WASHINGTON -- One in 10 U.S. travelers are making reservations on
line as traveler use of the Internet for looking and booking
continues to skyrocket, according to a Travel Industry Association
of America study.
The vast majority of bookings still are done in traditional
ways. But the dramatic rise in Internet usage over the past few
years, and indicators that the big increases will continue, send a
clear signal, the TIA researcher in charge of the study said. "I
think the next five years will be very telling as to how this all
[will] shake out," said Suzanne Cook, TIA's senior vice president
for research.
"The message [for travel agents] is this is moving very quickly,
and time to figure out what to do is short."
TIA has been conducting the annual study for five years and, by
sheer numbers and percentage increases, the growth has been
explosive.
In 1999, 52.2 million travelers used the Internet for trip
planning, the TIA study found. That's 54% more than in 1998, and an
astounding 1,583% more than the 3.1 million who did so in 1996.
Also in 1999, 16.5 million travelers made reservations on line, a
146% jump from 6.7 million in 1998 and 206% more than in 1997.
In another sign of growth, travelers appear to be losing some of
their reluctance to book on the Internet, according to the
study.
One of every five travelers who went on line in 1999 made
Internet reservations, and the look-to-book ratio is improving.
Nearly one-third of travelers who looked also booked in 1999, up
from just 20% the year before, the report said.
Of course, that means two-thirds of travelers who do planning on
line still aren't booking there. The biggest reason is concerns
about security, still cited by 29% of those holding back. But the
second biggest deterrent, cited by 26%, is the desire to talk to a
live person or get "absolute confirmation" of the reservation.
Agents probably won't take much comfort in this flattery, but
Cook said the most successful travel sites on the Internet will be
the ones that are able to offer the most personalized service --
which, she said, means "the best sites are those that are probably
emulating the best travel agent."
The growth in on-line planning and booking, while dramatic, is
still a matter of perspective. By TIA's accounting, there were
159.4 million adult U.S. travelers last year (nearly half of whom
still aren't using the Internet). That means the percentage of
people planning and booking on line remains a minority.
"We're still talking about a small piece of the overall pie [for
booking]," Cook said .
The annual study numbers jibe with the preliminary results of
another TIA survey that shows, in the third quarter of 1999, 29% of
all U.S. air travelers made plans on line, and 10% booked on line.
And the look-and-book numbers were much lower for hotels, 16% and
1.5%, and rental cars, at 10% and 2%.