Australia lagging behind on mobile bookings

Australia lagging behind on mobile bookings
By admin


Although more than 82% of Australians are connected, Australia is still lagging behind China, Japan and India when it comes to mobile travel bookings.

A new report from travel insights firm PhocusWright showed that Australia is ahead of Asia in terms of telecommunications infrastructure and connectivity, but the travel industry is not taking full advantage.

“Given its relatively consolidated domestic airline and OTA landscape, Australian travel companies have yet to invest aggressively on the mobile platform,” research analyst Chetan Kapoor said.

Limited mobile-only deals and discounts have left travellers generally satisfied with the avenue of desktop and offline bookings. The report showed three in four Australian travellers researched and shopped online, while only three in 10 did the same on mobile. Even fewer travellers actually booked on mobile – just 11%.

But with more travellers shifting their travel research and purchasing to mobile, companies would be well advised to take heed, he warned.

“Not surprisingly, younger travelers are the heaviest mobile users across the entire trip life cycle – 46%,” Kapoor said.

“Companies should be mindful of this shift and allocate resources for the development and promotion of mobile services and channels.”

Meanwhile, the Australian travel market remains buoyant despite a weakened economy, according to PhocusWright’s research which showed that 48% of Aussies took a holiday in the last 12 months. The average international trip lasted just over two weeks, with domestic holidays lasting five days on average.

Aussies are also among the highest spenders in the world with annual travel spend upwards of US$3,800 – higher than travellers from the UK, US, Germany and China.

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