Trendline: Mobile usage in online tourism

1 March 2017 | Pascal Vleugels | |

We've known it for some time, of course. The rise of mobile devices and the decline in the use of the traditional desktop computer and laptop. But now for the first time, we have insight into the use of mobile devices in the field of tourism websites.

Smartphone is the most used device

For a year now, the smartphone has surpassed the traditional desktop. Visitors to tourism websites are increasingly using their mobile device to view the website. Whereas in February last year we still saw the desktop as the most used device, in February this year this is no longer the case and, instead, mobiles are used more often.

Device usage in February 2017:

Smartphone: 46%
Desktop: 38%
Tablet: 16%

The tablet shows a slight decline over the past year. Attrition is still fairly erratic, but the upward trend of mobile devices seems to be here to stay for now. This is also one of the reasons why we are increasingly focusing on "mobile first", optimising online applications for these devices.