Recently – as we do time to time – we've checked the traffic analytics of a mobile optimised website we developed for one of our customers and compared current figures with figures related to the previous website – which wasn't mobile friendly – over the same period. The figures couldn't be more eloquent and in symbiosis with the current trend in mobile. In particular the number of mobile visits to the bookings page has doubled and mobile now contributes by 63% to overall booking visits as a first interaction, contribution that remains high in consecutive interactions. As stated the results are as expected and comfort us with the idea we know what we do and that we're good at it. Nevertheless it's always good to step back a little bit and have a look at a wider picture to see if it makes sense. In this article we'll explore how mobile impacts on the travel industry in terms of bookings.
More people are planning and booking their travel online and are increasingly using mobile on their paths to purchase for hotels, flights, cruises, car rentals, trains and buses. As a matter of fact 47% of all travelers now start their travel planning from a mobile device. 40% of leisure travelers and 36% of business travelers use mobile search engines to find hotels and book overnight accommodation. Business travelers are more likely to actually book their travel on mobile. At last travel-related search queries are expected to increase by 68% from smartphones and 180% from tablets over this year.
At the light of the above and unsurprisingly it is obvious travel brands must provide a seamless experience across devices. Especially if they want to cash in on summer travelers who haven't yet booked as last minute bookings are quite successful amongst mobile travel shoppers. Actually some of the largest online travel companies already report a significant percentage of their bookings via mobile. And as for last minute bookings Orbitz noted over 70% of reservations coming through smartphones are being done within a day of check-in and Expedia reported that 68% of its mobile hotel reservations are done within 24 hours of the planned stay.
Go mobile! If you're involved in the tourism, hospitality or travel industry we can help you capitalize on mobile. Contact us today to get your website optimised for mobile.