Digital Travel Connect Europe 2026
May, 2026
Disruptors in the travel market
With everyone’s social media accounts bursting with pictures of sunny beaches and sunsets, it’s clear that summer holidays are here. Europe’s online travel market is booming more than ever, with as many as 80% of holidaymakers now booking their trips via the internet. But at the same time, the online travel market is as disrupted as it is flourishing.
Metasearch
How customer research, search and book their travel is changing rapidly and the market is becoming increasingly fragmented. This is particularly due to the growth of metasearch. To illustrate: one out of five hotel bookings come from online travel agents rather then directly via the hotel.
Tec savvy young travellers also use metasearch to compare rates and read reviews before they make their decision, 43% of travellers base their decisions on reviews they read. The big metasearch companies have been around for a while, but new players are entering the sphere as well: Kayak, Google Hotel Finder and Trivago to name a few.
Mobile on the rise
Another massive disrupter in the world of travel is the rise of mobile. 2014 saw the highest number of online travel bookings ever, reaching 148.3 million globally, with 65% of same-day hotel reservations made via mobile. This increase is enabled by a growing confidence in mobile technology amongst the customers, the mainstreaming op high-spec devices and real time capabilities. By 2017, more than 30% of online bookings are expected to come through mobile.
"The customer experience needs to be front of mind and absolutely excellent to win the booking."
What does this mean?
With more customers researching, planning, reviewing and comparing their holidays online, the whole online journey needs to be engaging and informative. For many travellers, the journey even starts before the actual researching: it starts with a dream. That could be prompted by your friend posting a photo sipping cocktails in Ibiza or a simple ad with “visit Chicago this summer”.
The customer journey to a holiday isn’t a clear path and on each and every step, the customer experience needs to be front of mind and absolutely excellent to win the booking.
Are you ready for the future?
Sounds like an undoable task? What if I told you you’ll have two days in November where you can learn from your most senior peers? Share ideas, benchmark your strategy and meet solution providers that can truly help you?
At Digital Travel Connect you’ll be able to do that – and more! Digital Travel Connect is an invite-only retreat exclusively for C -Level representatives, and Directors of eCommerce, Digital and Marketing, from the world's leading travel suppliers and intermediaries.