United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
Last minute travelers are $10 billion business
Last minute summer travelers are offering marketers a juicy bone of $10 billion in business, says Compete Inc.’s new travel study.
“There is still an opportunity for marketers to close the season strongly by focusing promotions on last-minute bookings,” said Gregory Saks, director, Compete Travel Practice.
He said the group’s study found that although one third of internet travel researchers plan more travel this summer, they have not yet made their specific plans.
The study found that travel is the single largest e-commerce industry with more than 50 million consumers planning and researching travel online each month. This year, over $70 billion in online travel purchases are expected, according to Compete.
For its study, Compete analyzed consumer behavior from its panel of two million consumers. Key findings included:
- Two thirds of consumers prefer researching travel options online, surpassing the importance of recommendations from friends and family.
- Among consumers with summer travel planning still to be purchased, nearly 75% said they will reserve most or all of their travel online.
- More than two thirds of bookings are coming from what Compete calls “procrastinating and undecided travelers.” They make up almost half of the in-market summer travelers who wait to book largely because of indecisions about where and when to travel.
Another study by the Travel Industry Association found that 74% of leisure travelers plan at least one of their getaways within two weeks of taking the trip; another 26% plan all vacations are the last minute.
Said Mr Saks:
“Marketers can have an impact if they act now with urgency messaging and price-focused offers via the internet to travelers that are still undecided about their plans or holding out for the right time to book.”
Report by David Wilkening
David
Walt Leger on New Orleans’ Resilience and Major Events Ahead
Cindy Mackin Shares Estes Park’s Winter Thrills
Mark Jaronski of Explore Georgia on FIFA World Cup 2026
Connecting Small Businesses to Global Tourism Markets: Nate Huff of Tourism Exchange
North Carolina’s Resilience: Wit Tuttell on Recovery and Tourism
Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns
James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel
Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination
Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics
Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy
Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene
Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee
BA suspending all Heathrow to Abu Dhabi flights
Unexpected wave rocks cruise ship
Report: Cruise guest died after ship lashed in heavy storm
British teen in serious condition after paraglider collision
JetBlue scraps London Gatwick flights