Dopplr, the online service for smarter travel, today shared the results of its recent research into the travel patterns and preferences of the world’s best-connected frequent travellers. Two insights stand out in the research:

- First, how early in the decision process digital influencers share their travel plans. When people share a trip through Dopplr, 2/3 have not yet booked a hotel and half have not made any travel arrangements at all (e.g. plane or train reservations).
- Second, the importance of recommendations in key travel decisions. Over 95% of digital influencers claimed to be strongly or slightly influenced by recommendations in their choice of hotels and restaurants.

Other key findings of the study include:

- Dopplr travellers prefer unique travel experiences with over 40% going for boutique hotels when they travel, and 25% choosing a trusted chain
- Dopplr travellers are highly educated, and compared to traditional frequent travellers they are younger, earn more, and travel more often

Dopplr may have the most international social graph of any social network. Over half the people on Dopplr share trips with a person from another country. Over 2/3 of the users are from outside of the United States with half of the users coming from Europe, and Asia Pacific growing quickly. London, New York, San Francisco, Paris and Berlin are the top destination cities. However, as the plot of all Dopplr destinations in 2008 at the very top of this post shows, the tail of destinations is long and covers the entire globe.

For a full summary of key findings please see:
http://blog.dopplr.com/2009/05/11/data-how-the-dopplr-community-travels/

The research – conducted in collaboration with m1ndset, an independent Swiss market research agency – is based on two traveller surveys conducted over the last year, m1ndset independent research into international frequent travellers at airports around the world, and analysis of aggregate travel patterns of the Dopplr community.

Dopplr presents this collective intelligence – the travel patterns, tips and advice of the world’s most frequent travellers – as a social atlas; which can be accessed on a personal computer and a mobile phone.

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