CarTrawler, a global car rental distribution company, has issued its first Biannual Growth Trends Index which looks at key car rental statistics and performance indicators across the globe.

Growth Trends Index Highlights:

- Biggest growth markets are new markets – with focus on US and non-Eurozone:

- Orlando has the highest growth in the car rental market (63% year on year)

- Early signs show a sharp increase in bookings to Las Vegas, making this the destination to watch (71% booking hike in past 3 months)

- London is the key city break destination for car rental (70% year on year growth)

- Other destinations emerging as front runners include Geneva, Warsaw, Barbados and Sofia

- Booking lead times are dropping from 40 to 30 days

- 14% of consumers now book on airline or aggregator websites

- 54% want to “shop around” and price compare before renting a car

- 6% of consumers still wait until they are in-destination to rent a car

- Price (71%), car type (11%) and service (5%) are the key influencers for consumers booking a car

This Growth Trends Index in particular looks at year on year growth figures in key areas and hotspots of the global car rental industry, as well as releasing the results of a recent consumer survey, which polled over 1,000 consumers on what influenced their car rental booking from brand to price to travel dates*.

KEY CAR RENTAL BOOKING FACTS AND FIGURES:

- Booking lead time (how long before the travel date is the car booked) has fallen from an average of 40 days in 2007 to 30 days in 2008

- Most popular type of car booked short haul is a Compact (e.g. a Ford Fiesta)

- Most popular type of car booked long haul varies. In the US it is a Full Size (e.g. Chevrolet Impala) whereas in other long haul destinations (Africa/Australasia) it is a Standard car (e.g VW Passat).

- CarTrawler has noticed a shift in where cars are booked. As highlighted by the consumer research below, the main channel is still car rental corporate websites, but from 07-08 there has been a significant swing towards airline sites (18% growth) and aggregator sites (31%).