Comments from Industry Leader Confirm Trends in iPerceptions' Travel Data

Richard Anderson, CEO of Delta Air Lines, spoke with the Financial Times online about the effect of persistently high fuel prices on capacity and profitability in the airline industry. As of this writing, crude oil for October delivery has risen to $116/barrel on the NYMEX. Although the price of oil has fallen from its peak of over $150/barrel, it's "still too high for all sectors of our economy," as Mr. Anderson correctly points out. With hurricane season in full swing and mounting uncertainty about the geopolitical intentions of energy giant Russia, the price doesn't look like it's about to soften anytime soon.

When asked whether he had observed measurable softening in the travel industry, Mr. Anderson replied as follows:

"The US economy is slowing as we speak and what you're seeing is a change in business travel patterns, and the business travel patterns are changing in two ways: fewer people going on trips and, second, trips being booked further in advance of the day of flight, to save money by advanced purchase of tickets. So, we're seeing some softening in the domestic economy."

This less-than-rosy picture of the travel industry aligns completely with findings from our surveys. In fact, we recently found that the average number of nights spent in a hotel each year plummeted 28% between January and June 2008 among leisure travelers and by 25% among business travelers. When asked why they were scaling back, consumers overwhelmingly cited budget concerns originating from escalating gas prices.

It's only going to make the equation that much more difficult for interactive marketers in the travel industry. Shrinking wallets means the advent of interactive Darwisnism, where only the strong sites survive.