Online vs. Traditional Travel Agency: What influence travel consumers choices?

Abstract: The tourism industry is constantly growing. It has provided millions of people worldwide with jobs and careers opportunities and it has been shown in many studies that people travel much more these days than ever before (Doswell, 1997, p. 4-5). Furthermore, the entry and rise of Internet and the e-commerce have made it possible for today’s generation to book their trip online. However, there exist some doubts among many researchers of whether the survival and the growth of traditional travel agency have been threatened by the upcoming of online retailer businesses. This study emphasize to investigate the role of different travel agencies in tourism industry and it tries to show how marketing mix approaches used by many travel agencies influences the consumer decision making of purchasing trips and accommodation from either online or traditional travel agency. The main focus of this study lies on different marketing mix approaches, and the findings indicate to which degree the marketing mix affects decision-making. In addition quantitative method in form of a questionnaire was conducted by the authors to investigate the type of travel agency that is most common and more preferable by the targeted audience. In conclusion, the online travel agency among the targeted audience is more preferable, for its accessibility effectiveness, convenience, wider choices of products and services and available, etc. For those who preferred the services of traditional travel agency, our findings indicate that the most attractive elements are: the opportunity of physical interaction during business transaction, the chance of getting tailor-made products and services, and trustworthiness in personal information security.