by editors’ office, vir
The Internet has enhanced transparency for the benefit of the customer – communities influence travel planning
Travel preparations via Internet are a matter of course for an increasing number of Germans: 30.8 million Germans have at one time done research on the Internet prior to vacations. This information was announced by hightech association BITKOM and “Verband Internet Reisevertrieb“ (VIR – Internet Travel Marketing Association) on the basis of “Reiseanalyse Online“ (Travel Analysis On-line), which was conducted by “Forschungsgemeinschaft Urlaub und Reisen“ (FUR – Vacation and Travel Research Community). “Never before were Internet users able to do such comprehensive research in travel planning, and never before have so many people used this opportunity,“ said BITKOM chairman Prof Dr August-Wilhelm Scheer.
Traditional sources of information, such as travel reports in newspapers, magazines or on television, are by no means obsolete, however. But the web has enhanced transparency for the benefit of the customer – in large part through interactive services. “Communities are about to become a real power factor in the travel market,“ Claudia Brözel, VIR chairwoman, summarizes. “The users of these communities are demanding, however. A lack of trust in the validity of entries may quickly put an end to a reviewing portal.“ Important factors for acceptance are a sufficient number of different reviews, information on many destinations, or a rate-based comparison of reviewed hotels, as well as insider tips, Brözel added.
Internet users most often visit hotel websites, as well as those of tourist boards and regional tourist associations. 83 percent have at one time made use of these on-line services while planning vacations, with 66 and 63 percent, respectively, having done so in the last twelve months. Among these popular services are Web 2.0 offers such as on-line reviewing platforms where vacationers may, for instance, leave comments on hotels. One in two Internet users has used these as a means to obtain impressions and opinions of other vacationers in the last twelve months.
Websites of travel agencies did not attract quite as many vacation planners. Only 26 percent of Internet users visited websites of travel agencies as part of their research in 2008.
About the method applied: The conclusions are based on the travel survey “Reiseanalyse online 11/2008”, which in November 2008 had 1,000 respondents surveyed on-line for vacation and travel research society FUR. The featured data is representative for Internet users in Germany of 16 to 64 years.
About BITKOM:
The “Bundesverband Informationswirtschaft, Telekommunikation und neue Medien e.V.” (Federal Association for Information Management, Telecommunications and New Media) represents more than 1,200 companies, including 900 direct members with combined turnovers of close to 135 billion euros and 700,000 employees. These include providers of software, IT services and telecommunication services, manufacturers of hardware and consumer electronics, and digital media companies. BITKOM is making a stand for better regulative policies, a modernization of the educational system and innovation-oriented economic policies.
About VIR:
The “Verband Internet Reisevertrieb e.V.” (VIR – Internet Travel Marketing Association) pursues the core issues of Internet security, trust, transparency and quality standards. The association acts as the organ of the tourism-related Internet economy and as contact partner for consumers, the media and the industry itself. Among its members are seven of Germany’s leading on-line travel portals (ebookers.de, expedia.de, holidaycheck.de, gratistours.com, lastminute.de, opodo.de and travel24.com), which generate turnovers of close to one billion euros and together employ more than 500 people. These travel portals were visited by an average of 3 million people each month in the second half of 2008.
