Travelhorizons Survey Studies Social Media and Travelers

(DiveTravelBusinessNews.com -- February 2, 2010) -- The results of the most recent travelhorizons survey, co-authored by Ypartnership and the U.S. Travel Association, reveal how new forms of social media have influenced consumer choice when it comes to evaluating and purchasing travel services.

According to the nationally representative survey of just over 2,200 U.S. adults, conducted in October 2009, almost six out of 10 (59 percent) of active travelers have visited a social networking site. Their most popular activities while on these sites include uploading photos/videos (49 percent) and rating products or services (46 percent). Roughly one-quarter have visited a chat room and/or posted content to a blog. Nearly half (46 percent) check new postings to their site(s) at least once a day.

Facebook enjoys the highest incidence of visitation (almost half of active travelers have visited, and fully one-third have posted a personal page), while roughly one-quarter of active travelers have visited MySpace. Both percentages are up significantly from just one year ago. And when it comes to searching social sites for content, the incidence of visiting YouTube eclipses that of TripAdvisor by a wide margin.

The survey also examined how the content found on these sites influence consumer choice when it comes to the evaluation and selection of travel service suppliers. It found that site visitation for travel planning purposes remains quite low:   Only 1 in 10 Facebook users seek advice about either destinations or travel service suppliers, and just 1 in 20 has joined a community of users who share common travel interests.

- 11% ask advice about a destination
- 8% ask advice about a travel supplier
- 6% learn about travel deals
- 5% get updates on destinations and travel suppliers
- 5% have joined a community with like travel interests

The survey cautions that these figures reflect today’s usage of social media, but how quickly this may change is a matter of considerable speculation given the remarkable rate of penetration these sites have achieved in such a short period of time. For now, however, consumers continue to seek and respond to information about travel services and suppliers from more established offline and online media sources. For more information about travelhorizons survey, contact Ypartnership.

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