Travel Advertising Statistics and Forecast 2008

Travel advertisers turn to the Internet to fill seats, cars, and hotel rooms. Research presented to the travel industry by JupiterResearch finds 94 percent of the sector sees strong return on investment in online advertising, versus TV and radio (3 percent) and print (3 percent).

“Almost a third of the money from travel marketers spending will be online for 2008,” said Emily Riley, senior analyst at JupiterResearch.

In 2008 budgets, 20 percent of advertisers in the travel vertical said they plan to spend $10 million or more online. A slightly smaller group, 10 percent, said they will spend between $5 million and $10 million. Twenty-seven percent said they will likely spend between $1 million and $5 million on advertising in the travel sector.

“Travel spending is going to increase from the marketer’s side significantly,” said Riley, adding that the total spend online for travel will be close to $2 billion in 2008 and will reach $4 billion by 2013. “[Advertisers] see where the ROI is, where the consumer goes, and the money that follows.”

The primary goals of travel advertisers are to generate sales (87 percent); generate leads (37 percent); increase purchase intent (37 percent); build brand awareness (27 percent); build customer loyalty (17 percent). Survey respondents were able to select three choices from a list of 10 options.

Data are based on a survey and research conducted by JupiterResearch, Insight Express, and Google Travel Executive Survey.