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Reading Between The Links: Why Travelers Use General Search Engines Product Image

Reading Between The Links: Why Travelers Use General Search Engines

  • Published: June 2012
  • Region: United States
  • 28 Pages
  • PhoCusWright

For many consumers, general search engines like Google and Yahoo! have become indispensable gateways to the online universe. Most would be lost without them. And travelers are no exception. Despite their familiarity with (and often, loyalty to) countless household travel brands, travelers still flock to search engines when they plan their trips online. But even with millions of daily search users, stiff competition remains for travel companies seeking to tap into this vast stream of potential customers. Understanding the role that general search engines play in the travel shopping and buying process is vital in order to leverage the channel successfully. What motivates consumers to use search? What types of activities are most common? What travel content do they search for and why?

Reading Between the Links: Why Travelers Use General Search Engines explores the role of general search engines in the travel planning process. The report provides an overview of travelers' search engine brand usage, motives for using search, travel products searched for and more. Based on a survey of more than 2,000 U.S. travelers that was conducted as part of PhoCusWright's Consumer Travel Report READ MORE >

Section 1: Overview, Methodology and Research Highlights

Section 2: Search Engine Usage

Section 3: Attitudes and Perceptions Around Search

Section 4: Motivators and De-Motivators for Search Usage

Section 5: Travel Products Searched

Appendix: Demographical Information

LIST OF TABLES

General Purpose and Travel Related Search, by Search Engine

Search Brand Usage for Travel Planning

General Purpose and Travel-Related Search, by Age

Frequency of Search Engine Use to Plan Trips

Frequency of Travel-Related Search, by Frequency of Travel

Dependence on Search Engines, by Age

Agreement With Travel Planning Statement

Websites Used for Shopping, by General Search Orientation

Factors That Contribute to Search Engine Use for Travel Planning

Reasons for Not Using Search Engines to Plan Travel

Travel Components Researched Using Search Engines

Travel-Related Activities Conducted Using Search

General Demographics - Employment Status & Gender

Household Composition

Education and Age

Income

PhoCusWright fielded an online consumer survey January 13-23, 2011 through Global Market Insite, Inc., targeting the general U.S. adult population who has Internet access and travels for leisure.

To qualify for participation in the study, respondents had to indicate they had taken at least one leisure trip at least 75 miles from home in the past 12 months that included paid lodging and/or air travel. An additional screener required consumers to have played an active role in planning their leisure trips. Respondents who qualified are referred to as "U.S. travelers." The term "lodging" is used in this report to refer to the broad range of paid accommodations - hotels and other nightly priced lodging products, as well as timeshares and vacation rentals. To simplify references to travelers who use general search engines to plan travel, this report refers to these respondents as "travel searchers."

PhoCusWright received 2,010 qualified responses, and the weighted respondent pool can be projected with confidence to the U.S. adult population with Internet access. A total of 4,915 respondents were surveyed to obtain baseline metrics about travelers and nontravelers within the general online population. The error interval for analysis of the U.S. traveler population is +/-2.19% 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 and Pew Research, PhoCusWright projects the number of U.S. adults with Internet access who have taken at least one leisure trip (as previously defined) to be 115 million people in 2011. These travelers represent 48% of the total U.S. population. The additional requirement for respondents to have played an active role in travel planning further tightens the focus of the study, as 18% of travelers were consequently disqualified. PhoCusWright's Consumer Travel Report Fourth Edition examines travelers who played an active role in planning their trips.

Format Properties
Electronic (PDF) The report will be emailed to you. The report is sent in PDF format. This is a single user license, allowing one specific user access to the product.
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