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Abta17: Mobile devices drive online sales growth as shop bookings dip

Online holiday bookings have grown from 76% to 83% in the last 12 months as in-store bookings dip slightly.

A growth in bookings made on mobile devices is thought to be behind the overall increase in online bookings.

Bookings on mobiles grew from 13% to 20% in the last 12 months.

PC bookings went down from 92% to 85%.

17% of people booked their holiday in a shop compared to 19% last year as telephone booking dropped from 21% to 16%.

Abta’s annual Holiday Habits Report revealed that the average number of holidays taken per year has grown to 3.8 – its highest point in five years.

Over a quarter of holidaymakers are also booking earlier, up from one in five in 2016, with cheaper deals given as the main reason.

Despite concerns and confusion over Brexit, 31% of people surveyed said they planned to spend more on heir holidays in the next year, up from 24% last year.

Every region in the country is increasing its holiday demand except London.

People in the north west took 5.6 holidays in 2017 compared to people in London who took three – well below the national average of 3.8.

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