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Whether consumers were making their plans for summer vacation or simply finding their way around town, over half of Internet users visited Travel websites in April 2012. Google Maps was the top web brand in the category during April, with 79 million unique U.S. visitors, followed by other popular mapping sites like Mapquest (29.6 million) and Yahoo! Local (15.2 million). Visitors to Google Maps returned frequently, visiting the site about 5 times each on average, logging well over 1 billion pageviews on the site.
Looking towards Memorial Day weekend in the U.S., travellers planning trips a little further from home also headed online to make plans, visiting sites like TripAdvisor, Expedia, and Priceline Network to plan their trips (respectively 13.2 million, 12.9 million, and 12.2 million unique visitors each, respectively). Millions more booked airfare on sites SouthwestAirlines.com and other airlines sites, as consumers searched for the best travel deals, with about half of visitors to TripAdvisor also visiting Expedia during the same month and a third also visiting Priceline sites.
| Top 10 Travel Brands for April 2012 (U.S., Total) | |||
| Rank | Brand | Unique Audience | Time per Person (hh:mm:ss) |
| 1 | Google Maps | 79,374,000 | 0:10:52 |
| 2 | MapQuest | 29,590,000 | 0:07:26 |
| 3 | Yahoo! Local | 15,247,000 | 0:03:40 |
| 4 | TripAdvisor | 13,241,000 | 0:07:19 |
| 5 | Expedia | 12,933,000 | 0:09:08 |
| 6 | Priceline Network | 12,219,000 | 0:10:47 |
| 7 | Bing Maps & Local | 10,815,000 | 0:05:34 |
| 8 | Travel Ad Network | 10,792,000 | 0:06:54 |
| 9 | Southwest Airlines | 10,245,000 | 0:13:09 |
| 10 | Orbitz Worldwide Network | 8,587,000 | 0:06:57 |
| Read as: During April 2012, 79 million Americans visited Google Maps using their browser. | |||
| Source: Nielsen | |||
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
