eMarketer: In Brazil, nearly a quarter of travel products are sold online

Converting digital and mobile researchers into buyers remains a challenge

According to the eMarketer report "Digital Tourism in Brazil: More Browsing, Less Booking", leisure tourism in Brazil is also growing rapidly. Higher incomes and the development of the Internet have brought many middle-class leisure travelers to the market, and also promoted consumption by experienced and wealthy tourists.

Many Brazilian consumers search and plan their travels online, and the click-through rates of online travel companies, air tickets and hotel websites have increased. However, online travel searchers are not necessarily online travel product buyers. Due to concerns about personal safety and security, many people will hesitate when it comes to actual booking.

However, about a quarter of tourism spending in Brazil occurs online, and as consumers become more accustomed to online bookings, this share will rise. At the same time, due to the FIFA World Cup, which will be held in 12 host cities, total tourism spending is expected to surge in 2014, especially in this football-crazy country, with a growth rate of 34.2%.

If a country has a lot of new users coming online with mobile phones, then mobile networks will have a significant impact on tourism. But now, most mobile tourism activities seem to stop at pre-booking and constant searching.

Brazilians aged between 20 and 24 use mobile devices when traveling. The higher penetration among younger consumers, coupled with the high travel spending trends of younger groups, “points to an important relationship where marketers can target their advertising and promotions,” said Sam Thompson, TripAdvisor’s commercial director for the Americas.

A January 2013 study for the same project found that 59% of Internet users in Brazil browse the web via a mobile device while they travel, and 44% use mobile devices to find local activities.

In Brazil, the challenge for travel suppliers is to convert those mobile travel researchers into buyers. “The rapid development of the Internet and mobile networks in Brazil has generated a lot of demand, but suppliers have not kept pace and launched shopping experiences that can convert consumers to mobile platforms,” said Bruce Hogan, director of Hotel Urbano.