Thomson and Expedia frequently trade first and second place throughout the year as the top UK travel agency site - but now Thomas Cook is starting to make a challenge.
In recent weeks, Cook has found itself just a fraction short of Expedia in second place in terms of audience share (via Hitwise).
Whether this is a sign of the so-called summer “lates” market kicking in or the fruits of Cook’s wider strategy to attract more business via the web as a result of its switch to becoming an online travel agency remains to be seen.
It certainly indicates why the likes of Expedia and Lastminute.com are ramping up their branding efforts.
Most popular travel websites in the UK for the week ending June 18 2011:
Agencies
Rank Website Domain Percentage of Visits Previous Position
1 Thomson www.thomson.co.uk 8.05% 1
2 Expedia.co.uk www.expedia.co.uk 6.50% 2
3 Thomas Cook www.thomascook.com 6.38% 3
4 Lastminute.com www.lastminute.com 4.71% 4
5 TravelRepublic.co.uk www.travelrepublic.co.uk 3.96% 5
6 travelsupermarket.com www.travelsupermarket.com 2.84% 8
7 First Choice www.firstchoice.co.uk 2.66% 7
8 Travelzoo UK www.travelzoo.com/uk 2.50% 6
9 skyscanner www.skyscanner.net 2.42% 10
10 Cheapflights.co.uk www.cheapflights.co.uk 2.41% 9
Destinations and Accommodation
Rank Website Domain Percentage of Visits Previous Position
1 TripAdvisor www.tripadvisor.co.uk 10.97% 1
2 Booking.com www.booking.com 6.18% 2
3 TripAdvisor www.tripadvisor.com 3.60% 5
4 LateRooms.com www.laterooms.com 3.36% 4
5 Travelodge UK www.travelodge.co.uk 2.67% 3
6 Premier Inn www.premierinn.com 1.88% 6
7 Hotels.com www.hotels.com 1.55% 7
8 ukcampsite.co.uk www.ukcampsite.co.uk 1.16% 8
9 InterContinental Hotels Group www.ichotelsgroup.com 1.09% 9
10 Owners Direct www.ownersdirect.co.uk 1.02% -
Airlines
Rank Website Domain Percentage of Visits Previous Position
1 easyJet.com www.easyjet.com 19.71% 1
2 Ryanair www.ryanair.com 19.28% 2
3 British Airways www.britishairways.com 9.67% 3
4 Jet2.com www.jet2.com 5.68% 4
5 Flybe www.flybe.com 4.53% 5
6 Monarch.co.uk www.monarch.co.uk 3.87% 6
7 Virgin atlantic www.virgin-atlantic.com 3.21% 7
8 bmibaby www.bmibaby.com 3.14% 8
9 Thomson Airways flights.thomson.co.uk 2.90% 9
10 flythomascook.com www.flythomascook.com 2.38% 10
Travel search terms
Rank Search Term Percentage of Clicks Percentage Paid Percentage Organic Previous Position
1 google maps 1.05% 1.27% 98.73% 1
2 thomas cook 0.60% 6.63% 93.37% 3
3 ryanair 0.56% 1.23% 98.77% 4
4 easyjet 0.55% 9.73% 90.27% 5
5 aa route planner 0.52% 0.60% 99.40% 6
6 thomson 0.46% 0.50% 99.50% 7
7 national rail 0.45% 0.55% 99.45% 9
8 tfl 0.45% 0.00% 100.00% 8
9 trainline 0.41% 48.57% 51.43% 10
10 trip advisor 0.39% 50.25% 49.75% -
NB: Data courtesy of Experian Hitwise
About Tnooz
[...] Thomas Cook closing in and Thomson clinging on to the top spot, this week is probably about the right time to launch a major new branding campaign at Expedia in [...]