Online Travel Sites Continue To Increase Popularity

Online travel website Expedia reported better than expected earnings for the first half of this year. In a press release announcing the earnings, Expedia CEO Richard Barton boasted that his company had not only earned more but had continued to gain market share. Gross bookings were up 78 percent from a year earlier; revenues were up 112 percent. (USA networks has announced plans to buy a controlling stake in Expedia from its parent company, Microsoft.)

Expedia’s rival, Travelocity turned in street-beating results of its own on revenue that was up 76 percent from a year earlier. (Name-your-own-price ticket seller Priceline and cheaptickets.com are expected to post similar increases.)

Though leisure travel bookings have remained strong despite the economic downturn, this could change in a hurry if continued economic troubles in the U.S. cause consumers to rein in their spending. And the current online ticketing leaders also face a formidable foe in the form of Orbitz, a new travel website backed by the major airlines.

Since Orbitz was just launched in June, it’s impossible to know just how much of a threat this site will pose to the current leaders. But Orbitz attracted some 3.7 million users in its first month of operation, making the site’s launch the most successful in Net history, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. And with Orbitz promising to spend as much as $100 million on advertising a year it seems pretty likely that a lot of budget-minded travelers will want to check out Orbitz’ claim to offer the best fares.