The UK has the highest online travel spend in Europe, revealed a new survey.
The study, commissioned by price comparison site Kelkoo and carried out by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, shows British travellers spent £15.6 billion in online travel bookings in 2009, an 18.5% rise on 2008.
Almost seven in ten (69%) British travellers (leisure included) use the internet to research and book travel, compared to just 53% in France.
The amount spent on travel through websites by British bookers is estimated to rise further this year, by 13%, to £17.6 billion. The predicted figure is equivalent to 42.8% of all UK travel spend.
Europe-wide, the online travel sector is predicted to rise by €7.4 billion this year to €74.3 billion, a 27% increase on 2008.
However, overall travel sales will have fallen from €400 billion in 2008 to an estimated €367.4 billion by the end of 2010.
Bruce Fair, managing director of Kelkoo UK, said: "The travel industry will need to buckle its seat belt for another bumpy ride in 2010, with sales forecast to fall by at least a further €1.6 billion this year, adding to last year's woes when sales plummeted by €31 billion."
But, said Fair, this is good news for consumers. "Travel operators have reacted to the situation by offering substantial dicounts, driving down the cost of travel.
"We expect this trend to continue in 2010 as travel companies and airlines aggressively compete with each other and the online sector to entice new customers."
Kelkoo's European Travel Index did predict some rise in UK travel spend overall this year, up from £40.2 billion in 2009 to £41.1 billion in 2010.
www.kelkoo.co.uk