Publication Summary

Along with most other industries worldwide, travel took a significant hit from the recession, and European markets were no exception. European travel gross bookings declined by 10% in 2009. As the industry moves into recovery mode, understanding consumer attitudes and behavior is critical. How has the consumer travel outlook changed since 2009? Which segments represent the greatest opportunity? How do travelers' attitudes and opinions shape where they go and how they book their trips? What trends are common across European markets, and where do travelers differ?

PhoCusWright's European Consumer Travel Report analyzes three European travel markets—France, Germany and the U.K.—and presents an overview of the status of consumer travel in these three individual markets. The report explores a range of topics and provides insights into key indicators for the coming year. Based on an online survey of more than 2,400 travelers in France, Germany and the U.K., PhoCusWright's European Consumer Travel Report focuses on European travelers who play an active role in planning their trips. Highlights of the report include:

• Examination of general traveler behavior, including trip frequency and duration, travel party composition, travel spend and intentions for the upcoming year
• Summary of air travel and lodging trends, along with analysis of other travel components including car rental, pre-packaged vacations, dynamically packaged vacations, cruise and rail travel
• Analysis of consumers' approach to the travel planning process—destination selection, shopping and purchasing—as well as how they share their experiences after traveling
• Detailed review of online and offline channel usage, including the information sources consumers use to select their leisure travel products
• Examination of booking trends, and the factors that influence consumers to choose one method over another
• Overview of how consumers use their mobile phones, along with the travel-related phone activities that are beginning to gain traction
• Discussion of key metrics and trends involving consumers' attitudes toward travel, and how they correspond to behavior

While certain trends are consistent among travelers in France, Germany and the U.K., many are not. Understanding the similarities and differences is critical for multi-national companies building brands in these distinct markets.

Be prepared to position yourself in Europe's fiercely competitive travel marketplace.
PhoCusWright's European Consumer Travel Report to gain a robust picture of European travelers' behavior, attitudes and expectations.

Table of Contents

82 Pages

Section 1: Overview, Methodology, and Research Highlights
Section 2: Strategic Implications
Section 3: General Travel Behavior
Section 4: Travel Component Incidence and Intentions
Section 5: The Travel Planning Process
Section 6: The Destination Selection Phase
Section 7: The Shopping Phase
Section 8: The Booking Phase
Section 9: Usage of Mobile Devices
Section 10: Psychographics
Appendix: Survey Respondent Demographical Information


LIST OF TABLES

French Traveler Population

German Traveler Population

U.K. Traveler Population

Traveler Intentions for Upcoming Year

Incidence of Travel

Importance of Travel to Lifestyle, by Age

Frequency of Leisure and Business Trips

Trip Frequency Intentions, by Number of Leisure Trips Taken

Duration of Leisure Trips (Incidence of Trip Length)

Trip Duration Intentions, by Longest Trip Taken in Prior Year

Annual Household Travel Spend

Average Annual Household Travel Spend by Annual Household Income

Trip Budget Intentions, by Annual Household Travel Spend

Average Annual Household Travel Spend, by Age

Trip Budget Intentions, by Age

Travel Party Composition

Domestic and International Travel

Intentions for Traveling Distance, by Farthest Distance Traveled in Prior Year

Lodging and Air Traveler Incidence

Trip Frequency by Lodging and Air Traveler Incidence

Intentions for Travel Product Consumption

Enjoyment of Lodging and Air Travel

France Intentions for Lodging and Air Travel Product Consumption, by Enjoyment

Germany Intentions for Lodging and Air Travel Product Consumption, by Enjoyment

U.K. Intentions for Lodging and Air Travel Product Consumption, by Enjoyment

Travel Product Consumption

Usage of Lodging Types

Number of Lodging Types, by Annual Household Travel Spend

France Usage of Lodging Types, by Annual Household Travel Spend

Germany Usage of Lodging Types, by Annual Household Travel Spend

U.K. Usage of Lodging Types, by Annual Household Travel Spend

Intentions for Class of Lodging, by Annual Household Travel Spend

Internet Usage for Destination Selection, Shopping, Booking, and Sharing (Typical Behavior)

Internet Usage for Shopping and Booking (Typical Behavior), by Annual Household Travel Spend

Number of Websites Used, by Travel Phase (Typical Behavior)

Leisure Destination Types (Incidence Among Travelers)

Leisure Destination Types (Percentage of Trips)

Motivation for Last Trip to Selected Destination

Information Sources Used for Destination Selection (Last Trip)

Websites Used for Destination Selection

Sources of Information Used in Shopping Phase

Internet Sites Used in Shopping Phase

Number of Information Sources and Website Categories Used in Shopping Phase, by Annual Household Travel Spend

Website Selection Criteria

France Influence of Online Features for Leisure Travel Planning

Germany Influence of Online Features for Leisure Travel Planning

U.K. Influence of Online Features for Leisure Travel Planning

General Travel Booking Channels

General Travel Booking Channels, by Technology Adoption

Reasons to Book Leisure Travel Offline

France Typical Purchase Methods

Germany Typical Purchase Methods

U.K. Typical Purchase Methods

Online Travel Agency (OTA) Booking Patterns

Mobile Phone Features and Abilities

Current and Future Mobile Phone Activities - France

Current and Future Mobile Phone Activities - Germany

Current and Future Mobile Phone Activities - U.K.

Future Mobile Phone Activities, By Age - Combined Markets

France Early Tech Adoption, by Age and Annual Household Travel Spend

Germany Early Tech Adoption, by Age and Annual Household Travel Spend

U.K. Early Tech Adoption, by Age and Annual Household Travel Spend

Preference for Traveling On or Off the Beaten Path

Preference for Complete Control, by Age

Enjoyment of Discussing Travel Experiences

Influence of Online Social Network Connections, by Enjoyment of Discussing Travel Experiences

Methods for Sharing Travel Experiences

Desire to See the World, by Age

General Demographics - Employment Status

Household Composition

Income

Gender and Age Distribution by Country

Methodology

PhoCusWright fielded an online consumer survey May 20 - June 1, 2011 through Global Market Insite, Inc. targeting the general French, German and U.K. populations that have Internet access and travel for leisure.

To qualify for participation in the study, respondents had to indicate that they had taken at least one overnight leisure trip in the past 12 months that included paid accommodations at least 100 km from home, air travel and/or rail travel. An additional screener required consumers to have played an active role in planning their leisure trips. Respondents who qualified are referred to as "French/German/U.K. travelers." Paid accommodations include hotels and other nightly priced lodging products, as well as timeshares and vacation rentals. The term "lodging" is used in this report to refer to the broad range of paid accommodations.

PhoCusWright received 2,621 qualified responses (France 896, Germany 915, U.K. 810) and the respondent pool can be projected with confidence to the adult population with Internet access. Travel incidence levels were calculated based on the responses of 5,965 adults. The error interval for analysis of the traveler population within each individual country is +/-3.3% for France and Germany and +/-3.5% for the U.K. at a 95% confidence level. Significant differences noted in this report were identified at a 95% confidence level.

Based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau International Data Base, the U.K. Office for National Statistics and Eurostat, PhoCusWright projects the number of adults with Internet access who have taken at least one leisure trip (as previously defined) to be 20 million in France, 29 million in Germany and 21 million in the U.K. in 2009. As ECTR focuses on travel planning, respondents were required to have played an active role in planning their trips, which disqualified 16% of the total traveler group. These consumers who traveled but did not plan their trips were counted in the traveler incidence calculation, but are not included in any subsequent analysis.