Travel agencies boost online sales by 30 percent in first 5 months of 2012 says PayU

Newsroom 25/06/2012 | 13:38

Romanians are more willing to buy tourism services online, according to a study put together by online payment company PayU. Travel agencies have increased the number of online transactions by 30 percent in the first five months of this year against the same period of 2011, concluded PayU based on data from almost 170 local travel agencies which use its services.

The average value of an online transaction involving tourism services has also increased (+18 percent y-o-y), reaching EUR 182. During sales period, however, the average transaction can increase twofold, according to PayU. On average, more than half of the number of online transactions are for accommodation services, followed by transportation services while the online acquisition of complete vacation packages comes last.

The number of online transactions will remain on an upward trend and more travel agencies are expected to focus on selling online, argues Cristi Herghelegiu, country manager PayU in Romania. “Given that offline sales are low if not negative, the online environment offers all the necessary ingredients for travel agencies to boost their sales: integrated solutions for their internal booking system, more opportunities for partnerships and promotions, more efficient communication and most of all a faster sales process. Considering this, we see constant quarter-on-quarter growth, both regarding the number of transactions and the number of travel agencies developing online sales systems,” he said.