Mobile’s share of bookings in the travel sector has risen from 12 per cent to 23 per cent in the past year, while among companies spending on in-app advertising and tracking, apps are generating 49 per cent of their mobile bookings. The figures come from Criteo’s 2015 Travel Flash Report, for which the company analysed over 1bn bookings from over 100 of the top travel suppliers and online travel agents (OTAs).

The report also reveals that the booking device of choice depends on a variety of factors, including time of day, day of the week, duration of stay and type of travel booking. However, smartphones account for 47 per cent of same-day hotel bookings, with tablets responsible for a further 11 per cent. Interestingly, the share of total bookings generated by smartphones is roughly three times higher for OTAs than for direct bookings with hotel chains themselves.

Some regions are more mobile than others. In most Western countries, the share of bookings coming from mobile devices is more than 20 per cent, while in Japan, it’s above 30 per cent. But Latin America and some EU markets, such as Germany, lag behind.

Finally, the report notes that attribution is still a challenge for marketers as cross-device usage is significant in this sector. The report notes that companies are failing to accurately acknowledge mobile’s role in the buying process in instances where the final transaction takes places on another device after the smartphone has been used to research the booking. Indeed, Criteo believes that 21 per cent of online bookings are not correctly measured by advertisers, because the final transaction occurs on another device than the one where the click was made.

You can download the full report here.