Seven out of ten Germans above the age of 14 having internet access compare prices of holiday trips online before booking and 25% book their trips or parts of them over the internet. In absolute figures this corresponds to 15 million German people. For the companies of the German tourist industry this means that they have to re-align their business with end customers.
The above figures were disclosed by the German Association for Information Management, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM) and the VIR association in Berlin. These figures are based on the “Journey analysis 2008” survey in the course of which 7800 Germans were questioned.
Hotel and flight bookings are at the top of the online booking list. Thus, 4.5 million Germans booked accommodation and 3 million flight tickets over the internet last year. 2.6 million internet users booked a complete trip. The internet is furthermore used for buying other kinds of transportation tickets and renting a car.
The percentage of online bookers has significantly increased over recent years. In the year 2003 just 6% of Germans booked online while in 2008 this percentage had risen to 38%. Even higher is the importance of the internet when it comes to gathering information. Thus, the planning of almost each holiday trip has its starting point on the internet. 72% of users go online in order to collect information on their holiday trips. In this respect general information on holiday destination as well as price comparisons are most sought after. In the year 2003 the percentage of German with internet access who used the net for gathering vacation information had amounted to just 17%.
A 30 page brochure called “Data and facts on the online holiday market 2008” by the VIR association containing figures and analyses on the tourist market is available for free-of-charge download. 