Many more people are using their mobile devices to book holidays online, according to a new study conducted by the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), a UK-based travel agency association.
When travellers were asked to comment on how they booked their holidays, around one in four, or 24 percent, reported using a mobile phone or tablet device, such as an iPad, and around 89 percent reported using a computer, rather than a travel agent or a tour operator.
Around 14 percent used their mobile phone to book a foreign holiday on-line, while 10 percent claimed to have used a tablet device. For domestic bookings online, 8 percent used a tablet device and 12 percent used their mobile phone. These results appear to indicate the importance to travel agents and tour operators of offering mobile apps compatible with such devices.
Victoria Bacon, the head of communications at ABTA, said, ‘When it comes to booking a holiday it’s clear that consumers want choice. Whether it’s booking face-to-face on the high street or booking on the go on a mobile phone. Travel agents and tour operators need to ensure that they have the right tools and technologies to market their products and offer consumers the option to book and browse, through a range of different methods.’
Around 47 percent of the younger generation, aged from 15 to 24 years, used mobile devices to book a holiday online in the last 12 months. By comparison, only 11 percent of travellers in the age group of 45 years and above used their mobile devices to book online.
The report also suggests that men are more likely to book using mobile devices, with 30 percent of them having done so in the last 12 months, compared to 17 percent of women.
