Among those who have taken a holiday in the past two years, 62% chose to put their own itinerary together, booking flights and hotels separately, a new study has revealed.
Just 41% opted for traditional cost-saving, one-stop options such as package holidays and only 20% chose all-inclusive trips.
The research, commissioned by the Tradedoubler Insight Unit, revealed that travelers are willing to pursue increasingly complex purchase journeys to find the best possible deals.
"Holidaymakers now have unprecedented levels of information and offers at their fingertips and it’s driving a significant shift in how they research and book holidays," says Dan Cohen, regional director, Tradedoubler.
"One in five now book holidays using a mobile, a figure that rises to 28% amongst mobile-savvy 25- to 34-year-olds. Airlines, hotels and holiday operators without a presence on the right performance channels are going to lose out," added Cohen.
The second major trend uncovered by the research is travellers’ use of performance marketing sites and apps – such as price comparison, loyalty and reward, voucher code or cashback.
More than half use such sites to help them find the best price: 59% for holidays, 57% for hotels and 53% for flights.
Across Europe, €98.1bn is spent online on travel, making it the largest online business sector. Forecasts estimate that this figure will grow by 7% a year, reaching €112.2bn in 2014.
41% of all consumer travel is spent online; this will rise to 44% by 2014.
