Consumer Intentions in Terms of Electronic Travel Distribution: Implications for Future Market Structures

The Impact of E-commerce on Travel Agencies Profitability in Respect of Size: Evidence from the U.S

“…This conclusion is based on the descriptive statistical analyses in which it was determined that the majority of participants felt that traditional travel agencies would continue to remain competitive because some corporate customers prefer the personal service they offer, because some customers prefer face-to-face transactions, and because some customers do not use the Internet. However, other past studies have indicated that the Internet would pose a serious threat to brick-and-mortar travel agencies, Ancker; Licate et al [2]. It appears that brick-and-mortar travel agents have been successful in adapting to E-commerce.…”

“…First, in relation to the null hypothesis tests related to travel agency size it was concluded that travel agents from larger agencies ended to believe that the effect of E-commerce on brick-and-mortar travel agencies was smaller than did travel agents from smaller agencies. Although some past studies have indicated that E-commerce would be devastating for traditional travel agents, Ancker; Licate et al [2]; McCubbrey [12], other studies have indicated that travel agents could prosper if they focused on providing good customer service (Naisbitt, 2001). Based on the results from the current study, it appears that more experienced agents from larger agencies have been more successful in making the transition to E-commerce in the travel industry.…”

The Adoption of Web-Based Marketing in the Travel and Tourism Industry: An Empirical Investigation in Egypt

“…They explain how consumers can access information about tourism products instantly, inexpensively and interactively and how they can make and alter reservations easily via the web due to the inherent characteristics of the medium. Anckar (2003) adds to the same discussion indicating how the web has allowed prospective tourists to make fast, convenient and inexpensive travel reservations as well as provided them with a wider selection of travel service providers and real-time information on prices and availability. The use of online travel services is actually becoming now one of the most popular ways that consumers use to purchase their travel tickets resulting in traditional travel agencies being ranked last in customer usage (Kim et al, 2007).…”

“…Thus, traditionally, "eMediaries" will need to become familiar with on-line tools to address the emerging market. Anckar (2003) based on a survey of Finnish consumers found that a half of the current and prospective web bookers intend to use direct distribution approaches thereby foster disintermediation, whereas half intend to use the web merely as a communication channel to human travel agents and thus foster re-intermediation. Murphy and Tan (2003) based on a survey on Singaporean travel agencies found that travel agencies do not exploit full potential of the web and that they provide poor e-mail customer service but companies with established websites are in a position to undertake productive marketing activities.…”

Designing for reintermediation in the brick-and-mortar world: Towards the travel agency of the future

“…While tourism has been a booming industry and the best selling category on the Internet (Anckar, 2003), traditional tourist agencies are increasingly struggling to survive and avoid the threat of disintermediation: the bypassing of their role as travel service intermediary (Dilts & Prough, 2002). New competitors have undermined their traditional business model (Buhalis 2002) with a large number of travel transactions and services (e.g.…”