The latest Google research study in their Think Quarterly issue (November 2011) shows that the fundamental goal of advertising–to drive consumers to turn dreams into tangible reality–holds very true for the travel industry.

Particularly, the online medium plays a very engaging role in the travel consumer’s mind. Google’s study reports:

• Dreaming: 68% of business travelers watch travel-related online videos. Among them, 68% are thinking about a trip.
• Planning: The average traveler visits ~22 travel related sites during 9.5 research sessions prior to booking.
• Booking: 37% of leisure travelers report that the internet prompted them to book, up from 28% two years ago.
• Experiencing: 70% of business travelers check into their flights/hotel with their mobile device. Almost 1 in 4 hotel queries come from a mobile phone.
• Sharing: About 1 in 3 business travelers have posted reviews online of places they’ve been.

Source: http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/insights/featured/five-stages-of-travel/

Check out their latest infographic, chock full of interesting statistics on the traveler’s moment of truth in their consumer journey (pun not intended).

Interestingly, I just purchased my tickets last night for a holiday trek back to the east coast for a rumble in DC and NYC.

People Love to Dream About Travel