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Download the France and UK country snapshots to learn more about the online shopping journey for European travellers and take a look at the full Path to Purchase report for global insights.
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The online path to purchase for European travellers
Our custom research explores the online path to purchase for travellers from France and the UK to uncover opportunities for your business.
In today’s digital age, the travel path to purchase has become increasingly complex and multifaceted. From the initial spark of inspiration to the final booking, the online travel planning and booking journey is influenced by many factors. To better understand online traveller behaviour in the 45 days leading up to booking a trip, we conducted a custom path to purchase study with Luth Research. The research included traveller behaviour insights from a digital data panel of 70,000+ travellers and survey data from 5,713 total survey respondents covering seven geographic markets.
Previously, we shared the highlights from the global path to purchase data. Today, we’re taking a closer look at European traveller behaviour, based on digital tracking data from a panel of more than 21,000 people and survey data from more than 1,630 respondents from France and the UK. Read on to better understand the main drivers and resources behind European traveller decisions so you can effectively reach and engage with these travellers throughout their purchase journey.
Prepare for European travellers planning in advance
The average trip consideration and planning window for European travellers is 74 days, slightly higher than the global average of 70 days.* However, European travellers book their trips earlier than the global average—86 days out compared to 73 days.
European travellers are also very open to destination inspiration. Six in ten travellers from France and the UK don’t have a destination in mind or are considering multiple destinations when they start thinking about a trip. This is similar to the global average of 59%, but higher compared to other regions such as the Americas (55%). This highlights the opportunity for early influence on destination selection during the traveller’s path to purchase.
Use advertising to drive destination inspiration
To tap into European travellers’ destination uncertainty, leverage different advertising solutions to showcase your location, experiences or other unique offerings to appeal to travellers. For example, our Travel Spotlights are an effective marketing strategy for reaching travellers, encouraging them to explore and consider your travel brand through bespoke and impactful landing page experiences.
OTAs are an essential resource for travellers
On average, travellers from France and the UK view 85 pages of travel content in the 45 days prior to booking—notably lower than the global average of 141 pages and the 185 pages of content for travellers from the Americas. For European travellers, online travel agencies (OTAs) account for 57% of their total page views, showing that travellers are leveraging OTAs for inspiration, gathering research for their trip and more, so make sure that you’re showing up outside of your own websites to stay top of mind with travellers.
88%
of European travellers visited an online travel agency during their path to purchase.
The digital data also showed that 88% of European travellers—and as many as 90% of French travellers—visited an OTA at some point before making a travel purchase. This is higher than the global average of 80%, showing that European travellers are even more reliant on OTAs throughout the path to purchase.
Show up and stand out on OTAs
This solidifies the importance of having your brand on OTA websites to ensure that you are showing up and connecting with travellers where they are searching for accommodation, transportation and activities for their next trip. To stand out, make sure you are optimising your listing by showcasing the unique value your travel brand has to offer.
Understand key decision-making factors
During the planning phase, when considering their final options, European travellers said that the most important factors influencing where to book travel are getting the best prices, followed by an easy-to-use website.
Top factors for European travellers in choosing where to book
Best prices on travel: 47%
Easy-to-use website: 41%
Positive previous experience: 31%
Transparent fees: 30%
Consider deals to stand out
Within your content—whether it’s a property listing or social media ad—consider leading with deals supported by compelling or inspirational content to ensure your travel brand stands out.
Offering package promotions can be one way to gain a competitive edge. K+K Hotel Central was able to grow revenue 45% year-over-year after implementing package deals, and their package business grew by more than 140%.**
The role of loyalty in booking
While European travellers are less likely to be loyalty members than the global average—31% compared to 43%—those that are part of loyalty programmes are highly engaged. Of those European travellers that are loyalty programme members, 79% feel that it’s important to book with a brand where they are a loyalty member. Among the various benefits of loyalty programmes, price discounts are the most enticing part for both UK (76%) and French travellers (71%) followed by complimentary upgrades.
Only 13% of European travellers are willing to pay significantly more to book with a brand that they’re a loyalty member with, meaning that if travel with their loyalty programme brands is too pricey, they will turn to other options.
Lean into loyalty
To tap into this highly engaged set of travellers, promote your loyalty benefits in your content and consider offering exclusive discounts for these loyal travellers. To appeal to high-value One Key™ rewards members on Expedia Group sites, consider offering Members-Only deals to support your loyalty strategies and drive more demand for your hotel.
For additional country-specific Path to Purchase insights, take a look at the France and UK country snapshots, and download the full report for detailed global insights.
Research & insights
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Kevin Mauffrey
VP, Lodging Partners, Expedia Group
Kevin leads Expedia Group’s EMEA Account Management business for lodging, where he orchestrates partnerships with supply stakeholders to optimise success on the Expedia Group platform and stay at the forefront of digital advancements. Kevin has spent most of his career in the hospitality and travel industry, spanning roles with the Accor Group and Splendia.com, in addition to his decade of work with Expedia Group.
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*All on-page data sourced from: Expedia Group, The Path to Purchase, 2023
**Expedia Group, 2018