Online Travel Bookings in Europe to Surpass Offline by 2017. Are You Ready?

Posted by Peter Hilliard on June 17th, 2016

Online Travel Bookings in Europe to Surpass Offline by 2017. Are You Ready?

Despite the increasing reach of the internet, Europeans still book most of their travel offline – whether through agents or directly with suppliers. But soon that will be changing. By 2017, Europe will become the first region globally to see online bookings outperform their offline counterparts.

Is your business prepared to make the most out of the shift?

Online Booking on the Rise in Europe

At a conference in Dublin in May, Phocuswright – the travel industry research authority on how travelers, suppliers, and intermediaries connect – projected that 52% of all travel bookings in Europe will be made online by the end of 2017. That’s more than anywhere else including North America (45%), Asia-Pacific countries (35%), or Latin America (25%).

Factors bringing about this change include:

  • An increased number of people being connected to the internet through desktop computers, tablets, smartphones, and other devices.
  • Major players increasing their interest in online activities, including Online Travel Agents (OTAs) and suppliers.
  • Consumers becoming more comfortable booking online – with the online travel market in Europe growing by 15% in 2015.

Phocuswright Research: European Consumer Travel Trends

Uploaded by Phocuswright on 2016-05-13.

How Can Tour Operators Prepare for More Online Bookings?

Travelers are spending more time than ever on their mobile devices and using them to book their vacations. Today’s tour operators need to be ready to capitalize on that shift.

As suppliers continue to invest in boosting their online presence, so too do OTAs. By 2017, OTAs will represent 44% of the total online market in Europe.

Your website should tell a story about your tour, helping visitors imagine it as an integral part of their vacation. Make sure you incorporate dynamic descriptions, attractive images, sharable videos, and an easy-to-use booking form to make buying tickets easy.

At DataTrax, our automated booking solutions are designed by tour operators for tour operators. Contact us today to learn how our products and services will make it easier to run and grow your business!

Discover risk-free how DataTrax’s solutions will benefit your business? Click here to start your free demo. 

You may also like:

Peter Hilliard

About Peter Hilliard

Peter Hilliard is the Founder, President, and CEO of DataTrax. He began his career as a tour bus operator with a single bus, until he realized that a better solution was needed for automating and tracking ticket sales. Led by Peter’s expertise in the tour industry and ticketing automation technologies, DataTrax has grown over the past 20+ years into an international leader in ticketing solutions.