TTD: ‘Big four’ fighting back online, says Mintel report

The ‘big four’ travel brands are fighting back against companies like Expedia and Travelocity when it comes to internet bookings, according to a report by Mintel.

The ‘Holidays on the Internet’ report said after a slow start the traditional travel companies were now firmly placed among the top 10 travel sites.

“The traditional brands are well placed in terms of all distribution methods and are heavily investing in their online technologies in order to challenge the likes of Expedia and Travelocity,” it said.

Mintel’s report found there were almost 16.4 million overseas holidays or components booked on the internet in 2005, and 7.9 million domestic ones.

This means the internet now accounts for over 37% of foreign bookings and 20% of domestic bookings. Since 2003, overseas bookings on the internet have more than doubled and domestic bookings are up by almost 50%.

The average spend on travel online has also increased to £642 in October 2005, up by 20% on 2002.

The report said faster broadband connection is helping to drive the growth.

“In addition, the shift towards using the Internet via the TV is gaining popularity, with a fifth of the population already enjoying access to interactive services through digital TV,” said a spokeswoman for Mintel.

“In the future it is likely that many households will have just one line and one service provider for their telephone, Internet and interactive digital TV. All these factors will help drive the online travel market well in to the future.”

With rising levels of disposable income and a generally confident consumer market, it is estimated that 87.2 million holidays will be taken in 2006 – 6.5 million more than in 2000.

Some 55% of online holidays are booked to short-haul destinations in Europe, 31% booked in the UK and 16% to other overseas destinations. There is a also a marginal shift towards bookings made to the rest of the world, which is in line with the growth in long-haul holidays and the higher average online spend.

Beach and resort holidays are the most popular type of trip booked online, and traditional seven-night breaks are the most popular holiday lengths, underlining how the internet has penetrated the mainstream market.

The low-cost airlines were the most popular for travel research and booking.

Some 17% of respondents had browsed easyJet over the past year, 13% Expedia, 12% Ryanair, 12% BA and 12% Thomson.

When it came to booking, 20% were on easyJet, 17% on Ryanair, 13% on BA, 9% on Expedia and 7% on Thomson.

By Bev Fearis