Online Travel Booking Statistics And Trends

Methodology

The online travel statistics and trends were carried out via Osint (Open Source Intelligence) techniques to help find and then analyse information for research.

Analysing by using open source means applying several analytical methodologies to collect, process, and analyse the information.

The goal at the end of the research is to transform the confusing data that has been collected into knowledge that can offer context and useful information to others.

Some Of The Osint Sources Include

• Scientific and technical commercial databases;
• Official and unofficial data of institutional bodies;
• Information from professional and academic sources;
• Search engines used both with Boolean operators and with advanced operators;
• Meta-browsers;
• Software for the analysis of the social graph;
• Software for the analysis of metadata and geolocation;
• Social network;
• Domain intelligence tools;
• Network analysis;
• Newspapers and magazines, institutional publications.

Given the consistency of the information to be compared and considering any cases of harmony, we inform you that the processing may present limited cases of inaccuracies.

Market Research

2023 is the base year for collecting data. Due to the aftermath of Covid-19 still affecting the tourism and travel industry, some trends and data refer to the pandemic.

The online travel market has risen over the last decade. In 2022 the online global travel and tourism market was worth 475 billion USD.

The market is expected to reach one trillion USD by 2030. Considering this, the online bookings segment is becoming increasingly important to global travel.

Key Travel And Tourism Statistics

• The market size of the travel & tourism industry in 2023 was 2.29 trillion USD.
• This is forecast to reach 927.3 billion USD by the end of 2024.
• Online travel bookings were forecasted to be worth 521 billion USD in 2023.
• In 2020, COVID-19 cost the travel sector an estimated loss of almost 4.5 trillion USD.
• International holiday bookings were up by 27% in the UK between January and March of 2023 compared to the same time in 2022.
• Average order value (AOV) per trip was also up by 3.48% in 2023 in the UK compared to 2022 in nominal terms. This was down to several factors – one being that people had saved up money to enjoy a longer holiday. Also, confidence in international travel was up.
• On average, the increased cost of holidays has gone up by 360 GBP in 2022. In 2012 it was 296 GBP.
• The top travel destinations from the UK were in Europe in 2023.
• It was both promotions and discounts that led UK customers to book a holiday in 2023, with influencers and content creators in second place.
• While some sectors of tourism may lag, overall travel is expected to surpass pre-pandemic performance in 2024, driven by a 2% growth in international arrivals.
• In 2023, online booking platforms dominated the global travel and tourism market, capturing a commanding 68% of total revenue.
• It is said by 2028, 76% of revenue for the travel and tourism market will be made online.
• 39% of people book their online travel bookings through mobile phone apps rather than using websites.
• In the US, 83% of adults prefer to book online.
• About 70% of travellers research travelling through their smartphones.
• Mobile customers (27%) have started to use virtual travel assistants to help organise and plan their trips.
• When finalised, 72% of mobile bookings happen within 48 hours of a Google search.
• There are 148.3 million online travel bookings every year.
• Midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) is preferred and is considered best to book a holiday, while the worst days to fly for a holiday break are weekends.

How Many People Book Hotels Online In 2023?

• Booking online for hotels has grown by 10.3 per cent in 2023.
• By the end of 2023, it was estimated that 700 million people will have made a hotel room booking online.
• Those under the age of 35 are more likely to book a hotel online.
• Only two-thirds of a hotel’s bookings are made via their website.
• At least 1/3 of leisure travellers in the US have booked to stay in privately owned accommodation.

Revenue in the hotel market is projected to reach $446.50 billion in 2024 globally, reflecting an annual growth rate of 3.32% between 2024 and 2028.

Travel Apps for Booking

• The travel app market generated $556 billion in 2022, with a remarkable increase of  53.4% from the previous year.
• Usually, half of the travel apps are deleted within 1 month.
• The travel apps uninstall rate was approximately 31%, in 2022.
• The feature most appreciated by users of travel apps is speed.
• The reason for using an app (32%) is boarding passes, check-in, and passbook.
• Real-time updates and flight status changes are valued by 31% of travellers, demonstrating the importance of information accessibility.
• 79 per cent of travellers enjoyed status updates on their travel, 75 per cent price changes, and 67% sales.
• The fact that travel apps work offline is favoured by 25% of users, signifying their value for international travel and unreliable internet connections.
• 21 % of users believe that travel apps offer a better user experience.
• Saving preferences are favoured by 17% of users.
• Being part of a loyalty or reward program is one of the reasons (11%) why travel apps are downloaded.
• Travel apps sell more: the conversion rate is 5x higher than mobile website booking.

Market Leading Online Travel Companies

• Booking.com (United States)
• Airbnb (United States)
• Trip.com (China)
• Expedia (United Staes)
• MakeMy Trip (India)
• Webjet (Australia)
• Edreams Odigeo (Spain)
• Trivago (Germany)
• Despegar.com (Argentina)
• On the Beach (United Kingdom)

Mobile Usage

• In 2023, 83% of adults prefer to book their travel online than the traditional way.
• 91 per cent of people are likely to abandon their travel purchase when using an app or mobile.
• Around 72% of travel bookings are made within 48 hours of using the app.
• 50 to 55 per cent of travellers say they enjoy “voice search” when planning a trip.
• Users who text with hotel chatbots would be 30% more likely to spend more.
• In 2022, 64% of those booking online make online purchases on a desktop and 44% make them on a mobile device1. This shows a shift from 2021, when 59% of bookings were done on a desktop and 41% on a mobile device¹
• Almost all automated online bookings take place without any human interaction. Desktop automated bookings occur 2.4% of the time, while travels are booked via smartphones – 0.7% of the time.
• 28% of people say they enjoy using the app compared to online booking because they also work offline.

Hotel Recommendations And Reviews

• Users who are asked to leave a review leave it 68% of the time.
• About 45% of all users have written a review in the past year.
• 95% of customers leave positive reviews.
• Most users (93%) say online reviews impact their booking decisions.
• While both generations (Gen X and Millennials) are active travellers, they tend to be sceptical of traditional advertising. Word-of-mouth recommendations and authentic user reviews hold more sway in their decision-making.
• Gen Z is actively shaping the travel market. They are highly digital and rely heavily on online reviews, social media influencers, and authentic experiences.
• Online travel agencies that still rely on stock photos and traditional advertising will find that their customer base is slowly eroding in 2020.
• Over 70% of users research travel options before booking, highlighting the importance of a strong online presence and accurate information.
• Travelers typically read between 6 to 12 reviews before deciding on which hotel to choose.
• Around 49% of people rely on online reviews.
• 15% of customers don’t trust businesses that don’t have reviews, while only 6% of people say they don’t trust customer reviews.
• While 40% of travellers leave reviews for exceptional hotel service, a slightly higher 48% tend to share their feedback after a negative experience.
• Only 22 per cent leave a review without being asked.

The Best Time For Booking Hotels And Travel

• Online bookings are more likely to be made on Monday.
• The weekend is considered the time with fewer bookings of the week.
• 6 AM is the quietest time for overall online travel bookings, while 10 AM is the busiest.
• Over 90% of travellers expect a personalized online experience when they book their travel.
• Surprisingly, users who book their experiences before leaving spend 47% more on accommodation and 81% more on travel than on-site bookers

The Best Travel Booking Sites

• Most Tripadvisor users (80%) spend 4 weeks researching online travel sites before booking.
• In September 2023, Booking.com topped global travel websites with 554.5 million visits, followed by TripAdvisor.com at 433.6 million visits.
• 66.7% of online bookings are made through the hotel website.
• Online sales constitute a 68% revenue share in the global travel and tourism market.
• 80% of holiday packages are booked online.
• 60% of those who book a vacation online say it is the most expensive online purchase they have made online.

Travel Facts In 2023

• Half of Americans spend at least a week researching before booking their holidays.
• Men book for vacations less than women, with a percentage of 49% versus 58%.
• In terms of popularity, beach holidays (34%) are preferred to city breaks(32%).
• On average, users spend 5 days searching for their holidays, almost the same time spent searching for a new car (6 days).
• Before booking a trip online, visitors browse roughly 38 websites (including OTAs, blogs, etc.).
• Half of Brits feel safer booking travel via smartphone.
• 76% of global travellers expressed to make sustainable travel choices.
• Staying at least one time in life in an environmentally friendly or green accommodation is planned by 78% of global travellers.
• 70% of travellers could be influenced to book accommodation if they knew it was eco-friendly.

References

1. https://www.statista.com/topics/2704/online-travel-market/
2. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1220218/tourism-industry-market-size-global/#:~:text=Despite%20the%20sharp%20increase%2C%20the,the%20peak%20reported%20in%202019.
3. https://www.statista.com/outlook/mmo/travel-tourism/worldwide
4. https://www.travelagewest.com/Industry-Insight/Business-Features/Global-Travel-Tourism-4-5-Trillion-Loss-2020-COVID
5. https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/holiday-bookings-2023-cost-of-living-b2319053.html
6. https://www.oberlo.com/statistics/average-order-value
7. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/01/global-travel-tourism-pandemic-covid-19/
8. https://www.travelperk.com/blog/online-travel-booking-statistics/
9. https://www.stratosjets.com/blog/online-travel-statistics/
10. https://upgradedpoints.com/travel/best-and-worst-days-to-fly/
11. https://www.businessofapps.com/data/app-data/
12. https://thepointsguy.com/guide/handling-flight-schedule-changes/
13. https://uxplanet.org/what-makes-a-good-travel-app-ux-1e261711b045
14. https://www.condorferries.co.uk/online-travel-booking-statistics
15. https://hoteltechreport.com/marketing/hotel-chatbots
16. https://www.data.ai/en/insights/topic/market-data/
17. https://www.reputationdefender.com/blog/online-reviews/20-stats-about-online-reviews-that-hoteliers-need-to-know
18. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1215457/most-visited-travel-and-tourism-websites-worldwide/
19. https://www.gcwmultimedia.com/women-need-vacation-the-most/#:~:text=Women%20were%20more%20likely%20than,was%20even%20wider%20among%20millennials.
20. https://www.travelmarketreport.com/articles/Consumers-Visit-38-Sites-Before-Booking-Expedia-Says
21. https://partner.booking.com/en-gb/click-magazine/bookingcom-news/sustainable-tourism-becomes-priority-72-global-travellers