ONE-third of all online users obtain information about travel from the Internet. This is according to a special survey by the Internet Travel Marketing Federation (VIR), the parent association of German online travel portals, as part of its representative survey ‘RA online’, which also affirms that travel communities exert a growing influence on holiday decision-making.

The survey findings reveal that 30,8 million Germans now rely on the Internet as a source of information when making their travel plans. Of this figure, around seven million use travel communities as a basis for making a final decision about their journey. A further five million intend to rely on these virtual communities for making their travel decisions in the future.

Questions targeted exclusively at online users on the subject of travel communities reveal that it is above all the genuineness of the evaluations and entries that is of vital importance within these communities and evaluation platforms. Making a choice from many different opinions to form one’s own view ranks second in importance.
Among 45- to 55-year-old Internet users, more than half regard it as extremely important for the person making the evaluation to have actually been to the location, whereas the majority of younger users (16 to 24), are more ‘relaxed’ about this particular criterion.

According to the survey, women are more critical than men when dealing with travel community websites. Of the women who were questioned, 48% stated that they attached major importance to the quality and authenticity of the individual evaluations.

It is also evident that it is predominantly those people in lower income groups who make use of travel communities and whose decisions are more likely to be influenced by them than is the case with middle and upper income groups. Claudia Brözel, Member of the Managing Committee of VIR, says: “Authenticity and a wide range of opinions are major criteria in assessing trustworthiness, especially in travel communities. Operators should therefore concentrate on ensuring that entries are of the required quality. VIR members’ portals have already achieved considerable success with their communities on this exciting market.”

“There is no doubt about the growing importance of travel communities. Travel tips, hotel evaluations, reports by restaurant critics, travel diaries and travel pictures taken by members all provide greater clarity, offer inspiration to other travellers and encourage people to compare their travel experiences. In particular the discussions about the influence and power of travel communities in tourism taking place at this year’s ITB Berlin Convention reveal the vast potential offered by such platforms”, says Martin Buck, Director of ITB Berlin.