The smartphone: a key tool for Spaniards planning their holidays
“Once upon a time, a family wanted to go on a trip and visited their local travel agency”… Beyond a doubt, this seems like a story from bygone days; nowadays whether it’s a short break in the Costa del Sol, a long weekend in some European capital or an adventure in Thailand, most travellers begin their travel plans by searching online from their mobile phones. The destination may vary, but the key tool when planning our next trip is the smartphone in 75% of cases.
Data from the recent study carried out by the market research agency TNS, and Google reflects shows trends in search behaviour and booking flights in Spain with a particular focus on the role mobile devices play when planning and booking holidays. Searching for info on mobiles is decisive when booking a flight. Smartphones are essential in everyday life and play an increasingly important role when searching for a hotel, finding cheap flights, comparing prices and learning about other traveller’s experiences.
Impulse is what characterises mobile phone use when searching for this type of information and 82% of searches about trips on mobile phones were shown to be unplanned. But, it’s not only planning a trip that is increasingly being done online, the number of online booking has also increased: 53% of holiday bookings are done online compared to 47% offline. And nearly 25% of the online bookings were made using mobile devices.
Smartphones are on the rise as an essential tool for finding information about trips, either before booking or while travelling. So, for advertisers appearing and being relevant among the results offered by search engines when users need this information on any device, but especially via smartphone could mean the first contact with a future customer and the first step towards generating online sales and leads.
