Have the Perceptions of the Successful Factors for Travel Web Sites Changed Over Time? the Case of Consumers in Hong Kong

Abstract

This research note reports on a study about online consumers' view on the successful factors for travel Web sites. Empirical evidence from a large scale domestic Omnibus survey conducted in 2007 revealed that 31.8% of the interviewed Hong Kong residents had visited at least one travel Web site in the past 2 years and that 17.6% of this group of respondents had also made online purchases on travel-related products. These results showed an increasing percentage of both online browsers and purchasers compared with a similar study conducted in 2000. More important, when comparing the views of online purchasers with online browsers, significant differences are found on their perceptions of “secure payment methods” and “online booking and confirmation.”

Keywords

Internet travel Web sites successful factors Hong Kong

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

AC Nielsen. (2005). One-tenth of the world's population shopping online: Including 325 million in last month . Retrieved May 22, 2007, from http://hk.acnielsen.com/news/20051025.shtml

AC Nielsen. (2006). Closing that sale? Get on the Internet and have a strong brand. Retrieved May 22, 2007, from http://hk.acnielsen.com/news/20061013.shtml

Au Yeung, T. , & Law, R. (2006). Evaluation of usability: A study of hotel Web sites in Hong Kong. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research , 30, 452-473.

Bonn, M.A. , Furr, H.L. , & Susskind, A.M. (1998). Using the Internet as a pleasure travel planning tool: An examination of the socio-demographic and behavioural characteristics among Internet users and nonusers. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 22, 303-317.

Chang, J.C. , Torkzadeh, G. , & Dhillon, G. (2004). Re-examining the measurement models of success for Internet commerce. Information and Management, 41, 577-584.

Cox, J. , & Dale, B.G. (2002). Key quality factors in Web site design and use: An examination. International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, 19, 862-888.

Doney, P.M. , Cannon, J.P. , & Mullen, M.R. (1998). Understanding the influence of national culture on the development of trust. Academy of Management Review , 23, 601-620.

Fam, K.S. , Foscht, T. , & Collins R.D. (2004). Trust and the online relationship: An exploratory study from New Zealand. Tourism Management, 25, 195-207.

Gann, R. (1999, October 28). Every second counts. Competing, pp. 38-40.

10.

Holt, M. (2000). Strategy: Ten steps towards a better Web site design. Bangkok Post, p. B975542.

11.

Law, R. , & Hsu, C.H.C. (2006). Importance of hotel Web site dimensions and attributes: Perceptions of online browsers and online purchasers. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research , 30, 295-312.

12.

Law, R. , & Wong, J. (2003). Successful factors for a travel Web site: Perception of Hong Kong online purchasers. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 27, 118-124.

13.

Lee, P.M. (2002). Behavioral model of online purchasers in e-commerce environment. Electronic Commerce Research, 2, 75-85.

14.

Lendrevie, J. , & Lévy, J. (1999, May). Developing trust in commercial Web sites: A preliminary approach. Paper presented at the 28th European Marketing Academy (EMAC) annual conference, Berlin, Germany. (CD-ROM Track 6-6-3)

15.

Li, C.L. (2005). Internet as a distribution channel of travel information: A case study. Consortium Journal of Hospitality and Tourism , 9(2), 49-57.

16.

Ody, P. (2000, February 2). The challenging task of building strong loyalty: Customer relationship marketing. The Financial Times (London), p. 16.

17.

Phau, I. , & Poon, S.M. (2000). Factors influencing the types of products and services purchased over the Internet: Internet search. Electronic Networking Applications and Policy, 10, 102-113.

18.

Phillips, H. (2001, March 12). E-shoppers fork out HK$926m online. South China Morning Post. Retrieved July 6, 2007, from http://prd3-libwisesearch.wisers.net/ws5/index.do

19.

Ratchford, B.T. , Lee, M.S. , & Talukdar, D. (2003). The impact of the Internet on information search for automobiles. Journal of Marketing Research, 40, 193-209.

20.

Vassilopoulou, K. , & Keeling, K. (2000). Usability measurement tool survey: Differences between Australia and UK. Manchester, UK: Manchester School of Management (UMIST).

21.

Weber, K. , & Roehl, W.S. (1999). Profiling people searching for the purchasing travel products on the World Wide Web. Journal of Travel Research , 37, 291-298.