What kind of marketing distribution mix can maximize revenues: The wholesaler travel agencies' perspective?

This study attempts to identify the variety of marketing channel efficiencies for marketing activities and sets up an optimal marketing distribution mix when using different distribution channels for wholesaler travel agencies. This research examines 12 large-scale travel agencies in Taiwan and offers seven direct and indirect distribution channels in order to establish an optimal marketing distribution mix and identifies the different forms of distribution involved. We also implement the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to prioritize the seven main marketing distribution channels of travel agency: websites, cable TV, radios, professional magazines, retailer travel agencies, strategic alliances, and newspapers. Five criteria are categorized as a distribution channel selection: overall cost of the channel, target audience respondent rate, impression rates, transactional capabilities, and gross profit of the channel. The results show that Taiwan's wholesaler travel agencies adopt the retailer travel agency as their highest priority of channel selection, while travel agency websites hold it as their second priority. Transactional capabilities, gross profit of the channel, and overall cost of the channel are the top three favorable choices among the five criteria considered. This study proposes an innovative hierarchy model of marketing distribution mix to a wholesaler travel agency practitioner when making decisions in order to effectively exploit the different distribution mix, to maximize performances and revenues, and to overcome the traditional experience based on the shortcomings of the selection.     

Social Media as a New Play in a Marketing Channel Strategy: Evidence from Taiwan Travel Agencies' Blogs

With social media playing an increasingly important role in marketing strategies for travel agencies, this study explores travel agencies that develop their own travel blogs as a marketing channel in order to differentiate their products or services and their strategic performances. The paper herein adopts a two-stage research design, with the first stage developing a three-round Delphi research. According to this research, Taiwanese travel agencies consider four external environment forces, five internal motivations for investment, four developing differentiated strategies, and four channel performance measurement indicators for managing travel agencies' own blogs as a marketing channel. The second stage explores a quantitative survey, Structural Equation Modeling, with the structural equation testing the business model of a travel blog marketing channel strategy. Finally, the findings provide innovative approaches for effectively exploiting differentiated marketing channel strategies when targeting maximum profits.     

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.     

欧美旅行社行业分工进程与内在机制研究

旅行社的产生和发展是社会分工和发展的结果。随着旅游市场的发展,旅行社业在规模扩大的同时,内部形成了水平分工和垂直分工。节省交易费用、提高市场效率、避免加入激烈的市场竞争、提高企业的市场竞争能力是旅行社业分工得以深化的主要原因所在。     

关于准入制度与导游管理体制的思考

很多研究从不同视角就导游管理问题进行了深入探讨,提出的对策主要是两个方面:严格导游职业准入制度和完善相关管理体制。文章认为,职业准入制度的主要功能对于解决我国导游服务中存在的市场机会主义问题并不具有针对性,对于真正实现导游数量控制、提高导游服务质量作用有限。加强监管的思路是合理的,但如何监管需考虑行业管理制度与企业微观机制的衔接和相互影响,从制度建设方面引导旅行社自身组织结构优化。从市场关系看,导游具有独立性,又对旅行社具有从属性,旅行社才是市场责任主体,其追求利益的方式影响企业组织结构,决定了旅行社与导游之间的关系,进而影响导游的行为和服务质量。旅游行业管理应该建立以旅行社为核心的行业治理模式,明确和强化旅行社的质量责任主体地位,促进导游服务质量提升。     

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.     

中外旅行社制度环境比较研究

旅行社运行的制度环境是一个国家的社会、政治、经济、文化特征所决定的政府行为在旅行社领域中的现实反映,是制约旅行社生长与发展的重要因素。本文从政府对旅行社业的宏观干预与微观规制、监管体系与运作机制等方面对中外旅行社发展的制度环境进行了系统的比较研究,并在此基础上对市场开放条件下中国旅行社制度环境的建设提出了对策与建议。     

Identifying Geographic Markets for Travel Agencies

Despite low levels of profitability, the number of travel agencies in the United States is expected to grow by about 1000 agencies per year. In this highly competitive environment, the location of the travel agency is a critical factor to its success. This paper develops a model to help entrepreneurs select a geographic market to enter. Three demand-related variables population size, median income, and proportion of the population 65 years of age or older were found to influence the number of travel agencies in a geographical region. This model was used to identify areas that displayed unmet demand. These are the markets in which entry of a new travel agency may be most successful.     

旅游专业本科生择业标准及其对旅行社的就业认知

旅游专业学生在本行业就业率低的问题一直困扰着旅游学术界、教育界和旅游行业,不少学者从不同角度研究并试图解决这一问题,但却很少从学生择业标准的角度去考虑.文章运用并检验里查得森(Richardson)择业影响因素量表,测量旅游专业本科生的择业标准及其对旅行社的就业认知,结果表明:学生认为旅行社不具备其择业时最看重的因素(“融洽的同事关系”、“喜欢的工作”、“良好的晋升机会”);并且学生认为旅行社具备的主要就业因素是其择业时最不看重的(“出国旅行的机会”、“专业对口”、“职业流动性”);学生认为旅行社存在超工作时间、超工作量、晋升机制不合理、起薪不理想等行业不规范现状,但学生也认为旅行社具有锻造高技能、有责任感人才的就业优势.根据学生择业标准与旅行社的就业认知IPA分析结果,文章提出了相应的对策来改善旅游本科生行业就业率低的问题.     

都市区旅行社空间布局特征与销售等级差异——以重庆旅游百事通为例

在旅游供给研究中,重视在线旅行社发展的同时,不应忽略传统旅行社在地理实体空间的布局特征及其变化趋势。目前,对中微观尺度的都市区传统旅行社的空间布局研究相对薄弱,实证研究尤为缺乏。文章以旅游百事通在重庆主城区的195家零售门店为例,从都市区的中微观空间尺度分析了旅行社零售门店的空间集聚和空间关联特征,比较了商圈、社区和临街等不同分布类型的门店销售等级差异。结果表明:(1)旅行社门店呈现出较明显向城市商圈、交通设施和大型社区集聚的特征;(2)在城市内部,旅行社与其他城市生活服务业呈现出消费者主导型、商品主导型、竞争性关联和互助性关联等多种类型的空间关联关系;(3)商圈与非商圈门店、临街与写字楼门店的销售等级存在显著差异;社区与非社区门店、干道与非干道门店的销售等级差异均不明显。     

Building up a B2B e-commerce strategic alliance model under an uncertain environment for Taiwan's travel agencies

E-travel agencies adopt B2B strategic alliances in order to strengthen their competitive advantages in the e-commerce travel market and because they are an effective tool to gain wider sustainable gains. External environmental and internal organizational factors impacting the success of strategic alliances model are themselves a crucial issue. This study uses multiple methods to collect data from multiple sources and uses qualitative and quantitative surveys. A two-stage research design is adopted to explore the present strategic alliances between Taiwan's wholesaler e-travel agencies and retailer sub-agencies. The results provide an in-depth understanding into the B2B e-commerce strategic alliance model. According to this research, Taiwanese e-travel agencies consider three external environment uncertainties, five internal organization motivations, five partner selection criteria, and two performance measurements of alliance strategies. Finally, the paper proposes an optimal B2B e-commerce strategic alliance model that matches the essential development needs of B2B e-commerce and overcomes the environmental uncertainties.     

The Impact of the Internet on Travel Agencies in Hong Kong

Abstract

In recent years, the travel and tourism industry has begun to develop Internet applications more extensively. Many travel service suppliers, such as hotels and airline companies, already use the Internet as a direct channel for customer reservations. The integration of the Internet into the travel and tourism industry, however, presents a challenge towards the traditional role of travel agencies. The purpose of this study is to find out what impact the Internet has on travel agencies in Hong Kong. Outcomes of this research indicate that travel agents generally have positive attitudes towards Internet applications, and the potential threat-disintermediation-has not yet affected the travel industry. Travel agents believe that they can take advantage of the Internet technology to provide value-added services for their customers. Outcomes of the present study also indicate that there are significant relationships between company size, age and some Internet attributes. Travel agencies should therefore pay more attention to these attributes when adopting Internet technology.     

When does a service guarantee work? The roles of the popularity of service guarantees and firm reputation

Despite substantial research on service guarantees in the literature, little study has examined how the popularity of service guarantees (SG) in a particular industry affects the effectiveness of SGs. Through four studies, the authors demonstrate an interactive effect between the market-level factor (the popularity of SGs) and the firm-level factor (firm reputation) in affecting consumer's responses to a travel agency's actions in (not) offering an SG. When offering SGs is popular in a given market, consumers perceive a loss from the absence of SGs, and a high-reputation agency will outperform a low-reputation agency in consumer service evaluation when neither agencies offer SGs. However, if both agencies provide guarantees, the SG offered by the high-reputation agency does not necessarily lead to greater service evaluation than that offered by the low-reputation agency. The results reverse when offering SGs is rare in the market, as consumers perceive a gain from the presence of SGs.     

The Effects of Travel Agent Characteristics on the Development of Trust: A Contingency View

Abstract

Trust is a key factor in the establishment of long-term relationships between travel agents and their customers. Prior research across service industries has documented that both “person-related” (e.g., empathy, politeness, and customer/service representative similarity) and “offer-related” (e.g., customization, competence, reliability, and promptness) service representative characteristics have an impact upon trust. However, the relative importance of these characteristics, and in some cases the direction of their relationships with trust has varied across studies. In this paper, we posit a contingency model of trust, suggesting that within the travel agency industry, the effects of the above variables on trust will be moderated by length of customer/service provider relationship. Our model is tested in a business-to-business context by means of a mail survey involving 487 small business owners. The small business owners provided data about their relationships with their travel industry service providers (i.e., agents). Our results demonstrate how corporate travel agencies can work toward the establishment of trust with their clients under varying market conditions.     

法制化管理和行业自律相结合——旅行社业健康发展的必然选择

随着中国旅游业市场机制的确立,旅行社行业在发展中出现了很多问题,如何解决?笔者通过比较中国和日本旅行社管理的异同,得出结论：法制化管理和行业自律相结合是旅行社业持续健康发展的必然选择。     

An Educational Game for Tourism and Hospitality Education

ABSTRACT

This paper presents an educational game where players act as travel agents to learn how a travel agency functions. They are provided with an uncertain environment in which they make strategic decisions aimed at maximizing their agency's wealth. Players are expected to make managerial decisions while experiencing how market structures and strategic decision-making can affect commerce within a simulated tourism and hospitality industry. The auction game offers students hands-on experience that assists them in understanding the functioning of markets in all aspects of business. Students are also given an opportunity to interact with team-players, to compete against other students, and to develop an appreciation of the pressures facing travel agencies.     

Engage or quit? The moderating role of abusive supervision between resilience,intention to leave and work engagement

This study explores the impact of travel agency employees' resilience on their intention to leave and work engagement, and simultaneously examines whether abusive supervision moderates the aforementioned relationships. There is a clear research gap on this subject in the tourism and hospitality literature regarding the moderating affects of abusive supervision on the relationships between resilience, intention to leave and work engagement. The survey was conducted in 18 travel agencies in Taiwan. Of the returned samples, 459 questionnaires were complete. Multiple regression analyses are used to test the four hypotheses of this study. The results indicate that travel agency employees' resilience can reduce their intention to leave and enhance their work engagement. Also, abusive supervision has a moderating affect on the relationship between resilience and intention to leave. Implications for managers of travel agency, theoretical contribution of the paper and suggestions for future research regarding travel agency employees are discussed.     

Opening the online marketplace: An examination of hotel pricing and travel agency on-line distribution of rooms

This paper studies the optimal pricing strategy of a hotel that establishes an online distribution channel through cooperation with an online travel agency (OTA). The OTA promotes the hotel and sells hotel rooms through its website and receives commission from the hotel for rooms sold. Through a sequence game model, this paper derives the optimal decision on the unit commission of the hotel and the optimal response of the OTA to that commission. The paper notes management implications, including (1) occupancy rate of a hotel before opening online marketing is an important metric for securing cooperation with an OTA; that is, a hotel with lower occupancy rates is more inclined to cooperate with an OTA to achieve an improvement in profits; and (2) a hotel is inclined to establish an online channel through an OTA with many online customers and/or few listed hotels.     

The marketing research process : Margaret Crimp, second edition, Prentice/Hall International, London, 1985, £10.95

The travel agent, faced with an escalating number of travel products, faces difficult decisions about how to use the fixed cubic volume that is his retail outlet. This paper reports the findings of an exploratory survey which researched the merchandising decision-making of both independent and multiple agencies. Investigated were the following: utilisation of floor space, brochure grouping practices, brochure location within categories, policing of display space, selection of display equipment and point-of-sale material, use of window/air/floor display space and product selection. The findings are important on two counts: first, they suggest that tour operators and others wanting to obtain distribution and display space in travel agents will need to adopt a much more sophisticated approach to the multiple group operators than to the independents; second, they suggest that there is much scope for improving the productivity of travel agents, particularly the independents. Improved productivity, of course, means improved profitability.     

New technology and the future of tourism

Throughout the 1980s, the travel industry has undergone rapid technological change - the introduction of interactive videotex by over 80% of the retail travel agencies is just one example - and this trend is likely to continue well into the 1990s. This article reviews some of the main technological developments in the travel industry and considers various trends in terms of their opportunities and threats. The role of technology as part of the strategy of some principals and agents in their attempt to gain and sustain a competitive advantage is discussed. Finally, projections are made of some possible technological developments in the 1990s which open up opportunities for the future.