Good news for travel sites: A new survey shows that a vast majority of online shoppers say they will make their holiday travel plans via the Internet this year.

According to a survey released by e-commerce rating and marketing research firm BizRate.com, the two-day survey, which drew more than 7,700 respondents, revealed that 85 percent of those surveyed intend to use the Internet exclusively or in conjunction with off-line resources to schedule airfare, hotel and car rental reservations for holiday travel.

Nearly 90 percent of those planning to purchase travel online will secure airfare, followed by hotels (52 percent) and car rental reservations (42 percent).

Interestingly, of those who plan to make travel arrangements on the Web this holiday season, 25 percent say this will be their first online purchase in the travel category.

More than 75 percent of respondents indicated that discounts would motivate them to purchase future travel reservations online. Thirty-nine percent said earning frequent flyer miles or points also would be a strong influence.

Online travelers said they plan to spend more than $1,000 on average for holiday trips, with men outspending women, $1160 to $885.

"Clearly, travel is a popular category among online shoppers and with the right incentives, this holiday travel season could be profitable for online vendors," said Farhad Mohit, president and chief executive officer of BizRate.com.

BizRate.com is an independent rating guide built on the experience of millions of actual online buyers.