SUVA (Pacnews) — Recent research into the buying pattern of people in the United States says the wealthy class tend to book their travel online.
The report, “Mass Affluent Population Online,” by the marketing firm Jupiter Research Center found that 59 percent of persons with the income of $75,000 or more bought their travel online.
Examining the buying patterns of households in the U.S., it concluded the lower the income level of individuals the less likely they are to go online for services such as booking travel.
The report found that 45 percent of people in the $45,000 to $75,000 bracket went online to buy their tickets and to do other bookings, while up to 35 percent with earnings below $45,000 threshold use Internet services for travel arrangements.
Meanwhile, figures worldwide suggest the decrease in world tourism last year has been adjusted to minus 0.6 percent. According to the Travel Daily News, this means the worldwide tourism arrival figure of 693 million is down by 4 million from the year 2000 peak of 697 million.
Statistics revealed that not all destinations were affected by the terror attacks of Sept. 11. East Asia and the Pacific region actually registered a 5 percent increase in visitor arrivals, while Africa recorded a 4 percent increase in the months following the terror attacks.
TDN said recovery shows the resilience and stability of the tourism industry, while “fears of travel has progressively fading away and business is gradually returning to normal.”
“Recovery is visible in intra-regional travel and in the regions of Pacific, Europe and Africa.”
