Possibly one of the most well known travel websites in the world, Skyscanner struggled in 2020 with international travel all but stopped due to travel restrictions.
The UK Domain has revealed the top 100 websites of 2020 in a brand new study that highlights how our internet behaviours have changed over the past year.
As some industries such as eCommerce have experienced an increase in traffic during 2020, sadly, the travel and transport industry have experienced huge declines in website traffic numbers in the UK.
With many holiday plans cancelled, flights grounded and travel bans established, the travel industry has experienced massive declines in trade. In the UK online searches for “2020 holiday” saw a massive decrease of 87% in the last 12 months, with its highest point in January 2020.
Skyscanner fell out of the top 100
Possibly one of the most well known travel websites in the world, Skyscanner struggled in 2020 with international travel all but stopped due to travel restrictions. The travel giant saw positive signs of growth in 2019 when it first broke into the top 100 websites in the UK clocking in over 200million visitors. However, 2020 was not so kind forcing the website out of the top 100 altogether and seeing Wayfair takeover in 98th place, hinting at people’s change in priorities this year.
Booking.com and Tripadvisor experienced declines of over 20%
Although websites such as Booking.com and Tripadvisor managed to stay in the top 100, both have experienced severe declines in annual traffic in 2020 of over 21% each. Booking.com, who had grown from 2018 to 2019 going from 432million visitors to 453million in just a year only managed 312million in 2020. Tripadvisor tells a similar story growing 18million between 2018 and 2019, but seeing an incredible decrease in traffic of 156million people.
Trainline and TfL also dropped out of the top 100
With even domestic travel halted and many people asked to work from home, websites such as Trainline and TfL have fallen off the top 100 in 2020. Interestingly, both websites from 2018 to 2019 saw declines in traffic, possibly hinting at the transport industry turning to apps to give a better customer experience. However this doesn’t account for the huge decreases in traffic from 2019 to 2020 clearly caused by the pandemic.
Positive signs in 2021
It’s not all doom and gloom for the travel industry. Although 2020 has been an incredibly difficult year for travel companies and those who work in them, the industry as a whole can expect to see increases in trade in the next few years. In the last 12 months UK online searches for ‘summer holiday 2021’ are up by an incredible 1,015% showing that the British public are raring to get back on board and have big plans for their holidays in 2021.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
