Online travel operators see major drop in traffic

US travelers are not only flying less as economic conditions worsen, they’re also spending less time online looking for the best travel deals, leading to a sharp drop in traffic for online travel sites, including Expedia.

By October, consumers are typically beginning to plan their winter getaways, making the month one of the year’s busiest when it comes to Internet travel site traffic, according to analysts.

That’s not happening this year, as October was the month that saw consumer confidence reaching all-time lows, and travel website visitor numbers dropped by 14 percent from the previous year, to 38.2 million. As reported by ComScore Inc., web traffic dropped significantly for most all major airline sites as well.

The sites hardest hit of all were the three online powerhouses that typically dominate bookings. Expedia saw traffic plunge by 25 percent, down to 18.2 million visitors, Travelocity saw a drop of 16 percent, and Orbitz, 23 percent.

Up until now, these three online booking sites have seen traffic grow exponentially, even in the post-September 11 period when many consumers began to turn to the Internet in search of travel bargains.

“The economy and industry outlook for the fourth quarter has deteriorated markedly over the past six weeks,” said president and chief executive of Orbitz, Steven Barnhart.

Thanks to seattletimes.nwsource.com for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.

www.comscore.com