If 35M people in the UK use mobile to view travel sites, the health & wellness tourism facilitators and sellers targeting UK buyers had better get their mobile strategy aligned with the trend

In this recent article by Nancy Buckly in Luxury Daily, the author explains a new study that indicates that United Kingdom travelers are choosing mobile travel content at an equal rate to information offered on desktops, but smartphone usage is growing more quickly, according to Expedia Media Solutions.

United Kingdom travelers are choosing mobile travel content at an equal rate to information offered on desktops, but smartphone usage is growing more quickly, according to a new study from Expedia Media Solutions.

Mobile users in the U.K. are more frequently accessing travel information, encouraging travel related companies to maintain a mobile-optimized presence. Understanding habits and trends among users will help hotel, plane, cruise and other travel marketers best reach clients in the U.K. “Mobile adoption is showing no sign of slowing, and people are getting even savvier with how they are using tablets and smartphones for travel content consumption and booking,” said Noah Tratt, global senior vice president of media solutions at Expedia, Inc.

Expedia commissioned comScore to conduct a study on the importance of multiplatform devices in online travel content consumption in the UK. comScore blended online travel behavioral data with data collected through a survey. The demographic is those over 18 living in the U.K. who booked travel in the last six months. The survey was conducted between March 27 and April 6, 2015.

There are 25 million U.K. consumers using mobile devices to access travel content each month, and 70 percent of those are only getting travel information on their smartphones. Accommodating to smaller screens is necessary to meet this twist in travel planning.

 

Do you need an app for that?

One key takeaway was probably not. The research from Expedia shows that the planning is not happening in applications, as about 81 percent of mobile users view travel content through a browser. The use of tablets in the U.K. is much higher than in the U.S., and 10 percent of these users are using apps, almost negating the purpose of travel apps. However, consumers that do use apps are spending more time on apps than on browsers for travel information.

In the U.K. 73 percent of the population engages with digital and travel content as opposed to 63 percent in the United States.

Three-fourths of U.K. travelers own a PC, smartphone and tablet and use all three to plan their travel arrangements.

There are 25 million U.K. consumers using mobile devices to access travel content each month, and 70 percent of those are only getting travel information on their smartphones. Accommodating to smaller screens is necessary to meet this twist in travel planning.