Online travel agencies remain a big hit with shoppers, new survey data show, but the sites’ popul arity could fade if contract battles with airlines leave them with fewer airfares to lure bargain-chasing consumers, researchers warned.
With airfares soaring and the economy stuck in the doldrums, consumers continue to flock to travel sites to plot dream vacations and research deals and steals, a market that’s expected to total $104.6 billion in 2011, according to market research firm PhoCusWright Inc.
But a contract skirmish between American Airlines and Expedia Inc. and Orbitz Worldwide Inc. is forcing travelers to alter how they shop online as they make summer vacation plans.
Read the full story at: http://chicagobreakingbusiness.com/2011/02/online-travel-agencies-score-big-with-shoppers.html
