38+ Online Travel Booking Statistics (Latest 2023 Figures)

Online travel booking popular questions

What percentage of bookings are made online?

By 2019, 57% of all travel bookings were made online. Meanwhile, 68% of all sales in travel & tourism are made online in 2022.

What is the most popular travel booking site?

Booking.com was the most globally visited travel and tourism website in May 2022, when it received 564 million visits.

Which are the two largest online travel agencies worldwide?

In May 2022, Booking.com and Tripadvisor received around 564 million and 167 million visits, respectively.

How much is the global online travel sales?

In 2018, global online travel sales made $694 billion, a 10.4% increase compared to the previous year

Online travel booking main findings

• Online sales will generate 73% of revenue in the travel & tourism sector by 2026
• Among the many online travel agencies worldwide, Booking reported the highest revenue in 2021
• Marketplace bookings experienced a dramatic increase from 3.2% in 2017 to 9.1% in 2018, while direct online booking fell from 79.2% to 66.7%
• 39% of users would download an app over using the mobile website because of the speed, while 30% enjoy the increased functionality of a mobile app
• 4 in 5 hotel customers who have been asked to leave a review do so
• Between 2016 and 2021, the portion of online travel sales via mobile has been steadily increasing compared to desktop or laptop, from only 36% to nearly 50% of all digital travel sales
• Around 50% of users in 2020 claimed that they made more last-minute travel bookings during the pandemic

Online travel booking market

What percentage of travel bookings are made online?

1. According to Statista, online sales will generate 73% of revenue in the travel & tourism sector by 2026.

[Statista]

Online travel booking is continuously taking up the travel booking market, and Statista estimates that by 2026, online sales will make up 73% of all revenue in travel and tourism.

2. In 2021, the online travel market size worldwide was $432 billion.

[Statista]

The latest data on the global online travel agent industry stated that the market size in 2020 was $432 billion.

3. This figure is predicted to rise to $690.71 billion in 2026.

[Statista]

And with the rise of the digital nomad movement, the Internet will continue to play an increasingly large role in the travel industry.

4. In 2018, global online travel sales made $694 billion, a 10.4% increase compared to the previous year.

[JerseyIslandHolidays]

5. By 2019, 57% of all travel bookings were made online.

[Medium]

Travel bookings include accommodation, flight, tour, and other related activities.

6. Even back in 2012, 9 in 10 people researched their holiday online before making reservations, whereas 8 in 10 booked their holiday online.

[TravelWeekly]

Online travel booking has been a huge thing this past decade. In 2012, 90% of people conducted online research before booking their holidays. Meanwhile, 80% of people did their bookings online.

Online travel companies

What are the leading online travel agencies in the world?

7. Among the many online travel agencies worldwide, Booking reported the highest revenue in 2021.

[Statista]

In 2021, Booking.com was the online travel agency with the highest revenue.

8. Their revenue has consistently increased from $1.41 billion in 2007 to a record high of $15.07 billion in 2019.

[Statista]

9. In 2021, Airbnb has a market cap of $104,254 million, making it the global market leader.

[Statista]

In terms of the online travel company market, Airbnb dominated with $91.22 billion in market capitalization.

10. The second place goes to Booking.com with a market cap of $98,521 million.

[Statista]

Meanwhile, Booking.com has the second highest market capitalization with $98,521 million.

11. In the US in 2018, Tripadvisor used to be the leading travel website as it attracted 18% of all online users.

[Statista]

12. Hotels.com ranked fourth at 11%, while Booking.com and Expedia placed sixth and seventh with 9% each.

[Statista]

13. Booking.com was the most globally visited travel and tourism website in May 2022, when it received 564 million visits.

[Statista]

In terms of website visits, Booking.com is the most visited travel and tourism website in the world. It received 564 million visits in May 2022 alone.

14. With 167 million visits in May 2022, Tripadvisor is the second most visited travel and tourism website worldwide.

[Statista]

Online travel booking trend

How many people make travel bookings online?

15. The majority of travellers in the US claim that they’d spend less than a week researching once they have decided to travel.

[Facebook IQ]

Most travellers from the US spend less than a week researching their travels.

16. The most popular day of the week for people to book trips on is Monday, while Saturday is the least popular.

[TrekkSoft]

TrekkSoft referred to 3 random data points between August and September 2019.

17. Meanwhile, the busiest time of day for booking is 10am CET. 6am CET is usually the least busy time.

[TrekkSoft]

18. Marketplace bookings experienced a dramatic increase from 3.2% in 2017 to 9.1% in 2018, while direct online booking fell from 79.2% to 66.7%.

[TrekkSoft]

From 2017 to 2018, there was a significant increase in marketplace booking from 3.2% to 9.1%. On the other hand, less people booked directly on travel accommodation and company websites (from 79.2% to 66.7%).

19. By 2023, 700 million guests will book hotel rooms online.

[JerseyIslandHolidays]

It is estimated that 700 million guests will be booking their hotel rooms online by 2023.

Mobile and app travel booking

How do mobile travel bookings compare with app bookings?

20. 39% of users would download an app over using the mobile website because of the speed, while 30% enjoy the increased functionality of a mobile app.

[SaleCycle]

Two of the most popular benefits of mobile apps compared to websites are the increased speed and functionality.

21. 1 in 5 users also report better user experience as a major reason for downloading a travel booking app.

[SaleCycle]

20% of users also report that they download travel booking apps because of the better user experience.

22. Moreover, 11% download the app for the reward and discount the company offers.

[SaleCycle]

Meanwhile, only 11% of users download a travel booking app for the reward and discounts they get.

23. Between 2016 and 2021, the portion of online travel sales via mobile has been steadily increasing compared to desktop or laptop, from only 36% to nearly 50% of all digital travel sales.

[FatBit]

The last 5 years have been an important period for the growth of online travel sales via mobile as it increased from 36% to almost 50% of all digital travel sales.

24. In 2018, 82% of travel bookings were online either through websites or mobile applications.

[JerseyIslandHolidays]

25. Nearly half (48%) of mobile phone users would be happy to book and plan a trip to a new place only using their mobile device.

[JerseyIslandHolidays]

26. The conversion rate for bookings made via mobile phone is only 0.7%, less than half of bookings made through desktop at a 2.4% conversion rate.

[JerseyIslandHolidays]

People are more likely to go through with their bookings when accessing websites through desktop (2.4% conversion rate) than mobile (0.7%).

27. 46% of all solo travellers make their hotel bookings by mobile.

[Phocus Wire]

Online travel booking is very important for solo travellers. In fact, 46% rely on mobile apps and access to book their hotels.

Reviews in online travel booking

How many customers leave reviews when booking travels online?

28. 4 in 5 hotel customers who have been asked to leave a review do so.

[SaleCycle]

29. Meanwhile, 22% of customers would write a review without being requested.

[SaleCycle]

22% of hotel customers always leave a review without being asked.

30. 95% of all reviews by travellers are positive.

[SaleCycle]

An overwhelming majority (95%) of hotel reviews by customers are positive.

31. Tripadvisor’s report states that 96% of users think that reading reviews is important for their booking process.

[TripAdvisor]

83% of users usually refers to reviews before deciding on a hotel, while 76% depends on guest-uploaded travel photos for decisions.

32. According to SaleCycle, 54% of guests have written at least one review in the last 12 months.

[SaleCycle]

More than half of all guests have written at least one review in the last year.

Coronavirus and online travel booking

How did the Covid-19 pandemic affect the online travel booking sector?

33. Booking.com’s revenue dropped from $15 billion in 2019 to only $6.8 billion in 2020.

[Statista]

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused Booking.com’s revenue to decrease by more than half in 2020, to just $6.8 billion.

34. Expedia, the online travel agency making the second highest revenue, experienced a similar decrease from $12 billion the previous year to around $5.2 billion in 2020.

[Statista]

35. Tripadvisor’s revenue fell by almost 55% from $1.56 billion in 2019 to $604 million in 2020.

[Statista]

The popular travel destination and accommodation website, Tripadvisor, also saw a dramatic 55% decrease in revenue from $1.56 billion in 2019 to $604 million in 2020..

36. Around 50% of users in 2020 claimed that they made more last-minute travel bookings during the pandemic.

[Statista]

The future of online travel booking

What will online travel booking look like in the future?

37. According to SaleCycle, 30% of guests in a hotel who interact with a Chatbot would spend more than those who don’t.

[SaleCycle]

Chatbots in hotel websites can play a crucial role in customer spending.

38. Almost 7 in 10 travellers use voice search technology when planning their trip.

[SaleCycle]

70% of all travellers worldwide use voice search technology during the planning stage of their trip, and it’s reasonable to assume that this percentage would increase.

39. 67% of high-income tourists choose to spend money on experiences over expensive hotel rooms.

[SaleCycle]

A majority of high-income tourists claim they would choose to spend more money on travel experiences than expensive hotel rooms.

40. 73% of tourists say that they plan to stay in an eco-friendly accommodation within the next year.

[SaleCycle]

Wrap up

To conclude, it’s safe to say that online travel booking will only grow and become more prevalent. 

As we expect the market size to increase and take over traditional booking methods, travel-related businesses would benefit from developing their online booking system, especially where corporate and business travel is concerned.

Among the many online travel companies worldwide, Booking.com was the one to record the highest revenue back in 2020. 

Meanwhile, Tripadvisor leads in terms of website visits as it became the most visited travel and tourism website.

While revenue for most companies had fallen due to the Coronavirus pandemic, this was to be expected as other businesses also experienced a decrease during this trying time.

At the same time, people have made more last-minute travel decisions in this pandemic era.

We can easily assume that online websites and mobile apps play a crucial role in their planning and booking.

We hope these statistics have been useful to help you understand more about online travel booking! 

Did we miss any important information? 

Drop your comments and thoughts down below.

Interested in our other statistic guides?

• Europe Travel & Tourism Statistics
• Female Travel Statistics
• Family Travel & Tourism Statistics
• RV Industry Statistics

Sources:

• Statista 1
• Statista 2
• Statista 3
• Statista 4
• Statista 5
• Statista 6
• Statista 7
• Travel Weekly
• Trip Advisor
• FatBit
• Phocus Wire
• SaleCycle
• Facebook IQ
• TrekkSoft
• Medium