Growth in number of travel websites soars

According to research by Internet Security Systems over the past twelve months, the growth in the number of travel websites has soared by 25 percent.

Further evidence of this online travel boom comes from a recently published paper by Forrester Research which found that one in three of the euros, pounds, or kronor that European consumers spend online goes towards leisure trip bookings. The report also estimated that online travel spending will grow by 133 percent to almost euro 77 billion in 2011.

Interestingly, the research conducted by ISS has found that over half of the world's travel websites are located in the USA - 60.4 percent. Germany follows in second place with 12.9 percent and Great Britain in third with only 5% of all travel websites hosted there.

Top 5 countries worldwide that host travel websites:

1. USA (60.4 %)

2. Germany (12.9 %)

3. Great Britain (5.0 %)

4. Austria (4.2 %)

5. Canada (2.9 %)

6. Other (14.5 %)

Top 5 European countries that host travel websites (measured according to the share of travel websites hosted worldwide):

1. Germany (12.9 %)

2. Great Britain (5.0 %)

3. Austria (4.2 %)

4. The Netherlands (1.3 %)

5. France (1.2 %)