Mobile to Represent Over One Quarter of U.S. Online Travel Market by 2015

U.S. travel market growth has slowed slightly this year, as the country's sluggish economic recovery takes its toll. Yet the staggering pace of mobile adoption continues unabated, with mobile travel bookings sustaining triple-digit growth in 2013.

According to travel industry research authority PhoCusWright, in the new report, U.S. Online Travel Overview Thirteenth Edition, mobile travel bookings will more than triple over the next two years, to reach $39.5 million by 2015.

"Mobile devices are quickly becoming an integral part of the travel lifecycle, essential tools for planning and managing trips," said PhoCusWright research analyst Maggie Rauch. "But there is still much to be done to drive transactions via both tablets and smartphones. Every serious player in the online travel space is prioritizing mobile technology development and pushing hard to increase their share of mobile bookings."

Mobile travel bookings are projected to comprise over one quarter of the U.S. online travel market in 2015 – up from just 2% in 2011.

Mobile will represent a compelling competitive battleground for suppliers and OTAs over the next two years, as U.S. travel market growth is expected to remain in the 4-5% range.

Despite the maturity of the online channel, online growth is likely to continue to outpace the overall travel market through 2015.