Travel agents, traditionally the sector of the travel and tourism industry that has held a strong position of power by providing an important link in the distribution channel between principals and consumers, are now finding their business under threat. Rapid changes in consumer demand, information technology and business systems are impacting on travel agency viability around the world. Increasing distribution costs have seen travel principals aiming to reach their customers with distribution that is much more direct than in the past, cutting the travel agent out of the system, or at the very least, reducing agency commissions. Strategic alliances have also given suppliers - particularly airlines - marketing synergies, and again reduced their need to rely on agents to distribute their product. Further synergies have come from the use of diagonal integration, a process whereby firms use information technologies to logically combine services for best productivity and most profitability; for example, Internet booking plus electronic ticketing. In addition the motivations and consumer behaviour of travellers are changing. The &64;new tourists&64; want experiences, not just a vacation, are more likely to know what they want, to do their own pre-purchase research, and to have a stronger preference for tailor-made arrangements. This market is independent, and more likely to rely on the Internet as a source of tourism information than to rely on the services of a travel agent to plan their trip. This thesis analyses the changes in the travel and tourism distribution system that point towards the apparent disintermediation of travel agents, and makes recommendations for new marketing strategies for travel agents, so that they may retain their viability into the twenty-first century.

Despite its growing importance in industrialized nations, the service sector has received relatively little attention from economic geographers in recent debates over the nature and significance of the current processes of change affecting contemporary capitalism. This lack of attention means that we have little detailed knowledge about how the various industries that comprise the service sector are restructuring their operations and how these processes, in turn, influence broader economic change. This thesis goes some way toward redressing this imbalance by studying the evolving structure of two key sectors of the Montreal tourism industry--hotels and travel agencies. / I begin with an overview of past attempts to understand the changing role of the service sector in developed economies. Despite their weaknesses new political economy frameworks are shown to perhaps provide the best starting point for the development of a more 'services informed' approach to understanding current economic change. / In an attempt to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of applying such approaches to the study of services I first review their ability to explain and predict changes currently taking place in the tourism industry as a whole. This is followed by a discussion of the empirical findings of the thesis based on 103 interviews with managers and owners of Montreal hotels and travel agencies. I focus on the following key areas: the evolving competitive environment, changes in corporate organization, the adoption of new technologies and shifts in labour use. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 85-86).

Relationship marketing has grown in importance. This growth affects all industries, including the tourism, hospitality and travel industry. Of particular importance is the bond of relationship marketing between suppliers (principals) and retailers (travel agents) in the distribution channel. The research was undertaken to: determine whether Eastern Cape travel agents perceive relationship marketing as important; establish, what the key elements of relationship marketing strategies are,according to literature; determine what marketing strategies are currently applied by Eastern Cape travel agents; provide guidelines to Eastern Cape travel agents to implement or improve their relationship marketing strategies. Fifty self-administered questionnaires were distributed to the entire population of travel agents in the Eastern Cape. A total of 30 travel agents responded. The empirical findings showed that: Most Eastern Cape travel agents perceived relationship marketing as important; Travel agents realized the importance of the management of such relationship marketing strategies; Most travel agents were aware of or used retention strategies to enhance relationship marketing strategies; Travel agents realized that to survive relationship marketing should be part of their future planning; All respondents believed that to successfully implement relationship marketing, all staff, from front-line to top-management, need to be committed to the programme. In conclusion, relationship marketing is growing in importance and all role players need to acknowledge and manage this trend. However, this research has shown that there is a paradigm shift as more travel agents are moving away from the traditional marketing to relationship marketing.

No description available.

Syfte och forskningsfrågor Studiens avsikt är att undersöka hur reseindustrin har påverkats av digitaliseringen genom att studera svenska reseaktörers marknadsföringsstrategier, anpassning till digitaliseringen samt syn på deras framtida roll. Utifrån studiens syfte kommer följande forskningsfrågor att besvaras: Hur marknadsför svenska reseaktörer sig idag? Vilka fördelar och nackdelar ser svenska reseaktörer med digitaliseringen inom reseindustrin? Hur ser svenska reseaktörer på sin framtida roll? Metod Studien är baserad på en kvalitativ undersökning, det empiriska materialet är insamlad genom semistrukturerade intervjuer som har genomförts med fem verksamma reseaktörer i Sverige. Slutsatser Studiens resultat visar på att reseaktörer i Sverige investerar i digital marknadsföring samt verktyg för att bygga upp varumärke, tillit och interaktion med kunder. Information samt kommunikation till kunder har underlättats genom digitaliseringen, att kommunicera ut personlig service, tillit och fånga in kunder har försvårats.  Reseaktörer har förändrat sin roll både i den fysiska och digitala marknaden efter kunders behov. / Purpose and research questions The purpose of the study is to investigate how the travel industry has been affected by digitization by studying travel operators marketing strategies, adaptation and views on their future role. In order to fulfil this purpose, the following questions have been formulated: How are travel operators in Sweden marketing themselves today? What are the advantages and disadvantages for travel operators in Sweden with relevance to the digitalization processes? What are travel operators in Sweden thinking about their future role in the tourism industry? Method The method included qualitative methods. Five semi structured interviews have been conducted with five travel operators in Sweden. Conclusions The results indicate that travel operators in Sweden invest in digital marketing for brand building, achieving customer loyalty and personal interaction. This study shows that facilitation of information and interaction with customers as advantages and communicating personal service, trust and targeting customers as difficulties. Travel operators have changed their role according to customer needs.

This research investigates the impact of the Blue Crane Development Agency (BCDA) on tourism development by comparing the implementation of the Responsible Tourism Sector Plan of the Blue Crane Route Municipality (BCRM) with the Responsible Tourism Sector Plan of the Sundays River Valley Municipality (SRVM). In the latter instance, there is no development agency involved. A qualitative approach to research is applied with a specific focus on in-depth interviews. The literature review focuses on responsible tourism, local economic development (LED) and development agencies. The research is grounded in the Endogenous Growth Theory. The research notes the phenomenal success of the development agency model for delivery of LED projects. There is a notable growth in the tourism sector within the BCRM. With 45 permanent jobs created, the BCRM is a better place as compared to what it was in the era prior to the establishment of the BCDA. This surpasses by far the number of jobs created in the SRVM where the development agency model does not exist. The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) prefers a district-wide development agency as opposed to a local development agency. The establishment of Cacadu Development Agency (CDA) follows this suggestion. The findings of this research are thus very significant for the SALGA in their pursuit for best practices in LED. Both the BCRM and the SRVM are under-marketed, a negative factor on their tourism growth and development. Placing of billboards at the Ncanara interchange to advertise them would ideally enhance their tourism marketing campaigns. The research also finds that both local municipalities have inadequate monitoring and evaluation systems for projects. In this respect, the research suggests that the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA) should consider conducting a provincial research covering all the districts, on the contribution of tourism to the local economies. As a provincial entity, the ECPTA would be better placed to undertake that task. They would have less legal restrictions imposed by jurisdictional issues than would a local municipality. The research recommends the relocation of the CDA and the CDM from the metropolitan city of Port Elizabeth to one of the local municipalities. That would most likely increase business tourism, thereby boosting the local economy in the relevant small municipality. In conclusion, this research proposes that the presence of a development agency enhances tourism growth and development in the BCRM.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the correlation of U.S. domestic air travelers and patterns of air travel purchase within the U.S. air travel industry. Influences on the patterns of air travel purchase involved 1) demographic characteristics of travelers 2) benefits to the customer 3) customer attitude toward service providers' (defined as airlines, web-based travel agents, and traditional travel agents and 4) information sources used to select and book a flight for business and leisure trips.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Business Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Relationship marketing has received much attention and widespread publicity over the past ten years and has moved to the forefront of research and practice. It provides companies with a management tool to establish economically profitable relationships, networks and interactions with different, but equally important stakeholder markets. The marketing concept as reflected in the four P's of the marketing mix was prominent in marketing practice and thinking until the mid-1980s, when reference to customer relationships and relationship building began to appear in the literature and became the focus of much research. The marketing concept, although still relevant, was expanded to include the dimension of relationships. The shift fiom transactional to relationship-based marketing has many implications for product and service based business. Marketing can no longer be viewed as a separate function to which an organisation can assign responsibility for the customer while the rest of the organisation gets on with their tasks. Rather, the relationship-based view of marketing places the responsibility for marketing (as defined broadly) on everyone in the organisation. In other words, it is the responsibility of every employee within the organisation to satisfy the needs of customers. A relationship marketing orientation can therefore create a competitive edge for an organisation and can also have a positive impact on organisational performance. In a highly competitive, global environment organisations are focussing more attention on building sustainable, competitive advantages by developing and maintaining close, cooperative relationships with a limited set of suppliers, customers and channel members. Through these relationships, organisations create value by differentiating their offering and/or lowering their costs. The term "relationship marketing" is therefore applied to a number of different marketing activities ranging from consumer frequency marketing programs to selling activities directed towards building partnerships with key customers. The focus of this study is to investigate the mutually beneficial nature of establishing long term relationships in supplier markets, customer markets, internal markets, recruitment markets, internal markets and influence markets. The different principles which are important to improve and professionally manage the relationships in the markets listed above, are identified and discussed. These principles were tested in travel agencies in the Western Cape province to determine their current and ideal application in a travel and tourism environment. The calculation of effect sizes were based on the difference between the current and ideal application of the principles within travel agencies in the Western Cape. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Business Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007