There is a significant change in the way consumers are booking travel, according to a VisitUSA in-flight survey of travelers to the US, just released by the US Department of Commerce. The survey predicts that the Internet will overtake agents and operators for booking travel in as little as two or three years time.
A poll of more than 4,000 travelers from the UK to the US showed that agents and operators accounted for a high of 88% of bookings in 1998 but this had declined to 50% by 2004.
“If current trends are maintained [the Internet] will overtake agents/operators in two to three years,” according to the VisitUSA group, as reported in the Travelmole website. The results of the survey show that the Internet is poised to become the primary source of travel information.
http://www.travelmole.com/stories/105120.php?m_id=480189&mpnlog=1