TripAdvisor study claims review site influenced $546bn of travel in 2017

TripAdvisor influenced more than 94 million tourism nights in the UK last year, a new study suggests. And an estimated 10.3% of global travel spend – $546 billion – was influenced by the travel reviews site in 2017, up from … Continue reading →

TripAdvisor influenced more than 94 million tourism nights in the UK last year, a new study suggests.

And an estimated 10.3% of global travel spend – $546 billion – was influenced by the travel reviews site in 2017, up from 7% or $268 billion a decade ago.

The site globally influenced more than 433 million trips last year, and 9.9 million in the UK alone.

The Oxford Economics study in partnership with TripAdvisor found that the travel industry reached more than $5.29 trillion in spending last year, with international tourism spend growing for the last eight consecutive years.

At $3.9 trillion per year, domestic tourism spend accounted for around three-quarters of global tourism spend, while international spending grew to $1.4 trillion in 2017.

By comparing world economic growth data with TripAdvisor’s own trends, the research found that the site had an estimated influence of $546 billion in 2017.

Travel-related spending influenced by TripAdvisor sites has outpaced growth in overall travel and tourism spend in the past decade.

TripAdvisor-influenced spend has grown at an annual average growth rate of 7.4% over the period – more than double the average growth of 3% for total tourism spend.

Even when total spend fell by 5.3% in the depths of the global recession in 2009, TripAdvisor-influenced spend outperformed the wider trend, according to the report.

TripAdvisor’s influence has also risen across all global regions over the past decade – with notable improvement in both developing tourism destinations, as well as in developed markets.

Oxford Economics applied sophisticated analysis to prove that TripAdvisor triggers more travel, which is most evident through increased visitor nights and spending.

TripAdvisor strategic insights director Charlie Ballard said: “We launched this study not only because we wanted to better understand the true size and scope of the global travel economy, but also to better understand TripAdvisor’s scale and impact on tourism.

“The travel category is indeed enormous and outpacing other consumer spending worldwide, and TripAdvisor not only inspires travel, but also causes more travel – in particular by encouraging travellers to take longer trips by showing them how much more there is to see and do.”

Product and marketing vie president Martin Verdon-Roe added: “We are happy to see more data and studies affirming that TripAdvisor’s positive contribution to consumers, travel businesses and the broader economy is huge and undeniable.

“For accommodations, rentals, experiences and restaurants across the globe, the key takeaway from the latest research is that there has never been a better time to market your business on TripAdvisor.”