Search is playing a key role in the advertising strategies of travel companies, as rising fuel costs and the impact of the credit crunch continue to make life difficult for the sector.

Monday, 3 November 2008

A quarter of travel companies polled by destination and events information provider Whatsonwhen stated that they would increase search engine marketing by up to 50 per cent, with two-thirds of respondents citing search as their current top priority.

"The priority allocated to SEO and increasing destination content goes hand in hand because researching destinations has been shown to be the most popular use of Google in the travel category," noted Joel Brandon Bravo of Whatsonwhen.

This week Ryanair announced a 47 per cent drop in profits, despite having reduced its marketing costs by 50 per cent.