Market Orientation and Performance Outcomes: An Empirical Study of Travel Agencies in Taiwan

This paper reports the results of a study that found evidence to support the importance of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the relationship between market orientation and financial performance. The performance of travel agencies in Taiwan was examined with data collected through a questionnaire survey completed by the managers of 292 travel agencies in Taiwan. Analysis using structural equation modelling revealed that market orientation influences the financial performance of travel agencies indirectly through customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Neglecting customer satisfaction may negate any improvements in the level of performance that have been gained by adopting a market orientation. It was found that market orientation does not affect financial performance unless the two mediators, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, are applied concurrently.     

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.     

A strategic website evaluation of online travel agencies

Online travel Web sites have been the most frequently visited online information facilities by travelers. To evaluate the effectiveness of a travel Web site, the Web site manager should regularly check whether or not it is fulfilling the objectives that were established for it. This research uses a strategic Web site evaluation framework to introduce a five-stage process for examining the consistency of Web site’s presence and its intended strategies. Two leading online travel agencies with different business strategies are selected to demonstrate methods of implementing a strategic evaluation framework and to compare the evaluation results. A hierarchical evaluation structure is introduced to explicitly delineate the two Web sites’ different strategy intentions and related evaluation criteria. Results show that an individual Web site’s strategy-inconsistent criteria can be easily identified through a gap analysis and criteria performance matrix. A strategy-inconsistent dimension can be discovered through a radar chart analysis of the 4PsC (Product, Promotion, Price, Place, and Customer Relationship) dimensions and a transaction phases analysis.     

A picture is worth a thousand words: The role of a cover photograph on a travel agency’s online identity

Online travel agencies (OTAs) allow lodging businesses to select one cover photograph to represent itself on the OTA site. The cover photograph plays a crucial role for attracting customers’ attention from among alternatives, and lure viewers to view the webpage with detailed information. The present study investigates how the content of a business’ cover photograph on OTAs’ sites influences customers’ behavior when searching for information. The content of a cover photograph may fall within five categories according to attributes: façade, type of place, room amenities, scenery, and property amenities. Only façade and property amenities have positive impacts on customers’ viewing times of the webpages with the detailed information of businesses. In contrast, scenery has a negative influence on customers’ viewing times. The results of the study contribute, theoretically and methodologically, to OTAs’ knowledge base and can assist practitioners’ identification of effective cover photographs.     

Long-haul and short-haul outbound all-inclusive package tours

Most long-haul and short-haul outbound travelers in Hong Kong purchase all-inclusive package tours through travel agencies. Thus, it is important for travel agencies to understand the criteria used by travelers to select package tours. This study aims to identify these criteria, and to investigate the differences between these two groups of travelers. The sample size was 200. The results show that personal safety and the guarantee of a promised departure date were the most important selection criteria for the travelers. Prospective long-haul travelers were more concerned with product features and the quality of counseling, and were less sensitive to price than were short-haul travelers.     

The Evolution of Expectations of and Attitudes Toward Online Travel Agencies Over Time

The basic premise of this research is that customer satisfaction with online travel agencies (OTAs) is dynamic in nature. In this context, it still remains unclear what role satisfaction plays in affecting expectations and attitudes toward an online travel agent over time. The study thus utilizes longitudinal data from 353 customers of OTAs to test temporal and carryover effects pertaining to satisfaction. Results indicate that the temporal effect of the expectations–attitudes linkage decreases over time. Carryover effects suggest that customers integrate both pre- and post-travel assessments of expectations and attitudes when evaluating satisfaction.     

我国旅游保险业发展探析

本文在分析旅游保险特点及其根源的基础上,结合我国旅游业发展的实际得出了如下结论:①法定保险商业经营导致了我国的旅游保险不保险;②旅行社无法承担旅游保险销售的重任;③利益问题使我国的旅游保险陷入了困境;④旅游保险产品与服务体系亟需建立.同时认为,我国旅游保险业的健康持续发展,其根本措施在于旅游保险体系的创新.     

Are small travel agencies ready for digital marketing? Views of travel agency managers

Digital technology provides new communication and distribution channel for both consumers and suppliers of travel services. Internet enables the travel agencies to adopt digital marketing to attract, inform and serve the travellers. However, in developing countries, the adoption of internet and digital marketing is slow. This study therefore finds it imperative to explore the triggering factors and perceived challenges of digital marketing by travel agencies - an entity whose perspectives do not find much place in the published academic literature. The qualitative study reveals the popular and trusted digital platforms used by the travel agencies. It also presents the factors that inhibit or assist the use of digital marketing by travel service managers.     

U.S. Tour Operators and Travel Agencies

Abstract

The purpose of the study reported in this paper was to explore the services and package tours for people who have difficulty walking provided by U.S. tour operators and travel agencies, and to identify barriers encountered when planning and operating the tours. Accommodations and eating-drinking establishments were the least desirable environments for people who have difficulty walking due to inaccessibility and negative staff attitudes. Attractions and transportation staff displayed higher attitudes but facilities were not accessible. The graphical display of data of accessibility barriers and staff attitude barriers indicated that the four tourism sectors did not comply with the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act.     

Tourists’ preferences for hotel booking

This paper analyzes tourists’ preferences for hotel booking mode using a sample of 17,921 tourists visiting a Northern Spanish region during 2005–2016. Four different booking modes are considered: telephone, the internet, travel agency and other non-market-based intermediaries. We estimate a Finite Mixture Multinomial Logit Model that allows us to define three classes of tourists. Our results show that leisure tourists coming from distant locations and lodged at luxury hotels have higher likelihood of online hotel booking in class 1. Travel agencies are preferred by offseason tourists with longer stays, while those travelling by public transit modes and staying at luxury hotels opt for non-market-based intermediaries in class 2. In class 3, first-time tourists choose the internet, telephone is more prevalent among those staying at economy hotels and travel agencies are preferred among those travelling in the offseason and by public transit modes.     

Hotels’ dependency on online intermediaries and their chosen distribution channel portfolios: Three country insights

New intermediaries are entering the market, challenging the hospitality industry to find an appropriate distribution channel portfolio. This research investigates how many channels hotels in Austria, Germany and Switzerland choose and what role the various channels play. Findings based on 1014 questionnaires reveal an average mix of 8.06 offline and online channel categories. Traditional channels, such as walk-ins and telephone, still play a major role; however, about one fifth of the bookings are completely generated online. On average, 3.61 online travel agencies (OTAs) are used. With regards to OTA penetration, an oligopolistic market structure is prevalent. Swiss and German hotels’ OTA dependency is higher than Austrian's. A series of a posteriori cluster analysis results in four distribution portfolio groups hoteliers choose: multi-channel-, electronic-, real time-, and traditional distributors. Distribution portfolio profiles facilitate learning from strategies used by hotels with certain characteristics such as target group and star-rating.     

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.     

基于员工维度的旅行社业绩评价体系研究

业绩评价是旅行社进行科学管理的重要手段。智力密集型、服务型和相关型的旅行社行业属性,使员工人力资本体现出能动性及与内外部高度合作协调性的特征,成为旅行社竞争能力的核心资本。缺乏员工维度的业绩评价就会在一定程度上导致员工流失率上升和行业中＂柠檬市场＂现象的出现。文章从旅行社业绩形成动因的逻辑分析入手,构建了以员工满意度和员工服务效率结果指标为核心的旅行社业绩评价体系,并以此为基础从成本指标、时间指标及质量指标等过程指标角度进行了具体细化衡量。     

携程旅行网春秋国旅网e龙旅行网内容交付性研究

旅行电子商务网站成功的关键因素之一是能否提供满足消费者需求的内容,基于瑞奇曼（Rachman）和布奇南（Buchanan）的研究方法,对国内三个著名旅行网站的内容交付性进行了研究,讨论了我国旅行电子商务网站在内容建设方面存在的问题以及改进的方法。