Online Travel Market Trends

Online Travel Market Overview

The Online Travel Market is projected to grow from USD 658.38 billion in 2024 to USD 955.41 billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8% during the forecast period (2024 - 2032). Additionally, the market size for online travel was valued at USD 599.27 billion in 2023.

Shifts in consumer behavior, social media, rising disposable income, increased government initiatives to spread tourism, and a growing inclination toward adventure travel ly are key factors driving the growth of the online travel market revenue.

Figure 1: Online Travel Market Size, 2024-2032 (USD Billion)

Source: Secondary Research, Primary Research, MRFR Database, and Analyst Review

Online Travel Market Trends

Higher mobilization rate amongst people to drive market growth

The growing consumer awareness in developing countries is expected to fuel growth in the online travel market. Growth is steady in countries with an existing consumer database; however, more growth is expected in regions with many untapped consumers. With the market penetration of IT and the internet, market revenue is expected to reach new heights. Another factor is the increase in the number of international students who opt to study in international colleges to gain more exposure. For instance, more than 1.1 million students from India were studying in 85 other nations as of January 2021. According to official statistics from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, the United Kingdom was home to over 605,130 students from backgrounds outside the country. In 2021, it was estimated that more than 30% of international students were of Chinese descent.

Online travel agencies (OTAs) provide market insights and tools for attracting tourists, securing, and processing reservations, communicating with guests, and managing reviews. In addition, the internet offers virtual representations such as 3D interactive tours to give a clear impression of the travel destinations, allowing an indirect experience beyond traditional travel agencies' capabilities. As a result, the conventional booking method through travel agents has transformed into a quick, last-minute booking strategy made possible by information & communication technologies (ICTs). This results in a positive outlook for the market revenue and the growing appeal of solo travel. The rapid development of communication and transportation and the rising number of business travelers worldwide are expected to aid the market's expansion in the upcoming years.

Online Travel Market Segment Insights

Online Travel Platform Type Insights

The online travel market segmentation, based on platform type, includes mobile/tablets based and desktop based. The mobile/tablets-based segment held the majority share in 2021, contributing to around ~52-55% of the online travel market revenue. This can be credited to increased mobile and internet usage and penetration worldwide. The busy schedules of young, working consumers and the availability of reputable online travel agencies are also contributing to the market's expansion. The segment's growth is further attributed to marketplace platforms' easy and quick travel, hotel bookings, and extensive service offerings via mobile applications. Additionally, quick, mobile-friendly, and easy-to-use smartphone applications are being released by travel booking agencies, accelerating the segment's market growth over the forecast period.

Online Travel Mode of Booking Insights

The online travel market segmentation, based on the booking mode, includes online travel agencies and direct travel facilitators. Online travel agencies dominated the market in 2021 and are expected to be the fastest-growing segment over the forecast period, 2022-2030, driven by an increase in people booking travel packages, hotel bookings, and other services through online travel agencies due to the tailored experience and convenience. Additionally, major initiatives by market players, like online advertising campaigns and social media ads, are anticipated to entice potential customers to initiate their booking process through the online booking mode, which is predicted to accelerate industry growth. In addition, ization has driven the market in recent years, increasing the middle class in developing economies and rising disposable income.

Online Travel Service Type Insights

The online travel market segmentation, based on the service type, includes transportation, accommodation, and vacation packages. Transportation accounted for the largest market share in 2021, largely due to trends in rising consumer spending, urbanization, broadband accessibility rates in emerging market economies, and a growing propensity for travel among the world's emerging affluent class. The market's growth is driven by an increase in online booking for buses, trains, and flights. Additionally, the preference for travel for different reasons, such as business and adventure, across Asian nations like China and India has increased the demand for online travel booking in these regions, supporting industry growth over the forecast period.

Figure 2: Online Travel Market, by Service Type, 2021 & 2030 (USD Billion)

Source: Secondary Research, Primary Research, MRFR Database, and Analyst Review

Online Travel Regional Insights

By Region, the study provides market insights into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the World. The Asia Pacific online travel market is expected to grow at a significant CAGR during the study period, accounting for USD 451.93 billion in 2021. Increased spending power and higher living standards are major factors attracting people to the travel & tourism sector, fueling regional online travel market growth. Furthermore, regional economic growth, the convenience of travel restrictions, growing competition, and aggressive promotion techniques used by the sector's involved players have significantly encouraged and accelerated the group travel business, which is expected to accelerate the online travel industry growth over the assessment period.

Moreover, the major countries studied in the market report include the United States, Germany, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, India, Australia, Japan, South Korea, China, and Brazil.

Figure 3: ONLINE TRAVEL MARKET SHARE BY REGION 2021 (%)

Source: Secondary Research, Primary Research, MRFR Database, and Analyst Review

The European online travel market is the second largest in the world due to increasing income levels across the region, an enhanced business environment in European nations, and government initiatives to encourage tourism and travel activities. Besides, there is a high demand for travel tourism because Europeans enjoy exploring new areas. Moreover, this region's growing number of independent/solo travelers and the expanding number of online travel agencies are expected to fuel growth during the forecast timeline. Further, the Italy online travel market held the largest market share, and the German online travel market was the fastest-growing market in the European region.

The North American Online Travel Market is anticipated to expand at the fastest CAGR from 2022 to 2030, with the United States leading the regional market share. The dominance of this region can be attributed to its strict licensing laws, higher travel and tourism expenditures, extensive use of digital media, and higher consumer spending power. The increase is expected to be fueled by an increasing number of international students who prefer to continue their education in the United States. Canada is becoming a popular destination for international settlers looking to relocate to another country. The Canadian government has made significant investments to encourage more migrants to settle there, which serves as a revenue-generating factor for expanding the regional market.

Online Travel Key Market Players & Competitive Insights

The major players in the online travel market have implemented various developmental strategies to grow their market share, boost profitability, and maintain market dominance. Online travel industry players are releasing new and improved mobile applications that entice young travelers with amazing travel deals and hassle-free booking. Most young travelers also prefer booking their travel online via a mobile device due to its usability, comfort, and accessibility. Market players are increasingly providing travelers with a wide selection of hotels at affordable prices. Customers compare accommodation options across various websites to find the best deal.

Key industry players rely on strategies like introducing new services and company expansion to grow their market shares and stay in the spotlight in the online travel booking sector. Furthermore, leading online travel booking companies focuses on aggressive promotional activities such as advertising online & television (TV), billboards & sponsorships, social media, and other promotional strategies.

Thomas Cook Group PLC (UK) is an online travel agency that provides package holidays, hotel-only stays, city breaks, and other services to destinations worldwide. In October 2020, Thomas Cook and Accor, a leader in augmented hospitality, entered into a partnership. The companies would launch Holiday Safe together as part of this collaboration. The launch would focus on reassuring customers with comprehensive health and safety protocols incorporated through Thomas Cook India, SOTC's Assured Safe Travel Program, Apollo Clinics, and Accor's Cleanliness and Prevention ALLSAFE label established with and vetted by Bureau Veritas.

Also, Expedia Group Inc (US) operates as an online travel agency. It offers a wide range of services, such as reserving hotel rooms, airline seats, rental cars, and other destination services via its travel partners. These services are provided under several brands, such as Expedia.com, Vrbo, Hotels.com, Hotwire, Orbitz, CheapTickets, ebookers, CarRentals.com, Travelocity, Expedia Partner Solutions, and Wotif Group. Expedia Group provides customer service through call centers, private label companies, alternative distribution channels, and mobile bookings. The company also operates in the advertising and media industries and the travel management sector. Expedia and Qtech Software announced a partnership in April 2022 to provide high-quality hospitality and technology content to business travelers.

Key Companies in the online travel market include

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  Expedia Inc (US)

  
  


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  Booking Holdings Inc (US)

  
  


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  TripAdvisor Inc (US)

  
  


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  FlixMobility GmbH (Germany)

  
  


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  Ryanair DAC (Ireland)

  
  


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  Thomas Cook Group PLC (UK)

  
  


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  MakeMyTrip (India) Pvt Ltd (India)

  
  


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  Alibaba Group Holding Limited (China)

  
  


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  Airbnb Inc (US)

  
  


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  eDreams ODIGEO SA (Luxembourg)

  
  

Online Travel Industry Developments

May 2024: The travel group booking upstart Joyned announced the release of an artificial intelligence planner. This artificial intelligence planner enables users to exchange data at the same time providing vendors with a good comprehension of the information that consumers want.

April 2024: Make My Trip, an online travel company, confirmed further a new private charter between Mumbai and Bhutan. This particular charter is included in its holiday packages and the exclusive charter is supposed to leave one time a week. The service has been started due to the increasing interest of Indian travelers to Bhutan.

February 2024: Cleartrip, the online travel aggregation portal, which is a subsidiary of Flipkart, recently unveiled a new product called Out of Office, aimed at business travelers. Cleartrip, in a press release, explained that OOO is a corporate travel booking tool specifically intended for small, medium and large businesses. About 300 SMEs and around 10 large firms are positioned as active transactors on this platform. The new product is said to manage a monthly business turnover of about twenty crore rupees.

In May 2024, The Singapore Tourism Board implemented a new marketing strategy that aimed at advertising online travel services and digital tourism content with a view of luring tourists from neighboring countries. The campaign did result in a 20% growth in the number of arrivals of tourists and enhanced the level of bookings in local traveling websites.

In May 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce initiated a grant program that was oriented towards travel tech, specifically mobile travel applications and the use of AI in them. This program is meant to strengthen the position of travel tech companies registered in the USA in the world market.

August 2023: To strengthen its foothold in the Indian market, Skyscanner released a Hindi language interface across all products and services. Skyscanner is an online tool that allows users to find the best ticket and hotel reservations around the world and even rental cars and transport services within a certain city by using information from partner Online Travel Agent (OTA) websites.

August 2023: MakeMyTrip with the Ministry of Tourism has introduced an exclusive upgraded Travellers’ Map of India that features more than six hundred (600) places other than the usual places of visit.

Online Travel Market Segmentation

Online Travel Platform Type Outlook

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  Mobile/Tablets Based

  
  


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  Desktop Based

  
  

Online Travel Mode of Booking Outlook

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  Online Travel Agencies

  
  


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  Direct Travel Facilitators

  
  

Online Travel Service Type Outlook

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  Transportation

  
  


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  Accommodation

  
  


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  Vacation Packages

  
  

Online Travel Regional Outlook