Google UK reports that in February 2017 search numbers across travel categories were up 1.6% vs. February 2016, but searches for package holidays were down by 4.8%.
Other travel categories:
- City and other short breaks +9.9%
- Bus and rail +6.4%
- Vacation rentals +5.0%
- Cruises +5.0%
- Camping +3.7%
- Car services (e.g. Uber) and taxis +3.4%
- Air travel +2.9%
- Car rental +1.7%
- Attractions +0.2%
- Hotels +0.1%
Domestic vs. overseas:
- Overseas long-haul +10%
- Overseas short-haul +6%
- Domestic - flat with February 2016
Devices:
- February mobile travel searches exceeded desktop searches for the first time in 2017.
- Desktops and (especially) tablets continued to lose search share.
- 12% of mobile ads were clicked vs. 11% of desktop ads, up from 10% and 7% respectively in 2016.
Projected top Google UK travel search term categories for 2Q2017:
- all-inclusive
- generic travel
- last minute
- weekend
- David
- David
Comments on Google: Most travel categories except packages seeing good search volume growth in UK