• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, August 16, 2011

Well, it shouldn't be a huge surprise that one of earliest consumer services categories to be transformed by mobile media is travel. I mean, after all, travel oriented consumers are mobile, aren't they. But the growth of mobile-based travel consumers is off the chart, according to Travelocity VP-Global Product Marketing Beth Murphy. Speaking at this morning's session of MediaPost's Mobile Insider Summit, Murphy said the number of consumers accessing travel services via their phones is growing at a rate of "400% to 500%" annually, and that 16% of consumers have actually used their phone to purchase a ticket.

Murphy said other "emerging behaviors" are beginning to manifest among mobile travel consumers that "opens up possibilities for in-trip experiences." For example, she noted that mobile travel consumers increasingly are using their phones to book side-trips or upgrade travel during their trips, creating opportunities for "local commerce" along the way.

She said Travelocity also is seeing a demographic split among mobile travel users: the 40-plus segment that is more traditional and pragmatic in their use of travel services, and the "under 30 segment," which she said are more open to "social experiences."

"They want to share," she noted, and are avid users of social media, who utilize user reviews and recommendations vs. the older consumers who merely utilize mobile as a pragmatic extension of what they already find most relevant.

These shifts are manifesting in new consumer travel behaviors, including increased "booking of hotels the same day." She said that includes last minute business travelers who are stuck at airports, but also "spontaneous staycations" that people are booking on their phones.

"These consumers are potentially more attractive," she said, adding, that the trend "opens up interesting as well as challenging commerce challenges."

Murphy said contrary to common beliefs, Travelocity has not found that mobile is "cannibalizing" on its Web traffic, but is expanding its market to new consumers and consumers accessing its services at different times and in different locations.