Even Technophobes starting to embrace online holiday booking

Between 2010 and 2014, the proportion of Australian holiday-goers who booked their last trip on the internet rose from 39% to 45%, while those who booked in person or over the phone declined. Among the six  Roy Morgan Technology Adoption Segments, Early Adopters led the way in online booking in 2014, with 56% of them using this method for their last trip (up from 51% in 2010).

Although the less digitally savvy segments — namely, Technophobes and Technology Traditionalists — were less likely to have booked their last holiday via the internet, the increase in those using this method over the past five years was proportionally greater than among the more “switched-on” segments.

In the 12 months to December 2010, just 28% of Technophobe travellers and 33% of Technology Traditionalists used the internet to book their last trip. By the end of 2014, 34% of the former and 40% of the latter were using this method, both having experienced increases of more than six percentage points.

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia), January 2010-December 2010 (n=13,011) and January 2014–December 2014 (n=10,440).

For all Technology Adoption Segments, the internet is now well established as the most popular booking method, suggesting that even those travellers with an ambivalent relationship to digital technology have come to recognise its convenience in some areas of life.

Angela Smith, Group Account Director, Roy Morgan Research, says:

“The popularity of booking holidays online continues to grow, among holiday-goers of all technological persuasions. True to their name, Early Adopters took up this booking method before everyone else, followed closely by Professional Technology Mainstream and Older Technology Explorers.

“However, as the incidence of online booking among these segments stabilises, the less techy segments are starting to take it up with more enthusiasm, finally convinced of its ease and convenience.

“Meanwhile, bookings made over the phone and in person have decreased among all segments: the former more so than the latter. As we reported last year, travel agents remain popular with people booking overseas holidays.

“From the proliferation of tourism websites to global roaming costs, the ongoing impact of digital technology on the way we research, book and experience travel is far-reaching. An understanding of Roy Morgan’s Technology Adoption Segments can help tourism operators adapt, survive and thrive in this competitive industry.”