While connected by a common language (accents notwithstanding), history and location, Australians and New Zealanders have always had a degree of friendly rivalry. But that rivalry is diminishing to some extent as more Australians visit their neighbor to the southeast, according to research from Nielsen’s BuzzMetrics service.

Over the last decade, online travel agents (OTAs), such as Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity, to name a few, have become a mainstay for Americans looking to research and book travel.  And now, Indians have embraced online travel sites as internet penetration continues to expand.  According to Nielsen’s India Online Travel Agent Study, 80 percent of Indians view these sites positively. Even those who hadn’t yet purchased travel with an online travel agent have checked them as part of their research and said that they would consider doing so in the …

With the holiday season about to begin, Americans are already flocking online to do their shopping.
According to Nielsen Online, 78% of adult online consumers in the U.S. made a purchase via the Web within the previous six months.
Travel-related transactions were most common, with 38% of adult online consumers making at least one travel purchase on the Web in the previous six months.
Large percentages of online consumers also went online to manage their credit card accounts (36%) and conduct personal banking transactions (35%).

Rank
Top
Online Transaction Categories
(U.S. Adults)
Composition
Percentage
Reach
(in 000s)

1
Online Travel – Any (p/online 6 mo.)
38%
54,417

2
Credit …

Chinese are more likely to travel this week for the National Day Golden Week holiday than they were earlier this year during the Chinese New Year holiday, Nielsen reported Tuesday.
According to a survey conducted by Nielsen, six in 10 Chinese plan to travel between September 29 and October 5 for Golden Week, while just 42% of Chinese reported making plans to travel this past February for Chinese New Year celebrations. 

Boosted by their country’s booming economy and armed with growing disposable incomes, Indians are increasingly venturing abroad for leisure and business travel. 
According to the Nielsen India Outbound Travel Monitor 2008, most international travelers from India are well-educated urbanites.  Countries in Asia — Singapore (24% of Indians), Dubai, Australia, and Malaysia (17% of Indians, respectively) — are the most popular destinations for India’s new travel elite. 
Overall, Asian destinations account for 72% of international leisure trips and 63% of business trips originating in India, Nielsen reported.  In comparison, travel to Europe accounts for just …

Tourism to China is expected to surge, following the Beijing Summer Games.
According to a 16-market survey conducted by Nielsen after the Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies, consumers throughout the world are increasingly interested in traveling to mainland China. 
Forty-five percent of those surveyed after the Opening ceremony said they intended to travel to mainland China at some point.  Following the Closing Ceremony, that percentage increased to 51%.  For 80% of the respondents, who had never visited mainland China, it would their first trip to the country.
Meanwhile, respondents who said they had …

Nielsen announced Thursday that it will join forces with the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) to study travel consumers in India. 
Based on a sample of 2,000 respondents across 10 cities in India and updated annually, the Indian Outbound Travel Monitor will explore the behavior and considerations of Indian travelers when planning for, during, and after a trip abroad. 
The Monitor, which will track travelers’ destination preferences and travel decision-making processes, aims to help tourism professionals identify and optimize growth opportunities in India.
The Indian outbound travel market has expanded by nearly 10% annually …