sales and distributions of travel packages
Sales & Distribution
Starting around 1996, tremendous changes in trends have begun. With the utilization of internet; the understanding of travel agencies has been changed. Changes and transforms in the structure of the tourism industry distribution system significantly affect the choices available to the consumer. The way to distribute travel packages have been shifted from physical to online, as well when customers became more aware of the internet usage and started trusting on websites, customer thinking and trends have also significantly shifted from physical to online, due to its convenience and cost-effectiveness, along with widely available information and services.
The evolution and transformation of tourism distribution channels, particularly facilitated by information and communication technology, resulted in greater choice for the consumer, increased competition for distribution participants, and a more complex industry structure. Information and communication technology advances have introduced complexity to the tourism distribution system with various permutations: adding additional layers of intermediation, disintermediating certain players by bypassing the traditional intermediaries owing to the possible direct communication between suppliers and consumers provided by technology, and the emergence of reintermediation processes whereby existing players, by adapting to the changing market environment and embracing new technology, provide value-added intermediation services. (Buhalis, 2008) While this technology-induced structural change offers more choices to consumers, it also fosters an environment of fiercer competition for channel participants.
After the public debut of the web, suppliers began establishing web sites to connect directly with customers, thereby beginning the disintermediation of traditional retail travel agents. For example, airlines were then able to practice disintermediation via multiple channels, including call centers,
Starting around 1996, tremendous changes in trends have begun. With the utilization of internet; the understanding of travel agencies has been changed. Changes and transforms in the structure of the tourism industry distribution system significantly affect the choices available to the consumer. The way to distribute travel packages have been shifted from physical to online, as well when customers became more aware of the internet usage and started trusting on websites, customer thinking and trends have also significantly shifted from physical to online, due to its convenience and cost-effectiveness, along with widely available information and services.
The evolution and transformation of tourism distribution channels, particularly facilitated by information and communication technology, resulted in greater choice for the consumer, increased competition for distribution participants, and a more complex industry structure. Information and communication technology advances have introduced complexity to the tourism distribution system with various permutations: adding additional layers of intermediation, disintermediating certain players by bypassing the traditional intermediaries owing to the possible direct communication between suppliers and consumers provided by technology, and the emergence of reintermediation processes whereby existing players, by adapting to the changing market environment and embracing new technology, provide value-added intermediation services. (Buhalis, 2008) While this technology-induced structural change offers more choices to consumers, it also fosters an environment of fiercer competition for channel participants.
After the public debut of the web, suppliers began establishing web sites to connect directly with customers, thereby beginning the disintermediation of traditional retail travel agents. For example, airlines were then able to practice disintermediation via multiple channels, including call centers,
Bibliography: Buhalis, Dimitros. (2008). Progress in tourism management: Twenty years on and 10 years after the internet: The state of eTourism research. Available: http://www.academia.edu/164763/Progress_in_tourism_management_Twenty_years_on_and_10_years_after_the_internet_The_state_of_eTourism_research_. [Accessed 27 March 2014]. Kracht, John. (2010). Emerald Insight | International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management | Table of contents | Volume 22 issue 5. Available: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=0959-6119&volume=22&issue=5. [Accessed 27 March 2014].