The development of an optimal multiple channel strategy model for travel agencies' tourism business excellence

Research explaining how respective reasons for multiple channel strategies emerge in the travel agency industry is lacking. The study addresses this problem by considering internal organizing motivations and external environment uncertainties, exploring prevalent channel selection and performance techniques, and setting up indices for an optimal channel strategy model useful to travel agencies. From qualitative in-depth interviews with 15 experts and quantitative surveys of 304 travel agencies, we found that environmental uncertainty and organizational motivation crucially affect the intention of multiple channel selection that results in expected channel performance. There is an imperative need for Taiwan's travel agency industry to have a multiple channel strategy model.     

Developing a risk management model in travel agencies activity: An empirical analysis

This study applies a risk management model to identify risks for Romanian travel agencies. Through extrapolation, the results of this study may be useful to all intermediaries in tourism, whether in Romania or not. Risks are identified by factor analysis and categorised as being organisational, environmental, competitive, economic, political, those of infrastructure, circumstance, business deficiencies and specific (local) risk. Depending on the position relative to the risk we proposed a risk management model in tabular format, where any travel agency can add, delete, or move risks from a category to another.     

A content analysis of travel agency web‐sites in Korea

The Internet has become a dominant issue in today's tourism environment. This paper is to provide large travel agencies in Korea with a better understanding of their Web‐based competitive environment. A content analysis of the top 60 travel agencies Web‐sites in Korea suggests that many travel agencies do not develop their own Web‐sites and although travel agencies are using the Web, they have not, as yet, fully utilized capabilities of Web‐sites. This study also suggests some implications for successful cyber tourism marketing, including the establishment of a Web‐site, on‐line selling, customer supports, and cyber marketing mix strategy on the Web. Limitations and further research issues are also suggested.     

Destination management organizations and destination marketing: adopting the business model of e-portals in engaging travel agents

ABSTRACT

Destination management organizations (DMOs) have an important role in engaging stakeholders in collaboration. Collaborating with stakeholders is useful for both stakeholders and destinations. However, it takes time and needs rigorous coordination to avoid conflicts with stakeholders. This study measures travel agencies’ attitudes towards engaging in online collaboration with DMOs for marketing purposes. It incorporates collaboration and technology acceptance models to predict the attitudes and intentions of travel agents using structural equation modeling. Data were collected from travel agents in Cairo, Egypt, using the random sample technique. This study will be useful for travel and tourism stakeholders and governmental marketing bodies.     

Stealth Risks and Catastrophic Risks

SUMMARY

What individuals do in the present is to a certain degree influenced by their vision of the future, which comprises a dimension of risk perception. This study compares the risk perception of stealth risks and catastrophic risks to the development of a tourism destination. The main distinction between the two types of risk relies on the distribution of the consequences over a longer or shorter timeline. In the case of stealth risks the consequences are diffused whilst in the case of catastrophic risks the consequences are concentrated in time, suggesting the hypothesis that catastrophic risks would be perceived as higher risks to tourism development than stealth risks, given the higher visibility of the consequences. A second hypothesis compares the risk perceptions of the tourists and residents to the tourism development of the destination. The data shows that stealth risks are considered higher risks than catastrophic risks and reveal a wide consistency in the risk perceptions of tourists and residents. These results and other aspects of risk perception as the sense of personal invulnerability and the effect of gender are explored and confronted with the literature and implications to destination management and travel and tourism research are discussed.     

Management of Perceived Risk in the Context of Destination Choice

ABSTRACT

The primary objective of this study was to examine how perceived risk could be managed in the destination choice context. Relationships among risk perceptions, uncertainty (information quality), and price premium were explored by using ordinal logistic regression. Eight types of perceived risk were investigated: health/life risk, financial risk, personal satisfaction risk, social risk, time risk, technical risk, political risk, and terrorism risk. Findings showed that perceived risks were decreased by information quality but various patterns were identified for different types of perceived risk. Results additionally suggested that travelers were willing to pay extra for products and services if more safety and security are provided. Managerial implications for how the findings can be incorporated into risk management strategies are also presented in this paper.     

Emotions,Mood, Flow and Motivations to Travel

Abstract

Three theories, Csikszentmihalyi's flow (1975), static versus dynamic orientation (Wicklund 1986) and mood theory were used to understand and test the impact of emotions as antecedents on motivations to travel. Significant correlations between discreet emotions and mood were found. The state of flow regarding respondents' levels of skill versus the challenges faced at work as a measure of static versus dynamic orientation resulted in explaining motivational tendencies to travel.     

Religion and perceived travel risks

This study investigates the effects of religion on perceived risks associated with travel to China. A sample of 223 international travelers answered questions about the travel risks associated with travel to China, their religious affiliation, and the strength of their religious beliefs—their religiosity. A principal components analysis identified five risk dimensions: “Value risk,” “Physical/Psychological risk,” “Health risk,” “Terrorism/Social risk,” and “Equipment/Satisfaction risk.” Regression analyses identified statistically significant positive relationships between religiosity and perceived travel risks while holding experience constant. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and a series of one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests revealed significant differences in the perceived travel risks across religious affiliations. Across all five risk dimensions, travelers who reported a religious affiliation perceived more risk than nonreligious travelers did. Religiosity, religious affiliation, and the perceived risk dimensions also discriminated among preferred travel styles for a future trip to China. Implications of the study's results are discussed, and limitations and recommendations for future research presented.     

The Image of Taiwan as a Travel Destination: Perspectives from Mainland China

This study presents the perceived and projected image of Taiwan as a travel destination from perspectives from Mainland China. The perceived image of Taiwan was examined by interviewing 28 Mainland Chinese; the projected image of Taiwan was investigated by analyzing articles in China's most popular travel magazines. The different types of images of Taiwan among visitors, nonvisitors, and travel magazines were compared. The projected image changed notably after the opening of Taiwan's tourism to travelers from Mainland China. The results of this study could help destination marketing organizations to assess their marketing strategies for the Mainland Chinese travel market.     

Developing,Operating, and Maintaining a Travel Agency Website

SUMMARY

Travel agencies have increasingly utilized agency Websites on the Internet to enhance their marketing efforts. This exploratory study aims to provide an analysis of the Internet use by travel agencies in the United States. A survey conducted with 102 travel agency professionals collected primary data to examine the perceived value and contribution of a Website to the agency business, purposes for developing and operating a Website, and benefits and challenges faced in operating a travel agency Website. The results of this study not only identified various issues in developing, operating, and maintaining a travel agency Website but also made various suggestions to address those issues. Implications are discussed as to how travel agencies could better understand e-consumer behavior and effectively market their product offerings online.     

The revitalization of a heritage travel route: Canada’s Cabot Trail

ABSTRACT

Scenic travel routes have been developed to provide opportunities for tourism and recreation and to promote economic development especially in rural areas. However, maintaining an iconic attraction requires a collaborative destination management effort to keep it viable. The Cabot Trail, Nova Scotia, Canada is used in this paper as a case study for a scenic heritage route revitalization process. The Tourism Area Life Cycle model stages are used to illustrate the tourism development and decline on the Cabot Trail. This paper is a detailed documentation and analysis of the impact of a not-for-profit volunteer organization’s efforts to revitalize the Cabot Trail, through collaboration with local businesses, community groups and various levels of government and funding agencies. It draws upon the drive tourism, heritage trails and tourism revitalization literature. It fills a gap in the knowledge on heritage trails by illustrating a revitalization process that could be repeated in other areas experiencing similar issues.     

Travel Behavior in Troubled Times: The Role of Consumer Self‐Confidence

ABSTRACT. The international travel and tourism industry has experienced the negative impact of a variety of both human‐caused and natural disasters and events or threats which appear to have increased in frequency and severity in recent years. The impact of these risks on travel consumers has been significant. An understanding of how travelers react to these risks is therefore of particular interest to tourism marketers. This study investigates whether traveler self‐confidence ameliorates the reaction to a variety of adverse events. A scale for measuring consumer self‐confidence when purchasing consumer products was tested and the results indicate that the scale functions well in terms of measuring consumer travel self‐confidence. The study also found significant associations between this self‐confidence measure and various measures of travel behavior in response to the influence of adverse events.     

Backpacking Your Way into Crisis

SUMMARY

Risk and tourism have become more closely interlinked in recent years. Recognising the complexity of tourist behaviour, research by Cohen (1972) classified tourists according to the degree of novelty or familiarity sought. Whilst the subject of extensive debate, many questions remain including to what extent perceived risk can be used as an indicator of tourist roles. Focusing upon the growing youth tourism market, backpackers in particular, travel patterns and attitudes towards risk were questioned and possible responses to a crisis differentiated through an exploratory qualitative study. The findings challenge both the resilience of the market alongside Cohen's (1972) typology suggesting backpackers exhibit different roles (drifter and explorer) dependent upon the risk in question. Given the exploratory nature of the work, the paper concludes calling for further targeted research.     

On-Job Training—A Critical Human Resources Challenge in China's Hotel Industry

Abstract

The strategic role of human resources function in China's hotel industry is more important than ever before. An increasing number of hotels begin to recognize its significance of such role in sustaining growth in the competitive hotel marketplace. This study focuses on the on-job training aspect of the human resources by first identifying the major problems faced by the industry. The underlying factors of the problems are then investigated; and possible solutions are recommended. The discussion is in the context of five stakeholders in the on-job training function of China's hotel industry. They include hotel employees, hotel management, government agencies, universities, and non-university training institutions.     

Travel Agents and Their Survival Thomas

Abstract

The travel agency industry depends upon commissions for a majority of its revenue. When these commissions decrease or stop the industry must change the means in which revenue is made. The Internet has caused a significant reduction in airline ticket sales and therefore has caused travel agencies to change. In addition travel agencies have reduced commissions paid to airlines thus causing more changes. There were four categories of travel agencies discussed in the article along with their adaptation styles. These types include (1) the independent operator of a small travel agency with very limited resources (2) the normal agency with 2 or 3 agents which does a substantial business (3) the larger agency that is high-tech and high touch and depends on automation and the Web to some extent (innovators) (4) agencies that are Web based with very little automation otherwise and who were technologically adaptable and saw opportunity in the Web. The study examines how agencies have adapted and prospered through this transitional period.     

Examination of Taiwan's travel and tourism market cycle through a two-period Markov regime-switching model

This study analyzes the Taiwan travel and tourism (T&T) market cycle. According to data of the weighted Taiwan tourism stock index from January 1997 to August 2015, the two-period Markov regime-switching model identifies two distinct regimes of the T&T cycle and incorporates a specific set of mean and variance parameters for each period to control for the structural changes in Taiwan's T&T market. The effect of China visitor arrivals to Taiwan on the T&T market is also verified. The empirical findings offer essential information and policy implications for Taiwan's government tourism policymakers and business managers.     

How does smog influence domestic tourism in China? A case study of Beijing

ABSTRACT

This study took Beijing as a case to examine the potential impact of smog on the domestic demand of tourist destinations in China. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed to explore and confirm the causal relationships between perception of travel risk, travel dissatisfaction, negative destination and avoidance tendency. It is found that the Mainland Chinese residents have a strong perception of the potential travel risk caused by smog in Beijing. Moreover, the impact of travel risk perception on avoidance tendency is indirect and works through the mediating variables such as travel dissatisfaction or negative destination image.     

Crisis Management—

SUMMARY

This paper reviews the crisis preparedness of the Greek passenger shipping industry after two widely publicized crises events (Superfast III and Express Samina). As far as Greece is concerned, the travel and tourism industry is one of the most significant contributors to the country's GDP at a rate of more than 10% and the country's passenger shipping industry contributes fundamentally to this figure. Overall findings suggest that both the State as well as the passenger shipping companies encompass crisis management tools and mechanisms to protect the industry, and the whole Greek tourism sector. This paper also identifies the 'ripple effect,' the wider implications a crisis can have on the business environment. Therefore the Faulkner (2001a,b) model for tourism disaster management framework is adapted to accommodate permanent changes enforced on the whole industry as an outcome of a crisis situation.     

Establishing a model of low-carbon tour promotion for use by travel agencies from the perspective of shared value theory

Low-carbon tourism represents a new trend in the area of tourism development. This study applies shared value theory to investigate promotional campaigns for low-carbon tourism, while also discussing the effect of such campaigns on the image and operating performance of tourism businesses. 368 samples from Taiwan were examined using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results showed that the promotion of low-carbon tours by travel agencies has a beneficial influence on their image as a “social business,” as well as overall performance. Additionally, employees working in long-standing travel agencies are more likely to believe that promoting low-carbon tourism will benefit their company's social business image, while employees with less seniority are more likely to think that agencies with a positive social image enjoy better business performance. This study confirms that low-carbon tours, public attitudes, and government-certified signs are important factors in promoting low-carbon tourism.     

Luxury hotels going green – the antecedents and consequences of consumer hesitation

Abstract

Luxury hotels might hesitate to operate in a more environmentally friendly way because they worry such practices will harm their performance. However, hotels can have a significant impact on the natural environment. Building on protection motivation theory, this study examines consumers’ evaluations of luxury hotels that are becoming more environmentally friendly by investigating the influences of perceived risks (i.e. functional, financial, hedonic, and self-image risks) on consumers’ hesitation and subsequent purchase intentions. Additionally, the moderating effect of consumers’ green hotel knowledge on the influences of perceived risks on hesitation is examined. Questionnaires were completed by 548 participants from Taiwan and revealed that perceived risks can significantly influence hesitation, which can in turn affect purchase intentions. Furthermore, green hotel knowledge moderates the influence of perceived functional and hedonic risks on hesitation. This study’s contributions to the luxury product consumption literature and sustainable tourism studies are discussed.