Leading Travel Booking Services in the UK: Q3 2023 Analysis

The travel booking landscape in the United Kingdom has seen notable shifts in Q3 2023, with major players like Booking.com, TripAdvisor, and Jet2holidays leading the charge. Sensor Tower provides an unparalleled view into these brands' performance across web and app platforms, offering insights into audience trends, app engagement, and advertising strategies.

Booking.com: A Powerhouse in Travel Booking

Booking.com continues to dominate the travel booking scene with its website and the Booking.com: Hotels & Travel app.

• Audience Trends: The website, booking.com, maintained a stable monthly audience throughout the quarter, with visits peaking in July at over 214M and declining to approximately 160M by September. The monthly true audience remained above 14M, with web-only visitors consistently outnumbering app-only visitors.

• App Engagement: The app showed a robust monthly active user base, starting at around 7.3M in July, peaking in August, and slightly decreasing to about 6.8M in September.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Booking.com invested heavily in advertising, with July's monthly spend reaching over $7.9M. Facebook and YouTube were the primary channels, contributing to significant impressions across the quarter.

TripAdvisor: A Reliable Travel Companion

TripAdvisor, with its website and the Tripadvisor: Plan & Book Trips app, remains a trusted name in travel planning.

• Audience Trends: The website, tripadvisor.com, experienced a peak in visits in August at over 65M, with a monthly true audience consistently around 9M. The web platform dominated over the app in terms of audience size.

• App Engagement: The app's monthly active user base saw a gradual decline, starting at approximately 1.2M in July and dropping to about 1M by September.

• Ad Spend & Channels: TripAdvisor's monthly advertising spend was modest, peaking at around $81K in July. Facebook was the primary channel, generating the majority of impressions.

Jet2holidays: A Rising Star

Jet2holidays' website and the Jet2 - Holidays and Flights app have shown promising growth.

• Audience Trends: The website, jet2holidays.com, had a strong start with over 58M visits in July, stabilizing to around 38M by September. The monthly true audience hovered above 6M, with a balanced presence between web and app visitors.

• App Engagement: The app saw a resurgence in September, with monthly active users increasing from 1.8M in July to nearly 2M.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Jet2holidays maintained a steady monthly advertising spend, with July's expenditure reaching about $1.2M. Facebook and Instagram were the dominant channels, providing substantial impressions.

Conclusion

In Q3 2023, Booking.com, TripAdvisor, and Jet2holidays have demonstrated significant strengths in the UK travel booking market. Sensor Tower's comprehensive data, through its Web Insights, App Performance Insights, and Pathmatics, provides critical insights into these brands' performance across platforms. These insights highlight trends and strategies that define their market presence, offering unique advantages for decision-makers seeking to capitalize on the evolving travel landscape.