While the European tourism industry faces a global economic pressure, the online booking channels continue to gain market share. The growth of online sales in the leisure/business sector for 2008, considered in the projections by 19%, is significantly higher than the growth by 3% set for European travel industry as a whole.
Online bookings for leisure/business sector represent 29% of 246 billion euros of European tourism at the close of 2008, according to the fourth edition of the report "PhoCusWright's European Online Travel Overview."
"Consumers use Internet to find the best value for money. Although the overall travel industry demand  will be suffering, these trends will bring more online business in 2009."