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A report published by eMarketer shows that 58% of vacation planners are planning their trips online. Conversely, only 23% of respondents made use of travel agents in their holiday plans.

The survey, conducted by morefocus, highlights the fact that more people talk to their family or friends about vacation planning rather than consulting traditional avenues such as travel agencies.

Orbitz, Travelocity and Priceline are examples of sites that have seen exponential growth in recent years by providing comprehensive travel services to their customers.

Click for Full Size Image"As in a number of other industries, people are using the Internet to take control of things they used to have to rely on other people for," said Dr. Regan Carey, research director at morefocus.

"Now, you can book your own hotel, plane ticket, rental car - all without leaving your home, and you probably save money, too."

He concluded, "It's a trend that will only continue to grow."

The survey also offered some additional figures:

A majority of those surveyed, 55%, said they prefer to fly on vacation. Surprisingly, almost as many, 52%, said longer check-in lines at airports due to heightened security do not bother them. They view the additional wait as merely a nuisance, an unfortunate fact of life in today's world.

I wonder if the same 52% of people have ever been frisked by a disgruntled airport security officer, perhaps then they would be a little bothered by all the new heightened security practices that airport are enforcing these days.

Or perhaps they don't mind the long lines and pat downs because they are saving money on airfare by purchasing their tickets online.

Lower airfare is the bread and butter of online travel agencies.

Advertising, however, leaves something to be desired. Anyone remember William Shatner touting Priceline with his vocal rendition of "Two Tickets to Paradise"?

If you don't, consider yourself fortunate.

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Joe is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.