Publication Summary

PhoCusWright's European Consumer Travel Report Third Edition explores consumer travel trends in three major European markets: France, Germany and the U.K. The study outlines year-over-year changes across a comprehensive range of travel metrics, including leisure travel incidence, trip frequency and duration, travel expenditure, international travel and travel product purchases. Analysis covers the use of online and offline channels during three isolated stages of the travel planning process – destination selection, shopping and booking – and provides an in-depth look at travel-related engagement via the mobile Web and social networks.

Key topics include:

• Year-over-year trends in baseline travel metrics such as incidence of travel, travel expenditure, frequency and duration of trips, international travel and travel party composition
• Consumption trends within major travel segments (lodging, air, rail), as well as car rental, packaged holidays, cruise and destination activities
• Analysis of 2012 destination types (i.e., independent destination selection, visiting friends and relatives, attending social events, etc.), as well as an in-depth look at the sources of information travelers use to support their destination decisions, and online behavior within this initial phase of travel planning
• Online shopping trends, the reasons shoppers choose specific travel websites and the types of features travelers value during online shopping
• Online/offline booking trends by market, as well as online booking trends across key travel products including lodging, air and rail
• Key mobile trends, including mobile Web penetration and frequency of mobile Web use, current engagement and future interest in travel-related mobile Web functionality
• Participation in social networks, methods for sharing travel-related experiences and activities conducted through online social networks

PhoCusWright's European Consumer Travel Report Third Edition presents a robust picture of consumer travel trends in three key countries, so that travel companies can best position themselves in these complex and challenging markets.

Not sure this is the report for you? Contact our experts to find the research that fits your needs.
+1 860 350-4084 x501

Table of Contents

74 Pages

Section One
Overview, Methodology and Research Highlights

Section Two
General Travel Behavior

Section Three
Travel Component Incidence and Intentions

Section Four
Destination Selection

Section Five
Travel Shopping

Section Six
The Booking Phase

Section Seven
Mobile Devices

Section Eight
Sharing and Social Networks

Appendix
Demographical Information
- Household Composition
- Income
- Gender and Age Distribution by Country

LIST OF TABLES


Traveler Population: France

Traveler Population: Germany

Traveler Population: U.K.

Incidence of Travel, by Age

Reasons for Not Traveling

Reasons for Not Traveling, by Age

Frequency of Leisure Trips, by Country

Duration of Leisure Trips (Incidence of Trip Length)

Duration of Leisure Trips (Percentage of All Trips)

Annual Household Travel Spend (€)

Trip Budget Intentions

Travel Spend as a Percentage of Income, (Wallet Share)

Domestic and International Travel Incidence

Domestic and International Travel (Percentage of All Trips)

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

Travel Party Composition (Incidence Among Travelers)

Lodging, Air, Rail Traveler Incidence

Lodging, Air, Rail Traveler Incidence

Frequency by Lodging and Transportation Incidence

Trip Frequency by Lodging and Transportation Incidence

Trip Frequency by Lodging and Transportation* Incidence

Travel Product Consumption (Incidence Among Travelers)

Intentions for Travel Product Consumption

France: Usage of Lodging Types

Germany: Usage of Lodging Types

U.K.: Usage of Lodging Types

Leisure Destination Types (Incidence Among Travelers

Motivation for Last Trip to Selected Destination

Internet Usage in Destination Selection and Number of Websites Typically Used

Online Information Sources Used for Destination Selection (Last Trip)

Offline Information Sources Used for Destination Selection (Last Trip)

Websites Used for Destination Selection (Last Trip)

Internet Usage in Shopping and Number of Websites Typically Used to Shop

Online Information Sources Used in Shopping Phase

Offline Information Sources Used in Shopping Phase

Websites Used in Shopping Phase

Website Selection Criteria

Online Features Used During Travel Shopping (France)

Online Features Used During Travel Shopping (Germany)

Online Features Used During Travel Shopping (U.K.)

General Travel Booking Channels

Reasons to Book Leisure Travel Offline

Typical Purchase Methods for Lodging

Typical Purchase Methods for Airline Tickets

Typical Purchase Methods for Rail Tickets

Frequency of Mobile Internet Access

Frequency of Mobile Internet Access, by Age (Combined Markets)

Current and Future Mobile Phone Activities - France

Current and Future Mobile Phone Activities - Germany

Current and Future Mobile Phone Activities - U.K.

Methods for Sharing Travel Experiences

Participation in Social Networks

Time Spent on Preferred Social Network

Travel-Related Activities Conducted Through Online Social Networks

Websites Used to View Traveler-Submitted Ratings/Reviews

Methodology

PhoCusWright fielded an online consumer survey June 1 - June 6, 2012 through Global Market Insite, Inc., targeting the general French, German and U.K. population that has Internet access and travels 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 kilometers 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 2,614 qualified responses (France 878, Germany 892, U.K. 844) 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 5,749 adults. The error interval for analysis of the traveler population within each individual country is +/-3.4% for France and the U.K. and +/-3.3 for Germany 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 and Eurostat, PhoCusWright projects the number of adults with Internet access who have taken at least one leisure trip (as previously defined) to be 22 million in France, 31 million in Germany and 27 million in the U.K. in 2012. 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.