Travel Bought Online More Than Half The Time

According to the most recent PhoCusWright Consumer Travel Trends Survey, 51 percent of domestic US travel was booked online in 2007, and within two years, that is expected to increase to 60 percent. The value of these online travel bookings: $136 billion and growing. According to the survey, "multiple component" trips, including vacation packages, are purchased less frequently online, while such simple arrangements as air tickets are purchased more frequently. None of this, except perhaps the specific numbers, is a surprise. It is interesting to know that the report is finding that more travel websites are getting sophisticated enough to offer such features as group travel planning and booking. Also on the rise are sites with content generated by a community of readers and users. I wonder whether that includes blogs like this.