Recession finally hits online travel bookings

April 28, 2009 |

PhoCusWright said the value of online leisure and unmanaged business travel bookings would drop 3% this year to $93 billion. The company said it was the first time since PhoCusWright began tracking the marketplace in 1998 that online travel has fallen year over year.

The recession is finally taking its toll on online travel, with a decline in revenues this year forecast by PhoCusWright, the travel industry research company.

Online travel bookings now account for more than a third of the total travel marketplace, PhoCusWright said, adding that the online portion of the business is "now more or less mature and far more susceptible to broader swings in the economy."

The PhoCusWright report added that while online travel will decline in 2009, "it will still far outperform the broader travel market and return to positive growth much sooner."

Get the full story at USA TODAY

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