eMarketer: 2013 Western European Online Travel Trends Survey

Overall, the online travel market in Europe is in a state of steady and slow growth, but the explosion of the travel market in some countries makes them stand out from the rest of the region. According to the latest eMarketer "Western European Online Travel Trends" survey report, although the overall development of the traveler consumption model is becoming more mature, there are obvious differences among travel consumers in the four major European markets of France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

eMarketer has analyzed tourism as a separate sector from B2C e-commerce in four major European countries. Given the maturity of e-commerce in France and Germany, eMarketer estimates that other retail sectors are growing faster than the travel market. However, tourism still accounts for 21% of the B2C market size in Germany and France this year. At the same time, we predict that Italy and Spain, where e-commerce markets lag slightly behind Germany and France, will see tourism grow at a similar rate as other retail sectors in the e-commerce market. Currently, tourism accounts for 50% and 60% of the B2C e-commerce market size in Italy and Spain, respectively, and these two figures are expected to remain until 2017.

Overview of B2C e-commerce and online travel in the four countries from 2011 to 2017 (currency units are in billions; percentages are the proportion of online travel market to B2C market)
The statistical items of each country are as follows from top to bottom: B2C e-commerce sales; online travel sales; online travel market as a percentage of B2C

　　Mobile applications are driving the growth of online travel. European consumers have a strong preference for using the internet to research travel, so digital touchpoints are indeed key customer communication channels, regardless of how they ultimately complete travel transactions. There is a gap between online travel research and online booking in the European market, and mobile has the potential to narrow the gap, especially as consumers purchase transportation and accommodation products more frequently during their travels.

According to eMarketer estimates, by 2015, more than half of the population in France, Germany, Italy and Spain will own a smartphone. However, so far, there are differences in the extent to which smartphone users in the four countries use their phones for travel-related operations.

One of the most notable things about the major European markets is that Spain has become one of the first countries to popularize smartphone travel booking. In September 2013, Expedia and Egencia conducted a survey of more than 8,000 consumers in four countries. The results showed that Spain ranked first in smartphone booking. In the 12 months before the survey, Spanish netizens had the highest proportion of leisure travel products booked via mobile phones (12%), and the proportion of business travel bookings via mobile phones was tied with France for the first place (14%). In contrast, only 4% of German netizens booked leisure travel products via smartphones in the past 12 months.

Internet users in the four countries used smartphones to book travel products in September 2013 Red: business travel Black: leisure travel

However, the report is optimistic about the overall prospects of mobile booking in the European market. Stefan Menden, founder of JustBook, said: "Consumers are increasingly inclined to last-minute experiences, and their consumption behavior patterns are more flexible. So they will not make too many travel plans in advance. Once consumers try (mobile booking), they will find that hotel reservations, restaurant reservations, taxi calls, car rentals and everything else that needed to be arranged in advance can be completed on the go."

The report, titled "European Online Travel Trends: The Next Powerhouse - Mobile," also answers the following questions:

• In the e-commerce markets of France, Germany, Italy and Spain, how does tourism relate to other retail sectors?

• What is the most popular type of travel website in Europe?

• How does the financial situation affect the online travel market in Europe?

• What barriers exist to competition in the European online travel market?

Source: Travel Weekly