The beginning of 2004 has seen the highest recorded market share of internet visits for the travel category. In January 2004, one in 25 internet visits was to a travel website, representing a new high and, despite visits falling slightly between February and April, the sector still represented 3.7% of all online visits in April.
The growth highlights the continuing march of business shifting from the high street on to the internet.
The online competitive intelligence service said that the growth in the sector has come despite recent reports that intensifying fare wars and mounting competition have put pressure on the airline industry.
Year on year, Hitwise said the travel market was showing consistent growth and signs of a maturing market and stability in the cycle of activity.
The data also highlighted that the impact of SARS and the war in Iraq, which hit world travel hard early last year, has faded and UK consumers have not been put off looking for travel online.
Simon Chamberlain, general manager of Hitwise UK, said: "Given the trend we saw in 2003, we can expect four months of strong activity for the online travel sector. Last year, we saw an uplift of around 33% between April and August, and a similar increase this year would see almost 5% of all UK internet visits going to travel-related websites."
The optimism in the sector is being reflecting by investment in marketing and advertising by leading online brands. US firm Expedia.co.uk recently launched a 拢12m brand advertising campaign as it emerges as one of the top UK online travel destination sites and is beating out homegrown Lastminute.com.
On the low-cost carrier front, EasyJet is out in front ahead of British Airways and Ryanair, according to Hitwise.
"With search engines driving more than a third of visits to the travel sector, understanding the brands people are searching for is a great way to assess the relative strength of brands online. In those terms, EasyJet continues to be front of mind for UK consumers, with Ryanair and British Airways just behind, showing the clear dominance of low-cost carriers on the web," Chamberlain said.
Most searched for travel terms
1. EasyJet 2.36%
2. Ryanair 1.82%
3. Cheap flights 1.67%
4. British Airways 1.24%
5. Flights 0.98%
6. Train times 0.84%
7. Holidays 0.84%
8. Expedia 0.73%
9. Cheap holidays 0.68%
10. Travel Inn 0.62%
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