Six key trends for successful online travel providers

A new study identifies six key trends critical to the “increasingly crowded yet fragmented pack” of online travel providers with perhaps the most noteworthy finding related to the growing acceptance and demand for sustainable tourism.
 

“Suppliers who deploy green practices are enjoying favored status among acutely aware consumers,” says the study of the US travel industry by eMarketer. In other words, after years of discussion, sustainable is becoming attainable.
 

The study says after the “perfect storm” of global recession, high unemployment and terrorism and flu fears, usage of the Internet for researching and booking all types of travel has shown “surprising resilience.”
 

“Though sales declined 6.7 percent in 2009, eMarketer predicts US online leisure and unmanaged business travel sales growth will begin to accelerate this year.” They predict a seven percent increase at its peak in 2012.
 

“Online will grow to make up an ever greater percentage of the total travel market in the post-recessionary environment,” said Victoria Petrock, eMarketer senior research and author of the report called “Online Leisure Travel: Six Post-Recession Trends.”
 

The study is viewed as a blueprint for future success in the online travel field.
 

“As a wide variety of industry players ramp up their efforts to make online travel
even more transparent, robust and mobile for consumers, these trends will
dictate the winners and losers in an increasingly competitive market,” said
Petrock.
 

The other trends in addition to the breakthrough in green travel include:
 

• Value has taken center stage. “Amid the economic rubble, travelers have adopted a back-to-basics mentality, seeking quality at the right price,” the study says.
 

• Social media has seen a rise in new ways of sharing. “Online reviews and
user-generated content are being combined with social networking,
 

• Mobile has taken “travel on the go.” A growing number of travelers now use
mobile devices to plan and book trips and access location-specific destinations, the study says.
 

• Personalized micro-niche travel has taken off. “Growing dissatisfaction with
one-size-fits-all travel is driving demand for customized offerings,” the report says.
 

• Online travel has spanned new horizons. “Growth in online booking is shifting
overseas, while US travelers who book online are looking for more
international options,” the study found.
 

By David Wilkening