Online Travel

20070619_expedia_logo_18Planning your next trip? Do you first open up the internet browser and google cheep flights? Or log into Expedia or Travelocity and plan your flights, rental cars, and hotel all in one? Today, technology and increased internet capabilities travel online has become fast, easy, and cheep. All things us Americans are looking for now! We have a limited attention span so the travel industry has to keep up with our habits. Meaning they have to constantly adjust to our changing ideas and demographics. User friendly websites  help the everyday customer. According to Biz Travel Trends the demographics of Americans have changed significantly over the last ten years:

“In part, this shift in demographics is attributed to the ease of technological accessibility. According to the census bureau, 42 percent of Americans have a computer with internet access in their homes”.

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Internet technologies and its effectiveness have driven the convergence trend. We should now expect online travel searches to be commonplace. People love the fact that they can see pictures of hotels, read reviews, and book their reservations all at the same place. Also, these websites connect directly with the hotels and airlines to get you the best deal! Travel agencies are marketing to the customer:

“A strong impression(of the site) translates to repeat business. The millennium travel trend equates to a forward-thinking corporation continuously evolving alongside swift marketing strategy and implementation…”

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According to the U.S. Travel Association the internet was used by about 90 million American adults to plan travel during the past year .  76 percent of these were online travelers planning leisure trips online. Most online travel planners are somewhat or extremely satisfied with their experiences when using the internet to plan their trips. Also, many see the internet as a very useful or essential tool for planning many aspects of a trip. The internet makes travel easy and cheeper!

2 Replies to “Online Travel”

  1. I totally agree with you, the internet definatley makes planning a trip a lot easier and the way you can shop for bargians makes it more affordable. I get e-mails from Continental Airlines about cheap flights and travel deals and whenever I read the deals of the week it makes me want to travel. I think hotels, airlines, and rent-a-car companies do a really good job working together and collectively using the internet as a tool to attract people to their services. It’s crazy, thanks to media convergence, we can plan our next vacation from our cell phone if we wanted to!

  2. The significant number of online travel shoppers during the recession doesn’t really surprise me. Websites like Expedia and Hotwire take out the hassle of perusing for bargains on your own…and people love it! These sites have also taken the extra step to reach out to consumers by sending out e-mail updates to customers and subscribers with information about cheap fares and packages. I know from experience that deals can draw you in, even when you’re not really in the market for a vacation. This just proves that travel sites are skilled at marketing and expanding their audience of buying consumers. They have truly overcome the challenges of the recession and travel concerns to get Americans excited about traveling again! As with food and other industries, technological tools present innovative opportunities to promote deals and specials that stand out to consumers.

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