The Differences Among Travel Agency Users in the Importance Ratings of Agency Service Features

Persia, Margaret A.; Gitelson, Richard

doi:10.1300/j073v01n04_05

Cited by 17 publications

(17 citation statements)

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“…Selection criteria and expectation items were adapted from past studies (Heung & Chu, 2000;Kendall & Booms, 1989;LeBlanc, 1992;Lowengart & Reichel, 1998;Persia & Gitelson, 1993;Ryan & Cliff, 1997). Travel agents in the local area (Manhattan, KS) were interviewed to identify challenges, services currently provided, and other operational and marketing issues.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Heung and Chu (2000) found reputation, past experience with an agent, and travel knowledge were important selection criteria when choosing a travel agent. Another study found that knowledge, willingness to search for the lowest fares, and courteous/ friendly agent were rated as very important service features among travel agent users (Persia & Gitelson, 1993). Integrity issues (e.g., providing services as promised), customer service (e.g., courteous), and knowledge were rated very high in terms of travelers' expectations of travel agents in a study by Ryan and Cliff (1997).…”

Section: Expectations Of Travel Agentsmentioning

confidence: 95%

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Buyer Characteristics Among Users of Various Travel Intermediaries

Wolfe

Hsu

Kang

2004

Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing

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As online travel purchases increase, travel intermediaries must change to meet consumer demands. A survey was conducted to identify travelers' selection criteria and expectations of traditional travel agents. Responses from 382 individuals were compared by their methods of purchasing travel arrangements, including those who purchased online, offline, or both. Differences were found among the groups in terms of travel agent selection criteria and expectations; however, the groups were similar in their frequency of travel and number of information sources used. Results and conclusions identified strategies for travel intermediaries to attract and retain clientele.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Expectations Of Travel Agentsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Buyer Characteristics Among Users of Various Travel Intermediaries

Wolfe

Hsu

Kang

2004

Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing

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“…Nevertheless, travel agencies have been regarded as critical information and planning or booking providers for a large number of travellers (Buhalis, 1998;Buhalis & Deimezi, 2003;Duke & Persia, 1993;Mihalik, Uysal & Pan, 1995). Other studies have also investigated several different aspects of travel agencies, such as information technology needs (Bennett, 1993;Buhalis, 1998;Buhalis & Deimezi, 2003), travel agent's role in family decision-making (Wang, Hsieh, Yeh & Tsai, 2004), advertising strategies (Laskey, Seaton & Nicholls, 1994), the more effective use of relationship marketing (Bennett, 1993;Richter, 1996) and the selection attributes of travel agencies (Buhalis, 1998;Meidan, 1979;Ng, Cassidy & Brown, 2006;Oppermann, 1998;Persia & Gitelson, 1993).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Exploratory Study on the Use of Information Sources by Consumers to Select Australian Regional Travel Agencies

2009

Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management

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ABSTRACT. This research investigates the information sources consumers used to select regional travel agencies to make their travel arrangements. The research design involves two stages, in-depth interviews with 13 participants and a mail-out survey of 400. The in-depth interviews highlighted the need to remove three particular information sources (travel guidebooks, travel or automotive clubs and local tourist offices) for inclusion in the mail-out survey and replaced with two other information sources (television lifestyle programs and travel consultants) worthy of investigation. The mail-out survey revealed that personal experience was the most important information source used in the selection of a regional travel agency whilst yellow pages were identified as the least influential. The findings highlighted the relative importance of the 11 information sources investigated and also suggested that informal sources were more important than formal sources when consumers search for information sources to assist them with their selection of the travel agencies to patronise.

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“…In the GPT buying process, the customer might buy the GPT product through third parties such as friends, relatives, parents, companies, schools, churches, or through retail travel agencies. On the contrary, FIT customers usually contact the travel agencies personally in order to get travel information and counseling (Bitner & Booms, 1981;Kent, Meyer, & Reddam, 1987;Persia & Gitelson, 1993). Second, the GPT customer relationship is mediated almost entirely through a single "contact employee."…”

Section: Outbound Group Package Tourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in Outbound Group Package Tours in China and Taiwan: A Marketing Mix Perspective

Chang¹,

Wang²,

Guo³

et al. 2007

Tourism Analysis

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In many Asian economies such as Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, and China, the group package tour (GPT) is one of the main modes of outbound travel. In order to explore the emerging trends, two major outbound travel markets-Taiwan and China-were selected for investigation. In total, 30 in-depth interviews with either General Managers or Presidents of well-known travel agencies were conducted in Taipei and Beijing. The GPTs have a similar pattern for both Taiwanese and Chinese but, interestingly, are at a different stage of development. This information should serve as a valuable reference to Taiwan and China, to destination countries that depend heavily on the Chinese market, and to management teams in relevant travel industries.

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The Differences Among Travel Agency Users in the Importance Ratings of Agency Service Features

Cited by 17 publications

References 0 publications

Buyer Characteristics Among Users of Various Travel Intermediaries

Buyer Characteristics Among Users of Various Travel Intermediaries

An Exploratory Study on the Use of Information Sources by Consumers to Select Australian Regional Travel Agencies

Trends in Outbound Group Package Tours in China and Taiwan: A Marketing Mix Perspective

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