Have Internet, Will Travel

A report, on how online users in the UK will use the internet to plan and book their holiday travel, has been released.

by Helen Leggatt

The Holiday Online Planning Report explores how the internet is used by UK users who are planning a holiday along with covering websites likely to be visited and elements of the holiday likely to be booked online.

According to the report, a majority of users, 20 million, use random searches when gathering information on holidays. Consequently, the report warns tour operators and travel agents to do more to raise online presence.

"Tour operator and travel agent sites are also more likely to be visited by people planning a main holiday than a short break. However, the numbers visiting tour operator/travel agent sites is lower than for the dedicated online travel sites,” says the report.

"This could be because many tour operators offer other channels of contact e.g. via the high street or over the telephone, or possibly because they have been slow to create a strong online presence their sites are not immediately 'top of mind' for travellers,” it concludes.

The Times has recently added to its list of Best Travel Websites which now features the likes of Black Tomato and The Thorntree.