Consumers visit 277 websites before booking travel

Researching and booking a vacation today takes more time and effort than ever before

Today, travelers visit an average of 277 different web pages before booking a trip, a significant increase from just 38 sites in 2013, based on data from Expedia. This highlights how much more time and energy is now required for trip planning, at a time when consumers are often pressed for both.

Key takeaways

• On average, travelers spend 303 minutes - or just over 5 hours - researching and browsing in the 45 days leading up to a booking;
• Early in the trip planning process, travelers visit fewer pages (around 2.5 per day), but as the purchase date approaches, this jumps to around 25 pages on the final day. These page views span a variety of websites, starting with online travel agencies (OTAs), then moving to airline and hotel websites, and finally, meta-travel sites;
• This activity isn’t just about re-checking details; travelers are actively searching, often encountering difficulties, and then returning to search again. The study shows that in the weeks before making a booking, users repeatedly visit and navigate between various web pages before finalizing their decision.

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