Study: European Net Travel Market Surging

Echoing the success U.S. online travel companies have enjoyed, data released Thursday by Jupiter MMXI said that European travel Web sites are also seeing a surging demand for their services.

According to the research firm, the number of consumers visiting travel sites in Europe spiked by almost 4 million between November and April.

In Europe's three largest markets -- the UK, France and Germany -- unique users increased by almost 1 million each, to hit a total of over 10 million visitors during the six-month period. Moreover, the report said that travel sites in these three countries had between a 27 percent and 30 percent audience reach.

"With providers of all models of transport now active online, it is no surprise that European consumers are now using the Internet for information about timetables and destinations," said Jupiter MMXI analyst Nick Jones. "It is also clear that consumers are comfortable purchasing lower price travel products, such as airline tickets."

Surf's Up

Jupiter also said that a clear seasonal trend has emerged in travel surfing behavior, with consumers spending more time on travel sites during peak holiday times than on retail and news sites.

Web sites offering both information and tickets, especially for air and rail travel, are particularly popular across Europe. In the UK, online travel sites Easyjet.com, BritishAirways.com and Railtrack.co.uk all rank within the top 10 Internet travel destinations.

To build greater market share, some European Internet travel agencies have taken steps to merge their operations with competitors. For example, Lastminute.com acquired France's largest e-travel group, Degriftour, last August in a deal valued at US$89 million. The takeover made Lastminute.com the second-largest online travel agency in Europe.

Among all European travel sites charted in Jupiter's report, Lastminute.com was the only site to appear in the top 10 in the UK, France, Germany, Sweden, Italy and Spain.

Aiming Higher

Although European online travel firms have already begun building a customer base, Jupiter said that they must now persuade users to make more expensive purchases.

"To maximize this opportunity, package operators must escape the brochure mentality that has left consumers sifting through poor quality information on their Web sites," Jupiter MMXI said.

For instance, the report said it is "crucial" for travel sites to enable customers to easily gather, compare and share information about package travel components.

Flight Forecasts

Jupiter's findings dovetail with other recent studies that have forecast strong growth in the European travel sector.

A report released earlier this year by Internet travel measurement firm PhoCusWright predicted that the continent's online travel market will mushroom nearly 300 percent, from the $2.9 billion racked up in sales last year to $10.9 billion in 2002.

According to PhoCusWright, a number of key factors have gotten the industry ready for precipitous growth, including: increased Web and wireless device usage rates, beefed-up online bill payment options, and enhanced security and privacy measures.

In addition, the measurement firm pointed to the wider adoption of flat-rate Net access payment plans as a factor likely to boost online travel services.