Online travel agent sales are surging and if the increase of 55 percent in the past two years continues, online travel agents will have the edge in market share within five years, according to new research.

While traditional agencies still dominate the market with a 73 percent share of agency sales the sector is growing slower with a rise of one percent, according to credit card research for TravelTrends.biz.

Online travel agents account for 27 percent of total travel agent spend.

While traditional travel agents see 22 percent of overall spend and online agents receive eight percent of total spend, the accommodation sector is the biggest, accounting for 34 percent of spend.