Behavioural Study on Advertising and Marketing Practices in travel booking websites and apps

Client: CHAFEA

Duration: 2019 – 2020

Consortium: Open Evidence (leader), LSE, BDI, TNS

Methodology: Behavioural Study

Tools: Literature Review, Interviews, Behavioural Experiments, Workshop

Fieldwork: Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Portugal, Croatia, Estonia

Geographical scope: EU27

With a fully functioning Digital Single Market, Europe can create up to €415 billion in additional growth, hundreds of thousands of new jobs, and a vibrant knowledge-based society. But if citizens do not trust online services, they may not benefit from all the opportunities presented by technology which also harms the industry’s competitiveness. This study contributes to the understanding of the interaction of travel websites with consumers and specifically looks at the potential consumer issues raised by their marketing and advertising practices, keeping in mind the overall policy goal of increasing consumer trust in the online environment. Open Evidence identifies the problematic drivers of consumer decision making and in particular problematic commercial practices that are widely used or emerging in travel booking websites and apps, to subsequently analyse their impact on consumer perceptions and economic behaviours, but also to identify factors that can influence their impact and the potential available remedies. This is done through a mix of qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

Final report

Behavioural study on advertising and marketing practices in travel booking websites and apps