Global travel insights

Transcription

1 Q Global travel insights Issue 08 // October to December 2014 U.S. WEST COAST OFFICE U.S. EAST COAST OFFICE U.S. MIDWEST OFFICE EMEA OFFICE SINGAPORE OFFICE nd St., 3 rd floor San Francisco, CA Grand St., 6 th floor New York, NY S 169 th Street Omaha, NE Soho Square London, W1D 3QL #04-01 The Quadrant, 19 Cecil Street Singapore,

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS P. 2 Online Travel Overview 3 Global Travel Insights 4-5 Peak Seasonal Travel Trends Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca) 6-7 Thanksgiving 8 Sidebar: Cyber Monday Booking Trends 8 Holidays Outbound Travel 9-10 Sidebar: European pre-christmas trips 10 Analysis: Travel Intent Vs. Actuality US Booking December 11 EU Booking December 12 Special Report: Q4 Last-minute Bookers: US/EU Impact of World Events Russia/Ruble (EU) 17 Cuba (US/LATAM) 17 Copa America Preview (LATAM) 17 Q3 Trends Updated: Brazil and SE Asia 18 Sidebar: Travel to Japan from China 18 Q4 Outbound Travel Summer 2015 Travel Forecast Appendix Summer Travel Forecast for the US 23 Summer Travel Forecast for Europe 24 Glossary Methodology 27

3 ONLINE TRAVEL OVERVIEW P. 3 Sojern analyzed domestic and international travel behavior worldwide with an emphasized focus on four regions: Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America. Airline searches and bookings from over 600 million traveler intent profiles were analyzed to better understand how online consumer travel trends are changing. Provided in this report is an overview of the global market during Q4, followed by an analysis of the seasonal travel peaks during the quarter, punctuated with deeper-dives into microtrends, including last-minute travel and the impact of Cyber Monday deals on travel bookings. Highlights include the impact of political and economic events, like the weakening of the Russian ruble and US-Cuba detente, and how they affected travel trends during the last quarter of The data provided in this report is based on search and booking behavior provided by major airlines, OTA s, meta-search, and other travel service providers.

4 Q4 GLOBAL TRAVEL INSIGHTS P. 4 Top 10 Global Destinations United States Germany Italy France India Spain United Kingdom Turkey Russia Mexico The fourth quarter of 2014 was marked globally by a surge in regional travel volume prompted by major holidays. In October, Saudi Arabia welcomed an influx of over two million Muslims traveling for the Hajj from the Middle East, Asia, North Africa and Europe. Traffic into the Mecca gateway airport Jeddah more than doubled during the weeks preceding the Hajj. In December, travel in Q4 was at its all-time peak, but mostly domestic or regional, with the exception of Latin America travelers, who looked to travel to North America almost as much as they did within their own region. Europeans traveled mostly regionally and flocked to cities with established traditional Christmas markets. Other factors that shaped travel and travel planning were currency fluctuations, political and diplomatic changes, and online Cyber Monday deals. The free fall of the Russian ruble (more than a 50 percent loss against the dollar this year) resulted in an overall decrease in outbound travel from Russia. Travelers from China and South Korea exhibited an increased interest in the country, potentially encouraged by the weaker currency. In the US, 62% of searches made in 2014 for 2015 summer travel were for international destinations. A stronger US dollar will likely further encourage Americans to travel internationally in the upcoming year. One of the destinations where Americans will likely look to in greater numbers is Cuba. The recent diplomatic detente between the two countries already prompted a 360% spike in travel searches to the Caribbean nation on the day of the White House announcement.

5 Q4 GLOBAL TRAVEL INSIGHTS P. 5 searched month of travel October 32% November 26% December 42% searched party size 75% searched trip duration 31% 12% 28% 8+ days 6-7 days 3-5 days 16% 4% 5% 29% 0-2 days 1 Traveler 2 Travelers 3 Travelers 4+ Travelers Search Lead Time 0 DAYS 1-2 DAYS 3-7 DAYS 8-14 DAYS DAYS DAYS DAYS 60+ DAYS 6% 5% 11% 12% 11% 13% 11% 31%

6 PEAK SEASONAL TRAVEL P. 6 In Q4, holidays had the biggest impact on travel trends globally. In October, there was the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, a grand-scale travel endeavor that brought millions of religious travelers to Saudi Arabia. In November, Thanksgiving marked a peak travel period in North America. The December holiday season was the busiest travel period of the quarter globally. Q3 Search Volume 35% 37% 28% Q4 Search Volume 42% 32% 26% July August September OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER OCTOBER: THE HAJJ BRINGS BUSIEST WEEK OF THE YEAR FOR JEDDAH, GATEWAY AIRPORT TO MECCA The pilgrimage to Mecca, also known as Hajj, is one of the greatest religious observances in Islam. Millions of people from around the world came to Mecca between October 2 to 7 to observe this tradition. Saudi Arabia Generates Large Portion of Hajj Travel Saudi Arabia is the top origin country for flights into Jeddah airport, which is the main gateway for the Hajj pilgrimage. The week leading up to the start of Hajj is the busiest week of the entire year for flights into Jeddah from other cities in Saudi Arabia. The three Saudi Arabian cities in the top 10 origin cities account for 20% of all searches into Jeddah. The Muslim countries Morocco, Turkey, Sudan, and Bahrain are the top countries for flight searches to Jeddah following Saudi Arabia. A few European countries with sizeable Muslim minorities also contribute to the influx of searches, with Spain coming in sixth.

7 PEAK SEASONAL TRAVEL P. 7 Top Search Countries for Hajj Weeks 2014 by Share of Annual Search Volume Rank Country Percentage of Annual Search Volume Covered by Hajj Weeks 1 Saudi Arabia 11% 2 Morocco 10% 3 Turkey 10% 4 Sudan 10% 5 Bahrain 9% 6 Spain 9% 7 Egypt 9% 8 Thailand 9% 9 Austria 8% 10 Netherlands 8% London is the only city from a country that was not predominantly Muslim in the top 10. The city is home to a large Muslim community. Rank of Search Volume During Hajj Weeks by City Rank City 1 Riyadh 2 Dammam 3 Cairo 4 London 5 Istanbul 6 Dubai 7 Abha 8 Jakarta 9 Alexandria 10 Casablanca Trips searched on and near the dates of Hajj tend to be for a longer duration compared to the rest of the year. Twenty-four percent of trip searches are for 11 days or more, more than double the amount seen on non-hajj weeks, which typically sees more 2 to 3 day trips and only 11% of travelers searching for a more lengthy trip.

8 PEAK SEASONAL TRAVEL P. 8 NOVEMBER: THANKSGIVING SEES US TRAVEL SURGE, LAST-MINUTE BOOKINGS, AND SHORTER TRIP DURATIONS If Thanksgiving break seemed more hectic for Americans this year, it was likely because a scramble for last-minute flights brought a surge of Thanksgiving travelers. A two-fold incidence of last-minute travel over the average quarterly rate occurred the day before Thanksgiving, marking the highest peak of last-minute travel all quarter. Top 5 Destinations New York City Chicago Dallas Los Angeles San Francisco Mexico Thanksgiving Travelers Take Shorter Trips, Mostly Solo Fewer travelers took an extended break for Thanksgiving if they flew to their destination. Only 10% of travelers booked a trip six days or more in duration, while the majority opted to book trips ranging three to five days in duration. The prevalence of mid-length trips could be attributed to high percentages of solo travel and low percentages of group and family travel. Only 8% of travelers booked trips for groups three or more and 71% flew solo. CYBER MONDAY BOOKING TRENDS Global holiday travelers booked their flights later than they initially searched in Q4 and sought to take advantage of Cyber Monday deals. Cyber Monday kicked worldwide flight bookings with Americans responding the most dramatically to Cyber Monday. Europeans saw less dramatic, but still significant, results with a 32% increase in flight bookings on Cyber Monday and a 25% increase week over week. Europeans were booking travel well into the last week of November while Americans were celebrating Thanksgiving, which likely contributed to the more pronounced Cyber Monday spike from US travels. Unusually low gas prices may have swayed more travelers to take road trips in November, especially if traveling in groups. trip duration 10% 14% 6+ days 3-5 days 76% 0-2 days

9 PEAK SEASONAL TRAVEL P. 9 DECEMBER: THE WEEKEND PRECEDING CHRISTMAS IS THE YEAR S MOST POPULAR FOR TRAVEL WORLDWIDE Travelers were on the move the weekend preceding Christmas and on a global scale. December 19 and 20, the Friday and Saturday before Christmas, were the most sought after travel days of the entire quarter. While travel volume in December increased, the nature of it was mostly domestic or regional with the exception of travel originating in Latin America. More LATAM travelers sought to travel outside of their region around Christmas compared to the rest of the year. North America (the US and Canada) was their top international destination, presumably because of family ties with the US, especially in cities with large Latin American communities such as Miami. December Travel Destinations by Region Origination Destination NORTH AMERICA LATAM ASIA-PACIFIC EUROPE NORTH AMERICA 75% 41% 6% 6% LATAM 12% 45% 1% 4% ASIA-PACIFIC 4% 1% 80% 7% EUROPE 5% 11% 13% 78% MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA 4% 1% <<< <1% 5% Intra-regional travel Thirty-four percent of Europeans looked for short getaways in December, presumably due to the close proximity of attractive destinations. Travelers in Asia-Pacific exhibited a similar pattern in December with 40% looking for short trips. Short trips from Asia-Pacific travelers this time of year may be more likely because many of the APAC countries don t celebrate Christmas. Q1 travel is likely to see increased trip durations from the region due to Lunar New Year. Long and short vacation searches in December 38% 40% 34% 28% 16% 26% 34% 25% 0 to 2 Days 8 or More Days LATAM US ASIA-PACIFIC EUROPE

10 PEAK SEASONAL TRAVEL P. 10 Q4 peak travel dates are consistent globally with the exception of travelers in the US, who were more willing to travel on Christmas Eve than their European and Asian counterparts. ANALYSIS: TRAVEL INTENT VS. ACTUAL TRAVEL BOOKINGS While travel searchers by and large took to Q4 holiday travel searching well in advance, actual booking trends tell a different story. For example, 54% of US travelers searching to travel in December did so 30 or more days in advance. However, 74% of those who booked for December travel in Q4 did so in the same month. A last grab for flights was likely spurred by a late Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. US travelers also tend to search aspirationally, looking for longer trips than they ultimately book. While only 16% of searchers looked to take short trips this holiday season, 35% actually booked them. Duration of Searched and Booked Trips for US December Travel 16% 35% 32% Searched 25% 18% 13% Booked 34% 27% FOR THE LOVE OF GLÜHWEIN: TRAVEL TO EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS MARKETS In Europe, late November and early December travel got an extra boost from the world famous Christmas markets held in several European cities. During the first week of December in particular, Europeans flocked to cities with established traditional Christmas markets like Berlin, Barcelona and Vienna. Searches for travel across the Alpine and Pyrenees regions also spiked by 47% week over week. Top Destinations by number of searches during the weekend of 5 December 2014 across Alpine, Pyrenees & Germany region * Berlin Barcelona Vienna Munich Frankfurt-am-Main Hamburg Zurich Cologne Geneva Milan 0 to 2 Days 3 to 5 days 6 to 7 days 8 or more days *93% of searchers come from Europe Party sizes are less impacted from search to booking. However, this holiday season saw an uptick in actual couple travel over searched couple travel (19% and 16% respectively) and a slight decrease in group travel for parties of four or more from search to confirm (6% and 3% respectively).

11 PEAK SEASONAL TRAVEL P. 11 December Trends for US Bookers US bookers traveling in the month of December took advantage of Cyber Monday to book flights. The week before December saw peak departure dates on December 19 and 23 as travelers flew out before Christmas day. US Bookings in Q4 for December Travel October 8% November 18% December 74% US travelers largely avoided mid-length trips (three to five days) in favor of either short or long trips: 35% took trips two days or less in duration while 27% stayed at their destinations eight days or more. Party Size for Booked December Trips 75% Seventy-four percent of travelers flew out solo, while 19% of those who travel chose to do so in a couple. Group and family travel remained high with 7% of all travel. 19% 4% 3% 1 Traveler 2 Travelers 3 Travelers 4+ Travelers

12 PEAK SEASONAL TRAVEL P. 12 December Trends for EU Bookers EU travelers were the early birds this quarter with 48% booking for December travel in November. Only 23% of Europeans booked their December trips in that month. Europeans also traveled earlier than their US counterparts. December 5 was a peak travel date during the month. Other popular days to depart were December 12, 19 and 20. EU Bookings for December Travel October 29% November 48% December 23% European travelers looked to take short and long trips rather than mid-length trips this December. Thirty-four percent took trips two days or less in duration and 26% took trips for eight days or more. Only 27% took mid-length trips (three to five days) and 13% booked trips six to seven days long. Party Size for Booked December Trips 73% 19% 4% 4% 1 Traveler 2 Travelers 3 Travelers 4+ Travelers

13 PEAK SEASONAL TRAVEL P. 13 SPECIAL REPORT: Q4 LAST-MINUTE BOOKERS US Q4 Last-Minute Bookers Last-minute bookers traveled overwhelmingly for leisure - only 18% looked to travel for business this quarter. They also traveled primarily domestically (88% in Q4). Last-minute bookers in Q4 were largely male, making up 60% of all last-minute bookers. November 26, the day before Thanksgiving, was the peak travel day for US last-minute travelers. On that day, Sojern saw double the incidence of last-minute bookers traveling over the quarterly average. The peak days US last-minute bookers bought tickets were November 19, 20, 24, 25 and 26 and December 16, 17,18, 19, 22 and % 82% 12% 18% Domestic Travelers International Travelers Business Travelers Leisure Travelers 99% Female 40% 60% Male Coach 1% Business/First

14 PEAK SEASONAL TRAVEL P. 14 Q4 last-minute bookers booked longer trips at the end of the quarter rather than the beginning. In December, 26% of last-minute bookers snagged trips lasting eight days or more - 14% higher than trips booked in October and November. Group travel also saw a slight increase in December. Booked Trip Duration (Days) 0 to 2 Days 3 to 5 days 21% 31% 31% 43% 49% 47% 6 to 7 days 8% 10% December 8 or more days 10% 12% 12% 26% November October Booked Party Size 78% 79% 77% 17% 16% 17% December November October 3% 3% 4% 2% 2% 2% Top 5 Destinations in Q4 for Last-Minute Bookers New York Chicago Miami Los Angeles Dallas 1 traveler 2 travelers 3 travelers 4+ travelers

15 PEAK SEASONAL TRAVEL P. 15 EU Q4 Last-Minute Bookers EU last-minute bookers were more likely than Americans to take an inter-regional trip. Fifteen percent booked travel outside of Europe in Q4. Business travel was also much higher in Europe than the US. Thirty-five percent of trips were for business while 65% were for leisure. Last-minute bookings in the EU peaked throughout the quarter compared to the US, where last-minute bookings centered around the holidays. Peak travel for EU last-minute bookers occurred on October 13, November 7, and December 2. The peak booking days for EU last-minute bookers were October 6, November 4, and December 1. 85% 65% 35% 15% Regional Travelers Inter-Regional Travelers Business Travelers Leisure Travelers 97% 3% Coach Business/First

16 PEAK SEASONAL TRAVEL P. 16 Like US last-minute bookers, EU last-minute bookers booked longer trips at the end of the quarter rather than the beginning. In December, 20% of last-minute bookers took trips lasting eight days or more, 6% higher than trips booked in October and November. Booked Trip Duration 0 to 2 Days 59% 61% 56% 3 to 5 days 19% 20% 18% 6 to 7 days 8 or more days 6% 6% 6% 14% 14% 20% December November October EU last-minute bookers saw high proportions of solo travel. Eighty-two percent of last-minute bookers in Q4 flew solo. Like US travelers, EU last-minute bookers saw little variation in party sizes throughout the quarter, but had higher proportions of solo travelers. Booked Party Size 81% 83% 81% 1 traveler 16% 14% 15% 2 travelers December November October 2% 2% 3% 1% 1% 1% 3 travelers 4+ travelers Top 5 Destinations in Q4 for Last-Minute Bookers Barcelona Izmir Berlin London Antalya

17 IMPACT OF WORLD EVENTS P. 17 THE DOWNFALL OF THE RUBLE: BAD NEWS FOR EUROPE A tumbling Russian ruble shifted travel patterns to and from Russia in Q4. Facing a weakened currency, Russians are searching less and less for trips. Outbound searches in December were down 38% over last year. If the trend continues, markets in Europe and Asia are likely to see fewer hotel rooms filled by Russians in Winter ski resorts in Europe are likely to feel the pressure first with Asian summer hot spots not far behind. On the flip side of the coin, Chinese and South Korean travelers are taking advantage of the ruble s fall, seizing the opportunity for an affordable trip to Russia. On December 16, the day Russian Trading System declined 12%, searches from China and South Korea to Russia jumped 86% overnight, accounting for a twofold increase week over week. CUBA RISING: EMBARGO RELAXATION SPURS RUSH OF TRAVEL SEARCHES On December 17, following the White House announcement that more travel restrictions had been lifted for US nationals to travel to Cuba, searches for travel from the US to the island nation jumped 360% over the previous day, and continued to increase for the next few days, reaching a 446% increase on December 18 (compared to December 16th). The top three cities looking to make travel plans to Cuba were New York, Los Angeles and Miami. Prior to the White House announcement, there had been no single significant changes in booking trends all year from the US to Cuba. On a smaller scale, similar effects were visible across the globe. Relaxation of the US embargo on Cuba incited curiosity from Canadians and some Europeans. Already a top origin country for holidays in Cuba, searches from Canada spiked by 40%. Searches also spiked from a handful of major European countries, up 20-30% day on day. CHILE EXPECTS A GLOBAL AUDIENCE AT COPA AMERICA This year, Chile is hosting Copa America from June 11th to July 4th and the travel appetite around it is already tremendous. Searches to Chile for Copa America dates surged four-fold after the group draws on November 24. The top five countries searching for travel to Chile around Copa America were the US, Brazil, Colombia, Spain, and the UK. The popularity of soccer in Latin American culture is reflected in the search traffic for travel to Chile during Copa America. Thirty-eight percent of all searchers came from Latin America. European soccer fans weren t far behind, making up more than a quarter of total searchers. The Soccer Fans Who Are Planning to Watch Copa America Live Mexico 6% Brazil Colombia Domestic (Chile) UK Germany France Italy LATAM SEARCHERS european SEARCHERS 19% spain 21% 5% 12% 11% 18% 23% Another reason Chile s hospitality industry can look forward to hosting Copa America is that soccer fans stretch out their trips around sporting events - almost three out of four (74%) of searches were for trips six days or longer. 25%

18 IMPACT OF WORLD EVENTS P. 18 TREND UPDATES: TRAVEL TO BRAZIL AND SOUTH- EAST ASIA As we reported in our Q3 Travel Insights, Brazil saw a significant travel boost from the World Cup during summer After experiencing a slowing period that took effect immediately following the World Cup, Brazil s tourism appears to be gaining momentum again. December marked the beginning of summer in Brazil and the South American destination is attracting more visitors to its coasts. Seven percent of LATAM searchers in Q4 looked to fly to a beach destination in Brazil. American interest in Brazil remains high following the World Cup. Eight percent of all searches to Brazil in Q4 came from the US. With the dollar holding strong, Brazilian hospitality brands should target Americans who are likely to spend more in Q1. The real winner this summer season is the hotel industry. Searches for hotels surged four-fold in November and continued to grow into December, marking a strong start for Q1 performance. TRAVEL FROM CHINA TO JAPAN Chinese travelers remained interested in Japan in Q4. The proportion of Chinese searches to Japan in Q4 increased 7% over Q3. With Lunar New Year approaching, increased interest and followthrough travel from China to Japan in Q1 is expected. SouthEast Asia Travel Update Singapore saw a returning interest from Chinese travelers in Q4; however, overall interest in Southeast Asia remained lower with other nationalities through the middle of Q4. Searches to Southeast Asia were down 17% in November from October. December showed some returning interest from worldwide visitors with 43% of Q4 searches being made throughout the month.

19 Q4 OUTBOUND TRAVEL P. 19 Q4 EUROPE OVERVIEW Largest searching originations most searched destinations OVERLAPPED Asia Largest Searching Originations London Zurich Munich Madrid Barcelona Most Searched Destinations London Paris Barcelona Berlin Bangkok Party Size Searched 75% Duration Searched 31% 35% 8+ days 6-7 days 1 Traveler 18% 2 Travelers 4% 3% 3 Travelers 4+ Travelers 11% 23% 3-5 days 0-2 days Search Lead Time 0 DAYS 1-2 DAYS 3-7 DAYS 8-14 DAYS DAYS DAYS DAYS 60+ DAYS 2% 5% 9% 9% 11% 12% 24% 28%

20 Q4 OUTBOUND TRAVEL P. 20 Q4 NORTH AMERICA OVERVIEW Largest searching originations most searched destinations OVERLAPPED Largest Searching Originations New York Los Angeles Chicago Boston Washington DC Most Searched Destinations Miami Las Vegas New York San Francisco Los Angeles Party Size Searched Duration Searched 77% 30% 20% 8+ days 6-7 days 16% 3% 4% 15% 35% 3-5 days 0-2 days 1 Traveler 2 Travelers 3 Travelers 4+ Travelers Search Lead Time 0 DAYS 1-2 DAYS 3-7 DAYS 8-14 DAYS DAYS DAYS DAYS 60+ DAYS 2% 4% 9% 11% 9% 10% 24% 31%

21 Q4 OUTBOUND TRAVEL P. 21 Q4 LATAM OVERVIEW spain Largest searching originations most searched destinations OVERLAPPED Largest Searching Originations Sao Paolo Mexico City Bogota Caracas San Juan/Tijuana Most Searched Destinations Miami Cancun Orlando Madrid Mexico City Party Size Searched Duration Searched 77% 24% 8+ days 15% 4% 4% 46% 11% 19% 6-7 days 3-5 days 0-2 days 1 Traveler 2 Travelers 3 Travelers 4+ Travelers Search Lead Time 0 DAYS 1-2 DAYS 3-7 DAYS 8-14 DAYS DAYS DAYS DAYS 60+ DAYS 3% 4% 7% 9% 10% 9% 28% 30%

22 Q4 OUTBOUND TRAVEL P. 22 Q4 ASIA-PACIFIC OVERVIEW Largest searching originations most searched destinations OVERLAPPED Largest Searching Originations Hong Kong Singapore Incheon/Seoul Sydney Bangkok Most Searched Destinations Hong Kong Singapore Sydney Bangkok Denpasar (Bali) Party Size Searched 78% Duration Searched 34% 37% 8+ days 6-7 days 3-5 days 15% 4% 3% 9% 20% 0-2 days 1 Traveler 2 Travelers 3 Travelers 4+ Travelers Search Lead Time 0 DAYS 2% 1-2 DAYS 3-7 DAYS 8-14 DAYS DAYS DAYS DAYS 60+ DAYS 5% 9% 9% 8% 7% 27% 33%

23 SUMMER 2015 TRAVEL FORECAST P. 23 Summer Travel Forecast for the US: More International Travel On the Horizon Possibly boosted by a dollar that has been getting stronger over the past few months, early US searchers are more likely to look at traveling abroad. Of those who looked in 2014 for travel between June to September 2015, a whopping 62% considered international destinations, with Europe and the Caribbean being the most sought after locations. Just over a quarter (26%) looked to Europe for summer sun, with London by far the most popular city and Paris and Dublin just behind. Other European hotspots that lured early American searchers were Barcelona and Athens. Eighteen percent of US searchers looked to go to Latin America, of which 13% looked specifically for Caribbean destinations with Cancun in Mexico and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic in the lead. Couples in particular looked to hit the beach in Cancun this summer, followed by Montego Bay, Punta Cana, Las Vegas and London. Top 10 Cities Searched by Early US Travelers 1. London 2. Cancun 3. Paris 4. Las Vegas 5. Orlando 6. Honolulu 7. New York City 8. Los Angeles 9. Seattle 10. Punta Cana

24 P EUROPEAN SUMMER: NEW HOTSPOTS EMERGE With the US dollar on the rise, travel from Europe to the US is likely to drop slightly. Regionally, Europeans are traveling as much as ever, discovering new trendy locations closer to home. Spain remains the number one destination country for British and German travelers, having already topped the charts for early birds. Iceland, which was a top 10 city for German early birds trendsetters when it comes to traveling is a top search hotspot for A revitalized Milan is hosting the 2015 World Expo this year, helping move the needle for tourism to Italy, which finds itself again on the upswing in travel planning for the coming summer. It doesn t hurt that the New York Times recently named the North Italian city number one on its list of 52 Places to Go in Outside of Europe, Australia is also seeing a rise in interest for summer travel plans. Big city destinations think New York, Bangkok, Los Angeles, and Sydney are trending higher for solo travelers than for groups and families. Party destinations Ibiza and Las Vegas also top UK traveler charts, while the French head to New York City and Los Angeles. Top 10 Cities Searched by Early European Travelers 1. Mallorca 2. Alicante 3. Los Angeles 4. Malaga 5. New York City 6. Bangkok 7. Barcelona 8. Ibiza 9. San Francisco 10. Miami

25 APPENDIX: GLOSSARY P. 25 Sojern analyzed airline search and travel behavior from October through December 2014 to better understand changing global consumer travel trends. This report reviews Sojern s findings and conclusions on broad international trends, seasonal travel and world events, and then focuses on four regions: Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and North America. Sojern s analysis highlights a number of consumer travel trends, including: Searched Destinations: The destinations potential travelers are looking up Top Traveled Destinations: The destinations to which travelers are actually going Origination Cities: The cities people are traveling from Metro Areas: The urban regions served by designated airport(s), as defined by the respective country's government bureau Trip Types: The reason why people are traveling (business or leisure). Sojern uses an algorithm that analyzes many different variables to determine whether the trip is for business or leisure. Trip Durations: The length of a searched or booked trip Search Lead Times: The length of time between a search and departure date Booking Lead Times: The length of time between a booking and departure date Party Sizes: The number of people traveling on the same reservation Traveler Intent: The intent to travel as defined by search data Last-minute Booker: A traveler that books travel with 7 days or less to travel Short-Haul Trip: A short-distance trip, usually regional Long-Haul Trip: A long-distance trip, usually inter-regional

26 APPENDIX: GLOSSARY P. 26 REGIONAL COVERAGE Asia-Pacific Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Cook Islands, East Timor, Federated States of Micronesia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, Niue, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam Europe Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vatican City Middle-East Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen Latin America Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthélemy, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, Uruguay, Venezuela, Virgin Islands North America* Canada, United States *See Methodology

27 APPENDIX: METHODOLOGY P. 27 To further illustrate the findings of the Travel Trends research, Sojern has created an infographic that can be accessed at Interested in additional details on Sojern, its research, product or services? Visit sojern.com or the company at METHODOLOGY Sojern s quarterly insights reports are based on the rigorous analysis of more than 600 million traveler intent data points, obtained through Sojern s unique partnerships with some of the world s most renowned travel brands. The insights available through this analysis enable these brands to deliver the right messages to the right traveler at the right time through display, video, mobile, social, and boarding pass advertising. Our analysis is based on regional areas and airports serving those regions. For the purpose of analyzing these regions, Europe includes Russia; Asia-Pacific does not include the Middle East but includes Oceania and Australia; North America includes only the U.S. and Canada; and Latin America includes Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Sojern never shares or passes out personally identifiable information (PII) such as names, s, or addresses. All of the insights are based on very specific data sets as provided by Sojern's data partners. The data provided is not a complete view of all global traveler information as different data sources provide additional views of traveler behavior. ABOUT SOJERN Headquartered in San Francisco with key offices in New York City, Omaha, London, Dubai, and Singapore, Sojern is the world s leading data-driven traveler engagement platform that delivers the most efficient marketing, distribution, monetization and insight solutions at scale. Since 2007, the company has helped top travel brands more efficiently and meaningfully engage with travelers to drive conversions, loyalty and monetization. For more information, please visit sojern.com.