Young turning to mobiles to book holidays

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34527322

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More than a third of 16 to 24-year-olds booked a holiday last year on their mobile phone or tablet computer, a travel association has said.

Some 38% of adults in this age group, asked in a survey for Abta, used their tablet when booking a holiday online in the last year.

Mobile phones were used in 34% of online holiday bookings, a figure that drops to 3% for the over 65s.

PCs and laptops remain the most popular online holiday booking device.

"This reflects the fact that buying a holiday is often a more complex and high value transaction compared to other purchases," said Victoria Bacon, head of brand and business development at Abta.

"However, for the last two years we have seen significant growth in the use of tablets, reflecting their increasing importance as a device to book holidays online.

"While smartphones have a long way to go to catch up with PCs and tablets when it comes to holiday bookings, their popularity among younger age groups suggests they will grow in relevance."

Travel agents remain the most popular method of booking a holiday for most categories of getaways, but bookings made directly with hotels and airlines, or holiday booking websites, are close behind.