Holidays on the Internet - Blogs and Consumer Reviews - UK - March 2008

Table of Contents

• Issues in the Market
• Definitions
• Abbreviations
• Market in Brief
• Online holidays increase their share
• Travel and holiday dominance of the Internet
• Low-cost airlines most popular
• Holidays remain top of priorities
• Personal reviews more trustworthy than professionals
• Online holidays and trends
• Traditional players on the offensive
• The Mobile phone uprising
• Internal Market Environment
• Key points
• Overseas expansion
  • Figure 1: Domestic vs overseas holidays 2002-12
• ' Get your 3+ a year...'
  • Figure 2: Percentage of adults booking UK and overseas holidays, 2003-07
  • Figure 3: Number of nights spent away from home for last holiday, all adults, 2003-07
• The holiday pound
  • Figure 4: Domestic and overseas holidays expenditure, 2002-12
  • Figure 5: Average spend per trip, 2002-07
• Broader Market Environment
• Key points:
• Internet penetration
  • Figure 6: British Internet penetration at home/work/place of study or elsewhere, 2002-07
• Phone time?
  • Figure 7: Internet penetration, by gender, socio-economic group and age, 2002-07
• Web 2.0 and social networking
• The rise of social networking
  • Figure 8: Social network user demographics, 2006 and 2007
• Economics
  • Figure 9: Trends in personal disposable income and consumer expenditure, 2002-12
• Population
  • Figure 10: Trends in the age structure of the UK population, by gender, 2002-12
• Rising ABC1s
  • Figure 11: Forecast adult population trends, by socio-economic group, 2002-12
• Escalating third age
  • Figure 12: Forecast adult population trends by lifestage, 2002-12
• Consumers prioritise holidays
  • Figure 13: UK spending priorities for year ahead, January 2005-08
• Exchange rates
  • Figure 14: Annual average exchange rates for Sterling against the euro and US Dollar, 2002-08
• Competitive Context
• Key points
  • Figure 15: UK: Retail sales, by broad sector, 2002-07
  • Figure 16: How last holiday abroad was booked, 2002-07
• Holiday volume
  • Figure 17: Domestic and overseas holidays volume, 2003-07
• Researching holiday ideas
  • Figure 18: Websites browsed for information purposes in the last three months, 2003-07
• Searching with a view to purchase
  • Figure 19: Websites browsed for information purposes with a view to possibly buying in the last three months, 2003-07
  • Figure 20: Penetration of Internet purchasers, 2002-08
  • Figure 21: Online product purchasing, by category, 2005-07
• Who buys online?
  • Figure 22: Different Internet user types, by gender, age and socio-economic group, October 2007
• Strengths and Weaknesses in the Market
• Strengths
• Blogs and social networks
• M-commerce and mobile phone technology
• Broadband and speed of connection
• Rising third age
• Weaknesses
• Control of UGC
• Navigation and errors
• Too much choice (need for differentiation)
• Economic slowdown
• Market Size and Forecast
• Key points
  • Figure 23: Forecast of domestic holidays bought online, 2003-12
  • Figure 24: Forecast of overseas holidays bought online, 2003-12
• Healthy growth set to continue
• Increasing affluence and demographic changes drive growthTechnology aids growth
• Number of holidays taken
  • Figure 25: Total number of holidays taken by all adults who booked their last holiday on the Internet, 2003-07
  • Figure 26: Volume and value of holiday booked on the Internet, 2003-07
  • Figure 27: Trends in average spend per online buyer in the previous three months, all categories, 2002-07
• Amount spent on online travel purchasing
  • Figure 28: Amount spent on flights/holidays purchased over the Internet in the last three months, 2003-07
• Segment Performance
• Key points
  • Figure 29: Sources used to get information on last independent holiday, 2003-07
  • Figure 30: Travel and holiday Internet user types, by gender, age and socio-economic group, October 2007
  • Figure 31: Consumer use of travel websites in the last three months, 2002-07
• Destination of online holiday
  • Figure 32: Where visited for last holiday, all adults who booked their last holiday on the Internet, 2003-07
• Length of holiday
  • Figure 33: Number of nights spent away from home for last holiday, all adults who booked their last holiday on the Internet, 2003-07
• Type of holiday taken
  • Figure 34: Type of holiday taken for last holiday, all adults who booked their last holiday on the Internet, 2003-07
• Accommodation used
  • Figure 35: Accommodation used for last holiday, all adults who booked their last holiday on the Internet, 2003-07
• Market Share
• Key points
  • Figure 36: Top ten travel websites by share of UK visits, January 2008
  • Figure 37: How last domestic holiday was booked, by booking method, 2006-07
  • Figure 38: How last holiday abroad was booked, by booking method, 2006-07
• Companies and Products
• British Airways
  • Figure 39: Financial performance of British Airways Plc, 2003-07
• easyJet
  • Figure 40: Financial performance of easyJet Plc, 2003-07
• Expedia.co.uk
• Lastminute.com
• Ryanair
  • Figure 41: Financial performance of Ryanair, 2004-07
• Thomas Cook
  • Figure 42: Financial performance of Thomas Cook, 2007
• TUI (Thomson and First Choice)
  • Figure 43: Financial performance of First Choice, 2003-07
• Social networking and blog sites
• Lonely Planet
• Travel Rants
• Travel Blog
• Tripadvisor
• Where are you now? (WAYN)
• Virtual Tourist
• Distribution
• Key points
• Domestic holidays
  • Figure 44: Method used to book last domestic holiday, 2003-07
• Holidays abroad
  • Figure 45: Method used to book last holiday abroad, 2003-07
• Global Distribution Systems (GDS)
• Amadeus
• Priceline
• Sabre Holdings
• Travelport
• Holiday Research
• Key points:
• Researching holiday options
  • Figure 46: Pre-booking research methods, October 2007
• Travel Websites Used for Holiday Planning, Research and Booking
• Key points
  • Figure 47: Websites used for foreign holiday bookings and research in past 12 months, October 2007
• Internet usage by demographics
• Holiday Planning, Research and Booking Habits
• Key points
  • Figure 48: Internet habits in the past 12 months, October 2007
• Internet habits by demographics
• Appendix -- Holidays Taken
  • Figure 56: Previous holiday abroad in past 5 years, October 2007
• Holidays taken by demographics
• Independent holiday
  • Figure 57: Independent holidays taken by demographics, October 2007
• Package holiday
  • Figure 58: Package holidays taken by demographics, October 2007
• Appendix -- Holiday Research
  • Figure 59: Most popular pre-booking research methods by demographics, October 2007
  • Figure 60: Further pre-booking research methods by demographics, October 2007
• Appendix -- Travel Websites Used for Holiday Planning, Research and Booking
  • Figure 61: Websites used for foreign holiday bookings and research in past 12 months by demographics, October 2007
  • Figure 62: Further websites used for foreign holiday bookings and research in past 12 months by demographics, October 2007
• Appendix -- Holiday Planning, Research and Booking Habits
  • Figure 63: Internet habits in the past 12 months, October 2007
  • Figure 64: Internet habits in the past 12 months, October 2007