A new PhoCusWright study portrays a “bleak” short-term picture for the overall U.K. travel market, but projects that online travel bookings will increase 3% in 2009 when the final tallies are in.

The report, PhoCusWright’s European Online Travel Overview Fifth Edition, notes that amidst a currency devaluation and the recession, U.K. online leisure and unmanaged business travel grew its share of bookings 5 percentage points to 45% of the overall £37.6 billion U.K travel market in 2009.

Online channels in the U.K. are benefitting from travelers’ penchant to scour the Web for holiday options, according to the study on travel trends in Europe.