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For the personal travel segment, the internet’s most attractive customers have long since not relied solely on glossy brochures, slick online travel websites, and their well traveled friends to make decisions about where to go and what to do on holidays. More and more they are using sites that specialize in letting travelers share their stories with each other, for mutual benefit.
According to a just September 2008 released study by Prophis eResearch, an estimated 19 million online Americans have visited one of the top ten travel 2.0 traveler community based sites such as TripAdvisor in the past 12 months.
Survey findings obtained in August 2008 from US online consumers shows that 50% online travelers see internet traveler reviews and ratings – the core unique component of so-called travel 2.0 based sites – as an important component in making decisions about personal travel.
This shows that travel 2.0 has moved confidently beyond jargon and fad and is now firmly entrenched in the travel industry consciousness as an idea whose time has come.
"Travel 2.0 community site users tend to come from households with more income and tend to spend more on personal travel than non-users of travel 2.0 sites who travel", adds Stuart Hemerling, Senior Consultant with Prophis Research. "That they are an important group to understand for travel marketers can not be overstated".
With the proliferation of user generated content in the travel realm, the main questions for marketers and those with a stake in travel provision are where, when, how, and to what extent will travel 2.0 function and content change the way people think about their travel.
- What is travel 2.0?
- How well known and widely used are sites specializing in travel 2.0?
- Who uses travel 2.0 sites?
- How important are they for online travelers in personal travel decision making?
- How do online travelers rate travel 2.0 websites?
- How much do users of travel 2.0 use social networks like MySpace and Facebook?
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
