Jan. 15, 2008

According to PhoCus Wright's Consumer Travel Trends Survey, overall, 2007 was the first year ever in which more travel was purchased online than offline in the United States.

The marketing research company said that about 51 percent of all U.S. travel was booked online last year.

It projected that this percentage could easily increase to 56 percent this year, and to about 60 percent next year.

Overall, PhoCusWright said that the gap between online and offline travel booking would continue to widen as more travelers shifted behavior to online shopping and buying.

On average, Internet travel booking is used mainly for trips with few parts, like airline tickets.

Vacation packages and other similar trips with a higher "number of parts" are increasingly being purchased offline.

Source: eMarketer