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Online tools, technologies and apps have already become integral parts of the travel industry and the typical consumer's decision-making path. But how effective are digital technologies at moving the needle on travel buying behavior, and do they help brands foster deeper relationships with travelers? This Analysis examines the impact of and differences between key digital technologies used in travel, including mobile, location-based services, personalization technology and more.
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While the U.S. economy showed clear signs of recovery in 2012, there were enough mixed signals to make vacation decisions difficult for many Americans. Through a longitudinal analysis, PhoCusWright's U.S. Consumer Travel Report Fifth Edition examines traveler behavior along each step of the travel planning process - from the media travelers rely on to make destination and product decisions, to the channels they use to book and share their trip experiences. Key metrics include frequency and duration of trips, travel expenditure and travel component purchases, and travel intentions for the coming year.
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Nearly two thirds of U.S. online travelers now own a smartphone, one third own a tablet and nearly a fourth own both. Rapid adoption of mobile devices among travelers is impacting every phase of the travel process, and mobile is becoming the new battleground for travel companies seeking to grow market share. This report provides a detailed assessment of the U.S. mobile travel market, including consumer behavior trends, mobile market sizing and projections for key travel segments.
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Until recently, travel companies' online strategies could be comfortably confined to the desktop web. However, the explosion in consumer electronics, mobile technology and social media have transformed the online experience, making it extremely challenging to address the market with a single, mainstream strategy. Mobile devices, tablets and still-evolving social platforms have changed the way travelers connect, plan and share their experiences. PhoCusWright's Traveler Technology Survey 2012 provides travel companies and marketers a comprehensive view of how the latest devices, mobile functionality and social networks are shaping the consumer travel planning process.
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As travelers hop from site to site cobbling together their perfect trips, their mouse clicks yield important clues to the shifting dynamics of the online travel marketplace. PhoCusWright partnered with New York-based Experian Hitwise to identify key trends influencing how consumers plan travel online. PhoCusWright's U.S. Online Travel Traffic Report analyzes the most important categories in the travel vertical, revealing traffic patterns for both transactional and nontransactional travel websites and providing a top-level view of visitation and both upstream and downstream traffic.
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While the economy - and the travel industry - didn't improve as much in 2012 as everyone hoped, U.S. travelers remain resilient. PhoCusWright's U.S. Online Travel Overview Twelfth Edition hashes out the impact of the current economic uncertainty on the industry and delves into the dynamics of the industry's near future. In addition to market sizing and growth forecasts by travel segment and distribution channel - including mobile - the report tracks the technology trends that will shape the industry through 2014.
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The stats for August were fine. Hotel occupancy was up strongly, after posting a nothing-to-brag-about increase of less than 1 percentage point in July. ADRs rose, RevPAR was up and airplanes continued to run more than 85% full. So far, so good. Then Spain's budget came out, rioters hit the streets, and we were all reminded that the macro cloud hanging over businesses of all kind hasn't gone anywhere. Priceline shares, always sensitive to Europe, shed more than 1%. Other travel shares also gave up gains from earlier in the month.
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The second quarter of 2012 was challenging for U.S. public online travel agencies (OTAs) – Expedia, Orbitz and Priceline. While domestic business was resilient for most, relatively weak travel demand in Europe meant that growth from overseas operations was muted across the board.
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With uncertainty still lingering over many of the world's economies, consumers have grown increasingly careful about their travel spending. A range of influences and information sources impact how consumers decide where to go, and travel behavior varies considerably across different markets. This report explores how the process of destination selection is evolving, and in particular how this process differs between travelers in the U.S., France, Germany and the U.K.
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Does online travel know something other industries don't, or is the category whistling before an economic storm? It's an interesting question as we look at June's data, plus stock prices and some earnings reports coming in during July. Early earnings performance from Expedia was excellent, and the hotels are doing well (though hotel stocks are weakening) and the airlines are benefitting from cheaper fuel, higher load factors and a general, welcome discipline that comes from having been whipsawed by cycles before. And yet ... the question is whether – or how long – this can last in the face of a weakening economy and a looming fiscal cliff.
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