post ! Good information !
January 10th, 2010 at 4:00 am
Just found your site through yahoo. Glad I found it I’ve learned a lot.
February 11th, 2010 at 3:30 pm
This is great stuff, thank you for sharing this information. Maybe one day I will start my own blog lol.
May 7th, 2010 at 8:39 pm
Least some common sense left
July 1st, 2010 at 10:33 pm
many people will simply type in what they are looking for into the address bar of their web browser too. We get many direct type ion visiters to our site. stats show the .com is the best when it comes to direct type in visitors.