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ABTA study shows rise in use of tablets for travel bookings
Research by ABTA has found a sharp rise in the number of Brits using tablets to book holidays online.
One in four (24%) of online bookers said they had booked at least one trip via a tablet, compared to 18% in 2014.
While tablet usage is increasing across all age groups, it has seen a particular surge in popularity among younger age groups.
Over a third (38%) of both 16-24 year olds and 25-34 year olds booked a holiday via a tablet in the past 12 months, up from 24% and 27% respectively last year.
Meanwhile, the use of mobile phones remains flat at 16% of online bookers, down just slightly from 17% last year.
PCs or laptops remain by far the most popular device for booking with 91% of online bookers using them when booking at least one holiday online.
But their usage has dropped slightly from 93% last year, as tablet usage has increased.
ABTA said the findings suggest travel may be lagging behind other industries in mobile phone bookings as Ofcom’s 2015 Communications Market Report found 45% of Brits use their smartphone to make online purchases.
It believes this difference may be due to the high value nature of travel transactions.
The research also found a notable difference in mobile bookings between age groups, with around a third (34%) of 16-24 year olds using mobiles to book compared to just 7% of those aged 45-54.
Victoria Bacon, ABTA head of brand and business development, said: "While smartphones have a long way to go to catch up with PCs and tablets when it comes to holiday bookings, their popularity among younger age groups suggests they will grow in relevance, so travel companies should continue to develop and grow their mobile sales strategies."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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