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Online travel traffic bounces back

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CIOL Bureau
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NEW YORK: Consumer interest in Internet travel bounced back at the end of

last month as the number of travelers visiting leading Web sites climbed in the

wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, a survey released on Monday reported.

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Traffic to seven out of the top ten travel sites rebounded during the week

ending Sept. 30 surpassing levels reported for the week ending Sept. 9,

according to Nielsen//NetRatings, the survey by Internet audience measurement

service.

Delta Air Lines, UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, Hotwire, Expedia and AMR

Corp.'s American Airlines Web sites were among those reporting the largest

growth.

Delta's Web site posted the largest gain in audience share for the week

ending Sept. 30 compared with before the attacks - a surge of 32 per cent in

growth with 627,000 unique visitors. United's online traffic gained 30 per cent

with 474,000 visitors while Hotwire jumped 11 per cent, Expedia gained seven per

cent and American Airlines posted five percent growth, drawing nearly 1.8

million visitors.

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"Consumer interest in travel has begun to rebound from the turmoil

surrounding recent national events," said Sean Kaldor, vice president of

analytical services at NetRatings. "Discounted fares and heightened

promotions are enticing surfers to continue to use the Internet to plan and book

travel arrangements."

Many online travel Web Sites saw traffic plummet after the attacks, but have

regained traffic as interest in travel purchases returned.

According to Nielsen//NetRatings Orbitz had 1 million visitors for the week

ended Sept. 9. That figure dropped to 438,000 after the attacks but climbed to

978,000 in the last week of September.

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Nielsen//NetRatings found Travelocity reported 1.38 million visitors during

the week of Sept. 9 and 969,000 after the attacks, but 1.37 million visitors in

the last week of September.

Last month's attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon halted air

travel for two days and left many Americans nervous about flying due to security

concerns.

Airlines, hotels and car rental companies have announced thousands of lay

offs since the assaults as they try to adjust capacity to lowered demand.

Already stung by the economic slowdown, airlines and hotels have also started

offering bargain prices to lure travelers.

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The survey did not question individuals on actual travel bookings purchased

online. But Kaldor said the number of visitors getting into secure mode online -

usually required to make a purchase - had returned to levels similar to before

the attacks.

The Nielsen//NetRating survey, conducted before the US and British attacks on

Afghanistan, took data from 70,000 people with access to the Internet at home or

at work in the United States.

(C) Reuters Limited 2001.

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