A recent statistic published by eMarketer.com and attributed to Merrill Lynch, stated that online travel sales are projected to account for 30 percent of all travel sales in 2005, up from 25 percent in 2004 and 21 percent in 2003.

Jupiter believes that online travel sales will hit $91 billion in 2009... one out of every three travel bookings. That's a gigantic 70 percent increase from 2004.

The real news is that the major growth will not come from the big online travel agencies but rather the suppliers own web sites. Their market share in online travel sales is expected to grow a whopping 60%.

What does this mean for DMOs and hotels?
It means that the timing is right to develop a smart, long-term strategy for an Interactive program. Search marketing is key right now, but there are other marketing tactics that are vital to make up the whole online success picture. When we are called in to develop a plan for a DMO or hotel, we always perform a deep assessment and comparison study and set some benchmarks first. A SWOT analysis is vital. We develop the strategic plan after we have the data and analysis we need. It is vital to know how you measure up with your competitive set and how you need to draw the map to get to real online success.

The time is now. DMOs and hotels you can take your share of the online sales. But you have to plan your work and work your plan.

Leah

USDM.net, "Online-Offline Media Budget Allocations and Interactive Technology Drivers," July 21, 2005

Posted at 11:26 AM