In this day and age, if your business does not have a web presence, you are drastically behind. Everything from home improvement consultations to scheduling doctor’s appointments can be found online. In some cases, you may even be able to have a remote consultation over the internet. With the number of services and businesses increasing their presence on the web (we are officially in the Digital Age!) it can be easy to forget that there is still one industry that until recently has been heavily relying on phone calls: the travel industry. But it seems that now, even the travel industry and their users have decided to take the leap into the 21^st century and embrace online booking and tour reservation systems. All you need to book a trip online is access to the Internet and a credit card.

The shift in popularity from storefront and phone bookings to Online Travel Agencies can be attributed to the millennial age group. According to a 2015 Yahoo study, millennial travelers (adults aged 18-34) overwhelmingly opted to plan their trips through computers, smartphones and tablets, while a small amount still preferred to book through a brick and mortar travel agency. Looking ahead to 2017, these numbers are only set to increase throughout the US and Europe.

The fact that millennials are single-handedly influencing the shift in how the travel industry books and does business should come as a surprise to no one. This age group has been one of the hardest demographics to understand and master in terms of trends, likes, and behaviors in comparison to Generation X and Baby-Boomers. But what drives millennials to online booking? Low cost, ease of use, convenience, and the desire to be hands on, are all factors in propelling online booking to take over within the next year.

With 2017 on the horizon and millennials buying power stronger than ever, it’s shaping up to be a good year for online booking and travel services.