Survey shows that cultural personalisation is as vital for online travel transactions as it is on the high-street

1. Over 50% of travellers use online travel agencies to research travel deals
2. Traditional brochures continue to fare well for 49% of Brits, less so with the French & Germans
3. European countries differ in what they require from an online agent

London, 14 June 2006:
Promiscuous Germans, off the shelf Brits, face to face French and time rushed Scandinavians. Opodo's latest pan-European survey demonstrated that there is no 'United States of Europe' when it comes to online travel.

Over 50% of British, German and French consumers said they used an online travel agent to research trips, according to a study revealed today at the Institute of Travel and Tourism Conference in Oman by leading online travel agent Opodo. Around 30% of Brits and Germans and slightly more (36%) of the French went to a traditional high street agent or tour operator before making a purchase. Suppliers own websites were popular with over 70% of the French, but were only used by 57% of British and 45% of German travellers when checking out travel deals.*

Traditional brochures continue to be popular with 49% of Brits but less so with the French and Germans with only 34% and 33% respectively using them. Travel guides and price comparison sites were more important for French consumers with 43% turning to guides and 56% regularly using the comparison sites. Only a quarter of all those questioned in Germany and the UK cited tourism information offices as a resource they would use for research but they are popular with 38% of the French.

When it comes to spending online the UK average (US$147) comes close to that of the US (US$162) demonstrating the comparative maturity of both of these markets. However, unlike the US, where the traditional package holiday market declined after September 11 and has not recovered, in Europe packages are still holding strong - only consumers are turning to the Internet to make their purchases. In 2005 over £3 billion worth of package holidays were sold online in Europe. Similarly again to the US, dynamic packaging (DP) has taken off but only in the UK which now accounts for 76% of all European DP sales. Germany and France have been slower to evolve with only an 11% and 3% share of DP sales respectively.**

The survey also confirmed that there is little loyalty online. It seems Germans are the most promiscuous with 78% visiting four or more sites before booking. The Brits come a close second with 75% visiting four or more sites while 65% of French consumers check four or more sites before committing. The study went on to question what people wanted from a travel website. Amongst other findings, Brits are looking for more in-depth information and inspiration from their online agents and there is an increase in demand for user-generated reviews and testimonials. Scandinavians cited speed as the number one priority, timetable information was important for 60% of the French and 22% of Germans wanted travel alerts.

Opodo's CEO Simon Vincent said:
"Each market in Europe has reached a different stage in its online evolution hence customers' research and look for different attributes in an online site. Generally there is a need to enhance content on sites to ensure customer retention and in time encourage loyalty. Choice, flexibility, building relationships with customers and providing critical user-generated content will be a key success factor for online travel sites. Each market is bespoke - one size does not fit all and companies must be prepared to localise their products and online store in order to meet the differing needs of their European customers."

-ends-

* Opodo conducted its own research in 2005, surveying over 20,000 online travel consumers, for its 'Consumer Insights Programme'

** The findings are part of Euromonitor International's Travel and Tourism IMIS system and ad-hoc qualitative research on behalf of Opodo.

About Opodo

Opodo was created by nine of Europe's leading airlines - Aer Lingus, Air France, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, KLM and Lufthansa. Amadeus, the travel technology company based in Madrid, took a 55% controlling interest in the company in June 2004, which increased to 74% in March 2005 and to 75.4% in June 2005.

Opodo operates in nine European markets: Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden. Companies within the Opodo Group: Opodo.co.uk, Opodo.de, Opodo.fr, Opodo.es, Opodo.it, Quest Travel, (UK independent long-haul travel specialist), Karavel, (a leading French online tour operating company), Vivacances (French online travel agency) and Travellink (Nordic online travel agency).

For media enquiries contact:

Sophy Norris/Clare Corry
Flagship Consulting
020 7886 8450

Gail Sinden
Opodo
+ 44 (0) 870 352 5087
gail.sinden@opodo.com