Travel and tourism industry yet to exploit the Internet fully in India

Abstract

Arpita Khareis currently Associate Professor at LDC Institute of Technical Studies, Allahabad. She has an MBA in Marketing and a DPhil in International Management from the University of Allahabad. Her research interests span supply chains, retailing, customer relationship management and services marketing. She has authored several research papers in international and national journals. Anshuman Khareis a professor in Operations Management at Athabasca University, Canada. He is an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow. His research focuses on environmental regulation impacts on the automobile industry and its supply chain. He is also a former Monbusho Scholar, having completed a postdoctoral assignment at Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan. He has published fi ve books and over 125 research papers, and is listed as an Academic Expert in the areas of operations management, environmental strategy, sustainable development, environmental manufacturing and responsible manufacturing on Environment Canada ' s Academic Expertise Database. He has published on a wide range of topics, including Just-in-Time; supply chain management; sustainable development related to public policies, regulations and strategic developments resulting from climate change regulations and initiatives; ecopreneurship; sustainable cities; and the impact of environmental / climate change regulations on technology, innovation and corporate strategy.ABSTRACT The rapid growth of the travel sector in India, and increased usage of technology as a tool to facilitate online transaction, has led to a blending of technology with travel planning. Research across the globe indicates that modern travellers are looking for interactive facilities, high-quality travel services, varied information on products and appropriate information to assist them in decision making. The high degree of intangibility in the travel sector requires a clear understanding about the requirements of customers and integration of technology to address these needs. Like many other service industries, the travel and tourism industry has been signifi cantly affected by the strides made in technology . Our research studies the experience of Indian customers ' satisfaction with using online travel websites. The study concludes that the Indian customer is infl uenced by the service convenience attributes of online travel fi rms . However, the consumers place less importance on the trust and security aspects in fi nancial transactions, than on other service attributes of online travel websites. If the services offered by these websites are increased coupled with display of relevant information about destinations, the Indian customer would be encouraged to visit these websites and use them for vacation planning.

Online travel purchasing: A literature review

“…These studies concluded that customer satisfaction with travel websites leads to a higher intention of purchasing online. In this context, customer satisfaction will be affected by website characteristics such as navigation functionality, perceived security, transaction cost, interactivity, customization, and website attractiveness Khare & Khare, 2010;.…”

Distributed Fascinating Knowledge Over an Online Travel Community

“…In the Hypothesis 2, website service quality of an online travel community is positively associated with the trust of travelers toward the community. As previous research has argued, online travel community has helped in forging new relationships with vendors and provides vast opportunities for cost reduction in the travel service sector (Khare and Khare, ; Ku, ). In the field of online travel community, website service quality is related to traveler's trust of online experience, and e‐services can also be provided for travelers, which involve engaging travelers in the operation of the community by means of such online forums.…”

Technology Acceptance Model to Judge Performance of Travel Booking Apps in India using Grounded Theory

“…The major factors affecting experience or satisfaction (usage intention) were perceived risk, perceived ease of use perceived usefulness and perceived image. Inference: The results clearly indicate usage intention and image being the most driving factor for a mobile travel app Null Hypothesis: There is no significant difference between the responses of age groups (19)(20)(21), (22)(23)(24)(25), (above 25 yrs)…”

“…Over the years, the travel and tourism industry in India has been a major driver for using smartphone applications [24 ]. However, there is scant literature on usage of smartphone applications for travel.…”