The international tourism system is dependant on information technology for its
future growth, competitiveness and long-term survival—particularly in
terms of tourism marketing and distribution. This study evaluates consumer
perceptions of two of the more prominent technological innovations impacting on
these aspects of the tourism industry: the World Wide Web (WWW) and television
shopping via digital television. The paper begins by reviewing extant work on the
expansion of the WWW and television shopping into travel distribution, before
focusing on the results of the consumer research and discussing the findings'
implications for tourism marketers. Based on focus group discussions, the study
suggests that while there remain a number of significant challenges to be faced by
Web designers and marketers if the medium is to fulfil its promised potential as a
channel for travel service distribution, television travel shopping is currently
being readily embraced by consumers of all ages. The paper concludes by highlighting
online tourism organisations' need to confront the problems of converting Web
browsers into buyers, and outlines an agenda for future research.
Buhalis, D.
(1998)
`Strategic use of information technologies in the tourism industry'
, Tourism Management, Vol. 19, No. 6, pp.
409-421
.
2.
Walker, D.
(1997)
`Have Net access, will travel', The Independent, 1st April; Lord Marshall
(2000) `Online or on the heap?'
, Journal of Vacation Marketing, Vol. 6, No.
4, pp.
292-298
.
3.
Hoffman, J. D.
(1994)
`Emerging technologies and their impact on travel; distribution'
, Journal of Vacation Marketing, Vol. 1, No.
1, pp.
94-103
.
4.
Hawkins, D.et al.
(1995)
`Travel marketing on the Internet'
, paper presented at the biannual International Conference for the
Study of Tourism, Cairo, 24th-30th
June, p.
223-223
.
5.
Poon, A.
(1993) `Tourism, Technology and Competitive
Strategies',
CAB International, Oxford
.
6.
Buhalis, ref. 1 above.
7.
Cline, R. S.
(1999)
`Hospitality 2000—The technology: Building customer relationships'
, Journal of Vacation Marketing, Vol. 5, No.
4, pp.
376-386
.
8.
Ibid.
9.
Lang, T. C.
(2000)
`The effect of the Internet on travel consumer purchasing behaviour and
implications for travel agencies'
, Journal of Vacation Marketing, Vol. 6, No.
4, pp.
368-385
.
Fontayne, C.
(1996)
`The connected marketer, using the Internet, World Wide Web and on-line
services for marketing travel'
, seminar on Tourism and New Information Technologies,
23rd January.
13.
Briggs, S.
(1997) `Marketing on the Internet - Tangled web or powerful
network?', Tourism Intelligence Papers, March, A41-A48.
14.
cited in
Morgan, N. J.
and
Pritchard, A.
(2000), `Advertising in Tourism and Leisure',
Butterworths
, p. 309-309.
15.
Partridge, C.
(1998)
`Travel takes off online'
, The Times, 11th November, p.
11-11
.
16.
Richer, P.
(1997)
`World travel market: Seminars to focus on travel technology'
, Travel Trade Gazette, 1st October, No. 2282, p.
34-34
.
17.
(1998)
`On-line travel shops threaten traditional travel agents'
, Travel Trade Gazette, 16th September, No. 2330, p.
4-4
.
18.
(1998)
`Teletext to steal business'
, Travel Trade Gazette, 16th September, No. 2330, p.
3-3
.
19.
Williams, P.
and
Palmer, A.
(1999)
`Tourism destination brands and electronic commerce: Towards synergy?'
, Journal of Vacation Marketing, Vol. 5, No.
3, pp.
263-275
.
20.
Morgan, N. J.
and
Pritchard, A.
(2000) `Advertising in Tourism and Leisure',
Butterworths, Oxford
, p. 309-309.
21.
MacDonald-Wallace, ref. 11 above.
22.
MacCafferty, M.
(1998) `Broadening Horizons', available at
http://www.thomascook.com, accessed 9th October.
23.
Nassar, M.
,
Morgan, N. J.
and
Lloyd-Williams, M.
(1999)
`An evaluation of the WWW as a strategic marketing tool for the hotel sector'
, Concorde, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp.
7-14
.
24.
Weir, D.
(1998)
`The Internet leaves infancy'
, The Economist's The World in 1999, p.
120-120
.
25.
MacCafferty, ref. 22 above.
26.
Morgan and Pritchard, ref 20 above, p. 314.
27.
Lang, ref. 9 above.
28.
Lord Marshall, ref. 2 above.
29.
Ibid.
30.
Quoted in Morgan and Pritchard, ref. 20 above, p.319.
31.
Robinson, D.
(1999)
`Older generation opt for Web bookings'
, Travel Weekly, 20th January, No. 1450, p.
31-31
.
32.
Johnston, C.
(2000)
`Marketers target online browsers who do not buy'
, The Times Higher Education Supplement, 29th October, p.
12-12
.
(1998) `Teletext to steal business', ref. 18 above.
37.
Fox, L.
(1998)
`Digital TV to change industry'
, Travel Trade Gazette, 28th October, No. 2336, p.
4-4
.
38.
Dunning, J.
(1998)
`Agents get set for a digital revolution'
, Travel Trade Gazette, 1st July, No. 2319, p.
9-9
.
39.
Morgan and Pritchard, ref. 20 above, p. 330.
40.
McNeill, L.
(1997)
`Switched on travelling'
, The Times Weekend, 21st June, p.
4-4
.
41.
Fry, A.
(1998)
`Fantastic journeys'
, Marketing, 26th November, pp.
35-37
.
42.
Ibid.
43.
Morgan and Pritchard, ref. 20 above, p. 331.
44.
Fry, ref. 41 above.
45.
Fox, L.
(1998)
`Agents fail to judge on-line travel threat'
, Travel Trade Gazette, 12th August, No. 2325, p.
4-4
.
46.
Gosling, I.
, cited in
Jefferies, T.
(1998)
`US giant takes on-line step towards UK rule'
, Travel Weekly, 11th November, p.
8-8
.
47.
Dey, I.
(1993) `Qualitative Data Analysis',
Routledge, London
, p. 12-12.
48.
Ibid., p. 11.
49.
Scott, D.
and
Godbey, G. C.
(1990)
`Reorienting leisure research—The case for qualitative methods'
, Society and Leisure, Vol. 13, No. 1,
pp.
189-205
.
50.
Denscombe, M.
(1998) `The Good Research Guide',
Open University, Bucking-ham
, p. 115-115.
51.
Krueger, R.
(194) `Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied
Research',
Sage, London
.
52.
Churchill, G. A.
(1995) `Marketing Research: Methodological
Foundations',
Dryden Press, Orlando
.
53.
Goodyear, M. J.
(1990) `Qualitative Research', in
Birn, R.et al.
(eds) `A Handbook of Market Research Techniques',
Kogan Page, London
, p. 233-233.
54.
Finn, M.
,
Elliott-White, M.
and
Walton, M.
(2000) `Tourism and Leisure Research Methods. Data
Collection, Analysis and Interpretation',
Longman, Harlow
, p. 78-78.
55.
Ryan, C.
(1995) `Researching Tourist Satisfaction. Issues, Concepts,
Problems',
Routledge, London
, p. 118-118.
56.
For more detail on this aspect of the methodology see Abbott, S. (1999) `An
evaluation of consumer responses to technological innovations in the distribution of
the tourism product', unpublished dissertation, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff.
57.
Yin, R.
(1994) `Case Study Research: Design and Methods',
2nd edn.,
Sage, Newbury Park, CA
.
58.
Ryan, ref. 55 above, p. 126.
59.
Johnston, ref. 32 above.
60.
Higham, N.
(2000)
`ITV is Web-Wiser'
, Ariel, p.
5-5
.
61.
Johnston, ref. 32 above.
62.
Lang, ref. 9 above.
63.
Dunning, ref. 38 above.
64.
Westwood, S.
(2000) `The holiday brand—What does it mean?
Towards an experiential approach to the exploration of brand equity in the UK
package tour industry', in
Robinson, M.et al.
(eds.) `Reflections on International Tourism. Expressions of Culture,
Identity and Meaning in Tourism',
Business Education Publishers, Sunderland
.
65.
Lord Marshall, ref. 2 above; Lang, ref. 9 above.
66.
See, for instance, Sheldon, ref. 1 above; Buhalis, ref. 1 above.
67.
Seaton, A. V.
and
Bennett, M. M.
(1996) `Marketing Tourism Products: Concepts, Issues,
Cases',
International Thomson Press, Oxford
, p. 154-154.
68.
Thomas Cook Interactive
(1998) `Information Pack',
Thomas Cook, London
.
69.
Morgan, N. J.
and
Pritchard, A.
(1998)
`Tourism Promotion and Power. Creating Images, Creating Identities'
, John Wiley, Chichester, p.
69-69
.
