The majority of people use newspapers to get information on travel offers. As many as 58% in Norway said they would use the newspaper as their first choice. Among the newspapers, Aftenposten is the most read with 71% in Oslo and 30% for the whole country. The nearest competitor, VG, has 14 % and 18%. Respectively catalogues and travel agencies have experienced a dramatic downturn compared to last year. The number shows a drop from 42% to 18% for catalogues and 27% to 14% for Travel Agencies. - There could be many reasons for this, says the Senior Vice President of Aftenposten, Pål Øverby. The major reason is probably the Internet. People read about the offers in the newspapers and then go into the Net to find out more about it or make a reservation. We have seen that advertisers get a boost among visitors of their website after advertising in the newspapers. If this is the case this is good for the industry that will save money in printing the catalogues.
The research also showed that people were interested in reading articles about travel destinations. 44% said they would use the newspapers to find out about where to go. Internet was the second choice with 22%. - This research shows that the newspaper as a advertising and information source has a strong position, says Øverby. This is good for both journalism and sales. Aftenposten has taken notice of this and gathered articles and advertising in the same sections. We have also worked with making larger advertising space and have a few pages with one big advertisement and then an article on the same page. This has been very welcomed by both readers and advertisers. Those advertisements are sold out for a long period ahead.
Between 26th - and 30th of March, Opinion performed this research initiated by Aftenposten. The research consisted of a representative group of 624 for Oslo and 1000 for Norway. All participants were 18 years of age and older. This research has been performed annually since 1996.
For pictures:
http://www.annonse.aftenposten.no/Presse