Different Ages, Different Places and Ways of Getting There

• Young Road Warriors: Internet users aged 18-34 seem to prefer driving to their chosen destination – wherever that may be- as they are more likely to visit Ground Transportation and Maps/Travel Info sites than they are any other category of travel websites.  This group makes up nearly 30 percent of the visitors to both types of sites, which is 13 percent higher than their Internet average (25%). This group is least likely browse Cruise Lines and Airlines sites, accounting for only 25 percent and 20 percent of these sites’ visitors, respectively.

• Family Fans: Destination sites (i.e. Walt Disney World, Six Flags, etc.) and Hotel/Hotel Directory sites have a high concentration of Internet users aged 35-49.  Family Fans make up over a third of visitors to these sites and are more likely to visit a Destination or Hotel/Hotel Directory site than any other age group (34% and 32% more likely, respectively).  As a means of transportation to their selected destination, some things haven’t changed with this group as they are more likely to round everyone up and head out in the family car than fly.

• Senior Sailors: Internet users aged 50+ like to set sail, accounting for almost half of the unique visitors to Cruise Lines sites.  This is 45 percent above the Internet average (33%) making them the most likely of all age groups to visit Cruise Line sites.  The next most popular type of travel site among this group is Airlines, where Internet users over 50 make up 41 percent of the audience to these sites, 27 percent above the Internet Average.

Travel Trends

Not surprisingly, visits across all Nielsen categories of Travel sites spike in January and then again during the summer months of June and July.  As the cost of air travel continues to rise, largely due to fare increases and baggage fees, Americans may be opting to drive to their destinations instead of flying; the number of unique visitors to Ground Transportation sites has remained steady over the past two years while Airline sites have seen a 24 percent decrease in visitors over the same period.

Overall, visits to Travel sites have increased over the last two years (+2%), with Multi-category Travel sites (i.e. Expedia, TripAdvisor, etc.) seeing the largest growth in visitors since June 2009 (+7%).

Spending Power and Vacation Activities among Online Travel Purchasers

Adult Internet users who recently made an online travel purchase don’t mind spending big once they’ve decided to travel.  This group is over 2 times more likely than the average adult online to be heavy spenders on hotel reservations (Index 273), airline tickets (Index 266) and vacation packages (Index 288).

Once they have reached their final destination, top vacation activities include visiting family and friends (38%), going to the beach (26%) and camping (16%).

One-third of those surveyed said that they used OTAs to book airline tickets, while 17 percent said that they booked hotels and package tours.  Another 14 percent used OTAs for train travel.  More Indians used OTAs for their air travel bookings than web sites for airlines.  The strongest players in this growing market are Yatra, MakeMyTrip and Travel Guru.

More than two-thirds (77%) of Internet-connected Indians said that they use OTAs to search for airline information, 65 percent for train information and 59 percent for hotel information.

“This is a sign of increasing popularity and awareness amongst consumers of the online booking mode, and though they don’t make bookings currently, it won’t be long before they convert,” said Vatsala Pant, Director, Consumer Research at The Nielsen Company.

So what are the key factors that drive consumers to OTAs? Brand awareness is the most important driver, according to those surveyed, followed by brand personality and price.   Having attractive promotional offers and relationships with many airlines were some of the more important contributors to brand equity.

“Having good awareness is a necessity to succeed in the OTA segment. Playing a price game will not take the image of the brand very far,” said Pant.

Meanwhile, those who haven’t yet used OTAs said that the key factors keeping them from booking were that “the rates offered are not the cheapest as claimed by the agents” (33%) and that cancellation/modification procedures were “very tedious” (24%).

The Nielsen India Online Travel Agent Study was carried out in four metro areas and three mini metros and surveyed 842 adults age 20-55.

Nielsen and PATA’s most recent “India Outbound Travel Monitor” survey found that more than half of Indian travelers have used the Internet to search for information about destinations abroad. 

While traditional media like newspapers and magazines remain the primary source for travel advertising and information for many, the Internet has become a popular advertising channel, drawing greater attention from Indians traveling internationally.  

Among travelers from India’s smaller cities, the Internet has made especially significant gains in popularity, Nielsen and PATA reported.

“The convenience of comparing prices and easy access to more detailed information makes the Internet a popular go-to source for travelers,” Vatsala Pant, Associate Director, Nielsen, noted.

Nielsen and PATA’s “India Outbound Travel Monitor” conducted face-to-face interviews with 2,000 men and women, aged 18 years and older, who have traveled outside of India and stayed at least two nights away from home in the last twelve months. 

View the press release.

Read other findings from the “India Outbound Travel Monitor.”