Booking Travel Online

Even though online travel sales are growing, fewer people are actually booking their trips online. According to a recent report from eMarketer, online travel sites are directing customers back to offline travel agents. This represents a complete turnaround in consumer trends during the past decade, but not a complete surprise. Dissatisfaction with online booking engines and tools that are not user-friendly has driven customers to return traditional travel agencies or to turn to new online competitors built around user-generated content. Also, a new hybrid has appeared on the scene: sites tailored to exotic locales like Zicasso and Tripalogy direct potential clients to traditional travel agents with expertise suited to their needs and interests.