Internet Usage for Travel and Tourism. the Case of Spain
Introduction
The impact of the
Internet on travel agencies Rob Law
Kenith Leung and
James Wong
The authors
Rob Law, Kenith Leung and James Wong are all Faculty
Members in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management,
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon,
Hong Kong.
Keywords
Leisure activities, International travel, Tourism, Internet,
Online databases, Hong Kong
Abstract
This paper examines tourist perceptions of the potential for the elimination of travel agencies in the presence of the
Internet. The opinions of 413 tourists on making transactions through both Internet-based (hereafter, online) and traditional distribution channels were analysed.
Experimental results illustrated that tourists still used professional services and advice offered by travel agencies.
Tourists also agreed that more information could be found through the Internet. Following the findings, the paper suggests that both online and traditional distributional channels can coexist in the future.
Electronic access
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0959-6119.htm International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management
Volume 16 . Number 2 . 2004 . pp. 100-107
# Emerald Group Publishing Limited . ISSN 0959-6119
DOI 10.1108/09596110410519982
The rapid growth of the travel industry requires sophisticated information technologies (ITs) for managing the increasing volume and quality of tourism traffic. Prior studies have indicated that modern travellers demand more high quality travel services, products, information, and value for their money (Christian, 2001; Lubetkin,
1999; Samenfink, 1999). The emergence of new tourism services and products, coupled with a rapid increase in tourism demand, have driven the wide-scale adoption of ITs in general, and in particular,
The impact of the
Internet on travel agencies Rob Law
Kenith Leung and
James Wong
The authors
Rob Law, Kenith Leung and James Wong are all Faculty
Members in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management,
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon,
Hong Kong.
Keywords
Leisure activities, International travel, Tourism, Internet,
Online databases, Hong Kong
Abstract
This paper examines tourist perceptions of the potential for the elimination of travel agencies in the presence of the
Internet. The opinions of 413 tourists on making transactions through both Internet-based (hereafter, online) and traditional distribution channels were analysed.
Experimental results illustrated that tourists still used professional services and advice offered by travel agencies.
Tourists also agreed that more information could be found through the Internet. Following the findings, the paper suggests that both online and traditional distributional channels can coexist in the future.
Electronic access
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0959-6119.htm International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management
Volume 16 . Number 2 . 2004 . pp. 100-107
# Emerald Group Publishing Limited . ISSN 0959-6119
DOI 10.1108/09596110410519982
The rapid growth of the travel industry requires sophisticated information technologies (ITs) for managing the increasing volume and quality of tourism traffic. Prior studies have indicated that modern travellers demand more high quality travel services, products, information, and value for their money (Christian, 2001; Lubetkin,
1999; Samenfink, 1999). The emergence of new tourism services and products, coupled with a rapid increase in tourism demand, have driven the wide-scale adoption of ITs in general, and in particular,
References: Angus Reid Group (2000), ``New benchmark study pegs global Internet population at more than 300 million Barnett, M. and Standing, C. (2001), ``Repositioning travel agencies on the Internet’’, Journal of Vacation Bonn, M.A., Furr, H.L. and Susskind, A.M. (1998), ``Using the Internet as a pleasure travel planning tool: an Buhalis, D. (1998), ``Strategic use of information technologies in the tourism industry’’, Tourism Buhalis, D. and Licata, M.C. (2002), ``The future of e-tourism intermediaries’’, Tourism Management , Vol Christian, R. (2001), ``Developing an online access strategy: issues facing small- to medium-sized tourism and Crouch, G.I. (1994), ``Demand elasticities for short-haul versus long-haul tourism’’, Journal of Travel Research , Fong, C. (2001), ``Perception of disintermediation: a study of Hong Kong travel agencies’’, MBA dissertation, Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) (2002), A Statistical Review of Hong Kong Tourism 2001, HKTB, Inkpen, G. (1998), Information Technology for Travel and Tourism , Longman, Singapore. Law, R. (2000), ``Internet in travel and tourism ± Part I’’, Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing , Vol Law, R. and Wong, J. (2003), ``Successful factors for a travel Web site: perception of online purchasers in Hong Law, R., Law, A. and Wai, E. (2001), ``The impact of the Internet on travel agencies in Hong Kong’’, Journal of Lo, A., Cheung, C. and Law, R. (2003), ``Information search behavior of Hong Kong’s in-bound travellers ± a Lubetkin, M. (1999), ``Bed-and-breakfasts: advertising and promotion’’, Cornell Hotel & Restaurant Murphy, A. and Williams, P.W. (1999), ``Attracting Japanese tourists into the rural hinterland: implications for rural Olmeda, I. and Sheldon, P. (2001), ``Data mining techniques and applications for tourism Internet marketing’’, Palmer, A. and McCole, P. (1999), ``The virtual re-intermediation of travel services: a conceptual Poon, A. (2001), ``The future of travel agents’’, Travel & Tourism Analyst, No Samenfink, W.H. (1999), ``Are you ready for the new service user?’’, Journal of Hospitality & Leisure Marketing , Sheldon, P. (1997), Tourism Information Technology , Cab International, New York, NY. Sterne, J. (1999), World Wide Web Marketing , John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY. Tideswell, C. and Faulkner, B. (1999), ``Multidestination travel patterns of international visitors to Travel Industry Association of America (1998), ``Travel agencies still preferred source for travel information’’, Walle, A. (1996), ``Tourism and Internet: opportunities for direct marketing’’, Journal of Travel Research , Vol Weber, K. and Roehl, W. (1999), ``Profiling people searching for and purchasing travel products on the World Wide