In making travel purchases, most American travelers would rather see the options than act on the recommendations of others. Travelers want to view options in detail via pictures, online maps and video, says PhoCusWright.
“For travel shoppers, seeing really is believing. The fact that travelers find these visual tools to be so influential suggests that online rich media, including content-rich, three-dimensional maps, will be an increasingly important part of the travel-planning process,” said Cathy Schetzina, director, research at PhoCusWright. She added:
“Traveler review sites that incorporate these visual elements are likely to be more appealing.”
The PhoCusWright Travel 2.0 Consumer Technology Survey assesses a range of technologies, including social networks, rich media, blogs, RSS, podcasting, mobile technology, tagging and online maps.
Also among recent findings:
—More Americans have used Web 2.0 technologies overall than have used them in the process of shopping for travel.
—Most travelers visit between two and five Web sites when shopping for travel online.
—Comparing prices is by far the most common reason for visiting multiple sites.
—Travelers who visit the most sites are likely to be motivated by a desire to read traveler reviews, research destinations, and purchase tickets to events or attractions.
—Nearly everyone is familiar with online maps, but RSS and tagging go largely unnoticed. Fifty-nine percent of Americans are unfamiliar with RSS and 55% are unfamiliar with tagging.
—Half of people who read blogs read travel blogs.
Report by David Wilkening
