Internet holiday sales still a long way off in the Balearics

Internet holiday sales in Spain and the Balearics have yet to take off according to a recent study, carried out by a tourism consultancy company, the results of which were released yesterday. While in the rest of Europe, particularly in the United Kingdom, a large share of the commercial, holiday and travel industries are enjoying a considerable amount of business on the Internet, in the Balearics, Internet users are still using the service as a vehicle for gathering information. However, experts have forecast that it will be the tourism and travel sectors which will see a boom, once sales take off, in the Balearics and Spain over the next few years. In all, 13.8 per cent of Internet users questioned said that they have bought products over the net and 15 per cent of those purchases related to travel - the majority being airline tickets. Most people are still buying their holiday at a travel agent and then consulting the net for further information about their destination.