The Internet transcends the physical world in travel reservations

In 2020, the percentage of online travel bookings exceeded the percentage of bookings via traditional channels for the first time on the global average, exceeding 50%, and the curve continues to climb this year, with online purchases reaching about 53% in total. Nearly $400 trillion worldwide.

However, Latin America is one of the regions where the spread of online travel bookings lags behind the rest of the world. Last year, just over 40% of travel bookings were made via online travel agencies, direct channels or the like, while this year that rate was around 45%. Projections indicate that Latin America will not reach 50% of the internet share by 2024.

The only country where online participation is low is the United States. There, the internet has already accounted for at least half of bookings since 2018, peaking in 2020 with nearly 60% and share, but we can see a decrease in the level of penetration of online travel agencies and the like in the coming years, and the ramifications From an appreciation for the role of a traditional travel advisor.

Data and forecasts are from Phocuswright Consulting during LatAm/Talk 2021. “One of the effects of the pandemic on consumption habits is the increased involvement of the Internet in people’s lives, and it was no different with travel. In 2020, more than half of global bookings were made online,” That’s what Phocuswright Vice President Charuta Fadnis said. “In Latin America, we still see resistance to the channel online, but the rise is inevitable, from 39% in 2019 to about 48% in 2024.”

In financial terms, it moved nearly $700 trillion online in the pre-pandemic year, a number that will practically equal in 2023 and exceed in 2024, according to Phocuswright’s forecast. The CEO concludes that “there will be a 27.5% increase between 2020 and 2024 in bookings on online channels.”

Attention to the travel agent

However, COVID-19 has made many consumers in the world’s largest markets consider booking with traditional travel agencies more on their next vacation.

In addition to the US, where this movement has already started, there has been an increase in interest in offline channels in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.