The majority of travel searches start out generic with no destination or brand in mind, says the latest research from TripAdvisor.

In its Path to Purchase study, conducted with Comsore, the reviews giant finds 73% of all  first searches are generic, demonstrating the potential for brands to find clever ways to engage and influence consumers in these early stages.

Research findings also reaveal that TripAdvisor users are more engaged with a higher number of visits, page views and more time spent than non-TripAdvisor users.

The company continues to seek new ways to monetise its fan base having moved away from its instant booking model last year.

TripAdvisor has said it will increase its TV advertising in 2018 with an investment of somewhere between $100 million and $120 million.

It is also developing new products such Business Advantage and Sponsored Placements to help hotels get in front of consumers and standout.

The study also shows the the well-established influence of TripAdvisor with the company emerging as the most visited site and application for travellers, 70%,  prior to purchasing travel.

Booking.com comes second at 45% and Trivago third at 28%.

The study was carried out by analysing activity on more than 325 transactional sites on travellers who researched and booked travel in the second and third quarters of 2017.