From High Streets to Digital Environments: Changing Landscapes in Travel Intermediation
Ritalahti, Jarmo (2018)
Ritalahti, Jarmo
Editoija
Ali, Alisha & Hull, John S.
Peter Lang
2018
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2019091027591
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2019091027591
Tiivistelmä
The internet and electronic market places have changed the travel services industry completely, and traditional travel intermediaries grapple with the question of what the reason for their existence is in an environment where an overwhelming amount of information is available, and transactions can be conducted directly between buyers and sellers on the Internet (Novak & Schwabe, 2009). Although different authors have already pointed out the need for traditional travel intermediaries to reposition themselves in the market place by adding value to the services they offer clients and by acting as more than just mere ticket reservation offices (Dilts & Prough, 2002; Alamdari, 2002; Cheyne, Downes & Legg, 2005), little research has been conducted in the last years identify these value-added services desired in the market, and the skills and competencies that traditional intermediaries require to deliver these services. While several studies have tried to predict the future of traditional travel intermediaries (e.g. Castillo-Manzano & López-Valpuesta, 2010) careful consideration must also be given to the actual skills and competencies that intermediaries will need in the future to re-main viable and competitive.
The development and adaption of information and communication technologies have generated the development of online purchasing on the Internet. Online shopping allows the sales 7/24 that makes both selling and purchasing independent of physical spaces. The evolution of consumer behaviour on the Internet undergoes similar stages to those on more traditional channels. It begins with the adaption or the first purchase, continues with the acceptance of the channel through the first re-pur-chases, and end when online purchases become an everyday routine. Once the consumer has made at least one purchase online, the acceptance of the new channel is stronger. From the seller’s side, it is important to understand the different consumer and purchasing behaviour between consumer groups. In the competition between online and high-street travel agencies consumers sometimes prefer to purchase air tickets in traditional travel agencies. This preference is based especially on security concerns when purchasing online, reliability and user friendliness by travel agents. For online purchasing speaks round-the-clock availability, rapid response time, and easiness of use.
This draft discusses about the challenges traditional high-street travel agencies and tour operators are facing now in a fast chancing operational environment. The aim is to point out a few challenges to better understand the depth of the change that has shaken the intermediation industry already for over a decade.
The development and adaption of information and communication technologies have generated the development of online purchasing on the Internet. Online shopping allows the sales 7/24 that makes both selling and purchasing independent of physical spaces. The evolution of consumer behaviour on the Internet undergoes similar stages to those on more traditional channels. It begins with the adaption or the first purchase, continues with the acceptance of the channel through the first re-pur-chases, and end when online purchases become an everyday routine. Once the consumer has made at least one purchase online, the acceptance of the new channel is stronger. From the seller’s side, it is important to understand the different consumer and purchasing behaviour between consumer groups. In the competition between online and high-street travel agencies consumers sometimes prefer to purchase air tickets in traditional travel agencies. This preference is based especially on security concerns when purchasing online, reliability and user friendliness by travel agents. For online purchasing speaks round-the-clock availability, rapid response time, and easiness of use.
This draft discusses about the challenges traditional high-street travel agencies and tour operators are facing now in a fast chancing operational environment. The aim is to point out a few challenges to better understand the depth of the change that has shaken the intermediation industry already for over a decade.