A recent study by Google and the research firm comScore has highlighted the importance of search engines to the travel ecommerce industry.
More than 20 million people in the UK alone used the internet to track down travel information in the first quarter of 2007, according to the report.
The typical deal hunter makes 12 travel-related searches and visits 22 websites per holiday.
Amazingly, the average length of time between the original search and eventual ticket purchase is 29 days, with 45 per cent of consumers taking more than a month to complete their transaction.
The majority of shoppers will visit the site they eventually opt for more than once. The average is 2.5 times for travel ecommerce sites in general and 3.9 for tour operators.
"Online research and more specifically search has become a critical first step for consumers considering purchases," commenting Bob Ivins, executive vice president of European markets at comScore.
"By studying the entire online purchase path from first search to actual transaction we are able to quantify the importance of that first search and subsequent searches and help marketers impact purchase decision," he added.
Looking in depth at the way consumers searched for travel, Google and comScore found that many started with a non-branded search term, before eventually ending their search with a specific brand name.
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