ABTA 2004: Web holiday sales hit record levels

The internet is making further inroads into holiday sales with record numbers booking online.

Figures released by ABTA to coincide with its annual convention in Orlando show that 19% of holidaymakers now book their package holiday online – six times more than in the year 2000.

ABTA says the internet is now “firmly established” as a booking tool for holidays.

The survey shows that price is a major determining factor for why people use the web. But 70% said they would be prepared to return to travel agents if they provided better deals.

Agents continue to be more trusted than the internet, according to ABTA, with 75% of package holidaymakers saying they used agents as a source of information against 57% who use the web. However, 71% of holidaymakers with broadband access said they were inclined to browse travel sites more often.

Ninety five per cent of those who used a travel agent said they had received “good” or “fairly good” service, according to ABTA.

The proportion of package holidaymakers who said that agents’ advice is becoming more trustworthy has increased by 50% since 2002.

Meanwhile, ABTA found that 50% more package holidaymakers are booking no-frills flights through agents than two years ago.

The poll by MORI found that 32% had taken at least one no-frills flight in the last 12 months and, of these, 21% had booked with an agent.

But ABTA says it is concerned that over a third of passengers booking no-frills flights using all distribution methods have not used a credit card and therefore could be financially vulnerable if the airline went bust.

As reported, eight out of 10 people agree that it would be a good idea to charge between 50p and £2 per ticket to ensure financial protection against airline failure.

With predictions of more collapses this winter, ABTA chief executive Ian Reynolds said: “We are still concerned that consumers are not provided with comprehensive protection when it comes to booking these and other scheduled airlines.

“This poll proves that customers would be willing to pay for their own protection and so we hope the government will do the right thing. If not, ABTA is working on an insurance policy as an alternative – and the demand for this is most certainly there.”

Travel agents performed particularly well when it comes to understanding customers’ needs for travel insurance, the poll found.

ABTA’s market report by MORI shows that bookings for next summer are “positive” with the market predicted to be five per cent up by Christmas on the same time last year. Cruising is outselling the overall market, with a growth of 35% for 2005.

The survey shows that 64% of package holidays were booked through agents in 2004 and 28% direct with operators.

Traditional European package destinations like Spain, Greece, Portugal and France all suffered a slump in sales this summer, while non-eurozone countries like Bulgaria, Croatia, Turkey and Slovenia rose in popularity along with long haul destinations such as United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Cuba, the US, Madlives, Thailand and Sri Lanka. 

*See www.TravelMole.com for further ABTA Convention news updates.

Report by Phil Davies