A study: more Travelers Booking Online.

Nearly one-third of Internet users who visit travel-related Web sites have made online reservations at those sites, according to a study by NPD Online Research. In 1999, 31 percent of individuals who visited online airline sites booked their reservations on the Web, compared to only 21 percent in 1998. The percentage of visitors that booked at hotel sites rose from 21 to 28 percent from 1998 to 1999, according to NPD, and the percentage of visitors to car rental sites that booked rose from 19 to 28 percent in the same time span. NPD also found that, along with an increase in visitors who are booking travel online, the satisfaction that online buyers have with the experience was reported as very high. According to NPD, Internet travel bookers were more satisfied with their online experience than those Internet users who use the Web only to check travel prices and travel availability. "Our data supports expectations for continued growth in travel bookings online," said Allan Baldinger, VP of NPD Online Research. "We have found that the more time a consumer spends online, the more likely they are to purchase online. In fact, credit card concerns that prevent most online purchases from being made drop dramatically among experienced Internet users. For those Internet travelers who browse Web sites, it is just a matter of time before they change from lookers to bookers." Among Internet users who buy travel online, a core group of heavy bookers is beginning to emerge. According to NPD, 7 percent of Internet travel buyers can be classified as heavy bookers, those who have made at least one online airline, hotel, or rental car reservation. Heavy bookers are also more likely to travel for business than pleasure, and are more likely to have two or more years of online experience. According to NPD, heavy bookers frequented travel sites such as travelocity.com, expedia.com, priceline.com, and previewtravel.com. A majority of Internet travelers still divert the confirmation of their travel reservations to traditional travel agents, according to NPD. The survey was based on a sample of 5,300 individuals prerecruited to participate in surveys.