E-Booking Topping Charts

<B> E-Booking Topping Charts</B>

By Cheryl Rosen

For those doubters not yet convinced that travel purchasing is moving online at the speed of Internet time, a new study shows the number of online bookers soared by more than 80 percent in the past year, even as the number booking through travel agencies fell below 50 percent for the first time in recent history.

The 1999 Travel eCommerce Survey, by travel consulting and research firm PhoCusWright, found that travelers with Internet access booked 47 percent of their trips through brick-and-mortar travel agents, down from 55 percent last year.

The remaining 45 percent of trips were purchased online--making travel the second most frequent online purchase--after only books--at 54 percent. Just about one-quarter (26 percent) bought an airline ticket over the Web, and 19 percent said they "usually" buy their airline tickets online--almost double the 10 percent who did so last year.

The survey was conducted through telephone interviews with a random sample of 500 "Internet travelers," defined as people who had both logged onto the Internet in the past month and traveled in the past year. It also showed that online shoppers are a cost-conscious bunch. Sixty-five percent said they "shopped around" before making a ticket purchase.

About half of the respondents who visited travel sites looked at airline fares or availability, but then purchased their ticket elsewhere. But even this group appears to be growing increasingly comfortable with the new technology, with 65 percent saying they would be interested in buying travel online in the near future.

Of those travel buyers who remain unconvinced and hesitant to try online purchasing, 62 percent said they object to the lack of human contact, or have concerns over personal privacy or credit card security.