Online Travel Agencies

The travel industry in Saudi Arabia is considered to be one of the most important sectors to be affected by technological advancements. We found that the number of travel agents in Saudi Arabia has decreased since 2002, even though the number of travellers has significantly increased. This change was the result of the emergence of the Internet and a significant number of people have become more comfortable in using it to book their travel arrangements. The method of scheduling trips has changed from the traditional approach to the online method due to advancements such as e-commerce, Web 2.0, and mobile applications. All of these technologies negatively impacted the performance of travel agents, in terms of sales and commissions, due to airlines’ newfound ability to sell their products directly through their sites. However, there are still some people who prefer not to use online booking due to cultural problems such as language or concerning the use of credit cards.

In this research, we used the exploratory method to explore a phenomenon that has not been previously studied in the Saudi travel market. Furthermore, we analysed both secondary and primary data (e.g., a questionnaire and interviews). In the questionnaire, we targeted 100 Saudi travellers whom have experience in working with travel agents or online booking sites. The interviews were divided into two categories: first, interviews with travel agents; second, interviews with travellers. The sample size for the questionnaire was 100, three interviews focused on travel agents, and five interviews focused on travellers.

In the findings, we found that many Saudis preferred to obtain information about travel and book their reservations through online sites. Furthermore, we found they used online booking due to its flexibility, to save time and money, and because it included features that travel agents usually do not offer. However, a few Saudis still depended on travel agents for a number of cultural reasons, such as language barriers, the use of credit cards, and education. In addition, we found that many participants indicated that the travel agents will be important in the future due to many factors. Moreover, we reviewed future strategies for travel agencies because these changes had negative effects on their performance in terms of profits, sales, and commissions.

Internet and E-commerce continue to expand in today's information and communication society. This research focuses on the most relevant characteristics of experienced Spanish Internet users. More specifically, this document concentrates on Internet users and travellers who buy or may buy in the future services offered by travel agents or other operators in the tourism industry. Data for this study was collected through questionnaires. Once collected, all data was subjected to statistical analysis in order to determine the demographic characteristics, values, uses and attitudes of subjects included in the sampling, as well as interactions between the above mentioned items. This process allowed us to reach sound conclusions.

Travel agency is a organization which provide access to all travel products under one roof. Globalization has changed the trend in every sector, now commended to create a user friendly website along with awareness among adays customers wish to receive maximum service with minimum wastage of time so travel agency business has captured by online travel agency portals in recent past. In this era of tough competition it is re customers through different marketing tools. Data were collected by multi-methods approach both primary and secondary resources were involved. The findings of the research indicate that digital marketing work as booster for travel agency business. Finally the concept paper provides useful findings for industrialists to improve the existing policies.

Every start-up begins with an idea which comes into the mind of a person or a group of people to put forward a new or improved product. But the success or collapse of any business heavily depends upon the ability of the owner, resources, decision-making skills, initiatives and innovations. The element of innovation only performs its function if the decision-maker has an immense knowledge of market and its dynamics. This sense of innovation then design a business concept which includes information of value of goods, services, core business activities, target market and the means of distributing or providing goods and services into the market segment. In this report, considering all these points, we have put forward an idea to launch an Online Travel Agency which has an aim to target mostly international students in Australia, who are keen to spend their leisure time in travelling without facing any hurdles in arranging these trips.

The purpose is to analyze the impact of online travel agencies (OTA) reservations on the probability of making reservations on the hotel website. For this purpose, from January 26 to February 26, 2016, the reservations made at 10 hotels located in Bogota (Colombia) of the GHL Hotel Chain were analyzed through the official website of the hotel and OTA. It was found that 6,8% of reservations are made through the hotel websites, while OTA groups make up 93,2% of the bookings. Booking.com was the OTA where the biggest number of reservations were made, with 55,3%, followed by Expedia.com, with 29,1%. The present research is the first in Latin America to analyze the reservations made through OTA’s and to compare them with those received by the hotel website. Likewise, it analyzes, the percentage and number of reservations by different OTA’s, allowing to gain insight into the interests of the guests at the time of booking.

En la actualidad, los hoteleros presentan problemas con el manejo de la reputación en línea debido a las malas críticas que reciben en las redes sociales. El objetivo de la presente investigación es detectar los factores clave que se deben tener en cuenta en la operación de cada hotel para evitar comentarios negativos y poder mejorar la reputación en línea. Se analizaron las opiniones recibidas por medios virtuales en 57 hoteles latinoamericanos pertenecientes a la cadena hotelera GHL desde el 31 de marzo de 2015 hasta el 31 de marzo de 2016. Mediante el uso del programa Revinate, los comentarios se clasificaron por departamento, y se elaboró un manual de buenas prácticas. A partir del análisis de los comentarios, se elaboraron recomendaciones sobre seis ámbitos de los hoteles: Habitaciones, Alimentos y Bebidas, Recepción, Centro de Negocios, Seguridad y Gerencia, para optimizar la calidad en los hoteles y de esta forma mejorar la reputación en línea.

This study aims to examine and analyze the effect of perceived usefulness and security on consumer trust towards repurchases intention in online travel agent industry. Research data is primary data derived from online questionnaires sent to consumers which at least had done transaction in Tiket.com Online travel agent. Sampling numbers in this research are 132 respondents and the analysis method used is SEM (Structural Equation Modelling) with AMOS 24 Software. The result reveals trust is able to mediate perceived usefulness and security with repurchase intention in online travel agent industry. Implications and limitations are discussed.

The purpose is to analyze the impact of online travel agencies (OTA) reservations on the probability of making reservations on the hotel website. For this purpose, from January 26 to February 26, 2016, the reservations made at 10 hotels located in Bogota (Colombia) of the GHL Hotel Chain were analyzed through the official website of the hotel and OTA. It was found that 6,8% of reservations are made through the hotel websites, while OTA groups make up 93,2% of the bookings. Booking.com was the OTA where the biggest number of reservations were made, with 55,3%, followed by Expedia.com, with 29,1%. The present research is the first in Latin America to analyze the reservations made through OTA’s and to compare them with those received by the hotel website. Likewise, it analyzes, the percentage and number of reservations by different OTA’s, allowing to gain insight into the interests of the guests at the time of booking.

In accordance with the Law on the Protection of Competition, the Competition Board conducted an investigation about Holland-based online travel agency Booking.com, which has so far not been able to embody and tax its activities in Turkey, to determine whether the practices of the "best price guarantee" within the framework of the booking services provided by Booking.com violated the law. As in Turkey, many countries have also made inquiries about booking.com before. At the end of the investigation, to the booking.com BV, an administrative penalty amounting to TL 2,543,992.85 shall be given in January, Subsequently, as of March 2017, those who access booking.com via the internet channel in Turkey have been banned from accessing and booking rooms on booking.com within the borders of the Republic of Turkey. Booking.com is attracting attention as a company, having a large market share and working with approximately 13,000 businesses in Turkey. The aim of the study is to draw attention to the importance of a national hotel search engine that can be formed by taking a model of Booking.com in Turkey, a country that is in the 5th place in internet usage in Europe and attracting 50 million users. In addition, the working principle of booking.com will be examined and suggestions will be made so that stakeholders in Turkey can be supported without having to stay connected to booking.com. Stopping Booking.com's activities in Turkey has been evaluated from separate perspectives such as sector, customers, government and booking.com. It is concluded that, the administrative penalty given to Booking.com by the Competition Board, which has not embodied and taxed its activities in Turkey, is correct and appropriate. However, many authorities seem to agree that if booking.com agrees to be a company that pays taxes, it may continue its activities in Turkey as it used to be.

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of e-commerce application on Kenyan travel agency sustainability. The study was guided by the following research objectives: to investigate the impact of e-commerce application in the distribution of travel related services, to examine the impact of e-commerce application in building customer loyalty, and to identify the impact of e-commerce application in the diversification of products/services and how they all impact on Kenyan travel agency sustainability.
The study used descriptive research design as it sought to unravel the impact that e-commerce application has on Kenyan travel agency sustainability. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered consisting of both open and close ended questions. The sample was drawn from travel agencies (TAs) located in Nairobi since the county hosted 255 out of the 293 travel agencies that were members of the Kenya Association of Tour Operators (KATO) as per 2018 figures. The focus was on one top management representatives from each travel agency as they are conversant with the day to day running of their organizations and more specifically, the impact of e-commerce adoption. The sample size was 59 respondents from the 293 KATO member travel agencies. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).
The findings of the study revealed a positive relationship between e-commerce application in the distribution of travel related services and Kenyan travel agency sustainability. It therefore implied that an increase in e-commerce application in the distribution of travel related services will lead to an increase in Kenyan travel agency sustainability. The study also identified a number of efforts to create value between consumers and travel agencies over the internet; this phenomenon has been described as re-intermediation. Re-intermediation efforts as identified in this paper is through the development of global distribution systems (GDS) such as Sabre, Amadeus, Galileo, and Worldspan. In Kenya, re-intermediation is evident through the development of platforms such as ‘SafariBookings.com’ which acts as an online medium for travel agencies to sell their safari packages. These examples demonstrate the online opportunities that Kenyan TAs could use to become sustainable.
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The findings also showed a positive correlation between e-commerce application in building customer loyalty and Kenyan travel agency sustainability. The positive correlation implied that an increase in e-commerce application in building customer loyalty would lead to an increase in Kenyan travel agency sustainability. These findings concurred with earlier studies which established that e-commerce tools play a vital role in retaining customers. With the use of e-commerce, Kenyan travel agencies will therefore be able to reinforce their competitive advantage aside from expanding across borders.
Lastly, the findings revealed a positive correlation between e-commerce application in product/service diversification and Kenyan travel agency sustainability. Based on this positive correlation, an increase in e-commerce application in product/service diversification would lead to an increase in Kenyan travel agency sustainability. Apart from stressing the importance of e-commerce adoption, this finding concurs with earlier studies which established that TAs stand to benefit from value addition and diversification across markets. The study also noted competition from emerging online travel agencies (OTAs) which are providing differentiated products. To enable TAs to be more competitive, the study suggests differentiation from the OTAs rather than replication.
The study concludes that Kenyan TAs are experiencing both negative and positive effects of e-commerce adoption. The negative effects are the emergence of OTAs which continue to threaten travel agencies’ dominance. The OTAs are gaining traction in the market by providing differentiated products/services and this signifies the important role that differentiation plays in having a competitive edge. On the flipside, the positive effects of e-commerce adoption are the emergence of B2B2C platforms such as ‘SafariBookings.com’ which are complementing the pre-existing platforms such as Amadeus.
The study therefore recommends that TAs should embrace B2B2C platforms as it will enable them to interact with e-customers. With the aid of e-commerce, the TAs will also be able to easily monitor and analyze customer buying habits and differentiate the products/services offered with an aim of ensuring e-customer satisfaction. For future studies, the study recommends conducting a similar study in a different geographical context as the findings may differ. It was further recommended that future studies seek opinions from consumers of travel related products/services.

ABSTRACT

CHRISTINUS, BRIAN, Trisakti University, January 2019 “The Effect of Firm Reputation and Image to Loyalty Through Satisfaction and Trust on Online Travel Agency in Indonesia”
Major Advisor : Dr. Hermanto Yaputra
Purpose – The purpose of this research is to analyze the effect of dimension of product towards loyalty through satisfaction and trust on online travel agency website Tiket.com. This research will help the company to measure the effect of each dimension of product and how the performance of mediating variable to increase the value of loyalty, and then the company can decide the most effective path and strategy to get the consumer loyalty on running their service. Deciding the right strategy will help Tiket.com to be competitive against Traveloka.com which now being the number one online travel agency website in Indonesia.
Design/methodology/approach – The research was carried out with a sample of 240 subjects in Indonesia to analyze the relationship among construct by using questionnaire with five scales likert ranking methodology. The collected data was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with the help of AMOS and SPSS software.
Findings – The dimension of products, firm and reputation and image have positive effects towards loyalty. The mediating effects, satisfaction and trust have positive effects in mediating the relationship between the dimension of product and loyalty.
Practical implementation – The research suggests that online travel agency take a strategy to increase the reputation and image of their firm. Based on the result of this research, in developing the loyalty of their consumer online travel agency also has optional path which is to develop their consumer satisfaction and trust first.
Originality/value – This research paper has important value by analyzing the dimension of products to determine how e-loyalty can be managed in online travel agency, in addition to analyzing an important segment for future online travel agency development.
Keywords – Subject, reputation and image, design, firm, product, satisfaction, trust, loyalty, website, online travel agency, Tiket.com.

This article analyses business market change factors of travel agencies in Lithuania. Travel agencies and organizers represent an important part of tourism sector, which includes all functions and forms of tourism as well as reflects the trends of this industry. Travel agency business is affected by intense external and internal market change factors. The problem of the research raised in the introduction is that business conditions of the travel agencies are getting complicated. There are two principal external factors that made the most significant impact on travel agency market: internet with new information technologies and deregulation of passenger air transport. The article identifies internal
change factors of travel agency business market, analyses emerging challenges and their impact, and the managerial response is analysed which would help travel agencies survive in this business.
KEY WORDS: travel agency market, market change factors, information technologies, deregulation.

Straipsnyje analizuojami kelionių agentūrų verslo rinkos kaitos veiksniai Lietuvoje. Kelionių agentūros ir organizatoriai yra svarbi turizmo sektoriaus dalis, kuri apima visas turizmo funkcijas, formas
ir atskleidžia šio sektoriaus tendencijas. Kelionių agentūrų verslas yra veikiamas išorės ir vidaus rinkos kaitos veiksnių. Įvade keliama problema, kad kelionių agentūrų darbo sąlygos tampa vis sudėtingesnės.
Kelionių agentūrų rinką labiausiai paveikė du išorės veiksniai: internetas ir naujosios informacinės technologijos bei keleivinio oro transporto dereguliacija. Straipsnyje pateikiami vidiniai kelionių agentūrų rinkos kaitos veiksniai, analizuojami patiriami iššūkiai, nustatomas jų poveikis ir
analizuojamas vadybinis atsakas, galintis padėti kelionių agentūroms išlikti šiame versle.
PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: kelionių agentūrų rinka, rinkos kaitos veiksniai, informacinės technologijos, dereguliacija.

In this study, the service quality of online travel agencies in CALABARZON region in terms of Tangibility, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance and Empathy were examined. The OTA’s service performance in terms of customer satisfaction and loyalty will be analyzed in order to propose a framework of innovation for the online travel agency. The researcher used the quantitative research design to the 376 OTA employees and customers among the 120 accredited travel agencies operating in CALABARZON IV-A. Based on the model summaries of linear regression for customer knowledge, the Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty are factors that influence Customer Orientation, while Customer Satisfaction, Customer Loyalty and Empathy are factors that influence Interaction Intensity and Service Innovation. Out of this result, the given framework was formulated. It was found out that Female respondents have higher perceptions on service quality and customer orientation, unmarried respondents have significantly higher response on service quality and customer satisfaction and Baby Boomers have significantly lower response on service quality, service performance and customer knowledge of OTA Services. It was recommended for the OTA to support the agent to look out for customers’ needs in rendering services. It manifests empathy through sensitivity and they may ensure customer satisfaction by focusing on their wants and needs have a constant feedback monitoring or evaluation.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the effect of reviews on the online reputation of hotels located in Latin America, by comparing the ratings of GHL hotels that have the highest rankings on TripAdvisor and finding which channels receive the most comments to build a guide for digital marketing strategies. Nowadays, the reviews received on OTA (Online Travel Agencies) and opinion websites reflect the quality management of hotels. This study seeks to demonstrate that when hoteliers consider comments and their guests' opinions, they can improve their ratings and position on the social media their stakeholders utilize. To perform this research, the software REVINATE was used to measure the online reputation in 60 hotels of the GHL Hotel Chain located in Argentina,

En la actualidad, los hoteleros presentan problemas con el manejo de la reputación en línea debido a las malas críticas que reciben en las redes sociales. El objetivo de la presente investigación es detectar los factores clave que se deben tener en cuenta en la operación de cada hotel para evitar comentarios negativos y poder mejorar la reputación en línea. Se analizaron las opiniones recibidas por medios virtuales en 57 hoteles latinoamericanos pertenecientes a la cadena hotelera GHL desde el 31 de marzo de 2015 hasta el 31 de marzo de 2016. Mediante el uso del programa Revinate, los comentarios se clasificaron por departamento, y se elaboró un manual de buenas prácticas. A partir del análisis de los comentarios, se elaboraron recomendaciones sobre seis ámbitos de los hoteles: Habitaciones, Alimentos y Bebidas, Recepción, Centro de Negocios, Seguridad y Gerencia, para optimizar la calidad en los hoteles y de esta forma mejorar la reputación en línea.

En la actualidad, los hoteleros presentan problemas con el manejo de la reputación en línea debido a las malas críticas que reciben en las redes sociales. El objetivo de la presente investigación es detectar los factores clave que se deben tener en cuenta en la operación de cada hotel para evitar comentarios negativos y poder mejorar la reputación en línea. Se analizaron las opiniones recibidas por medios virtuales en 57 hoteles latinoamericanos pertenecientes a la cadena hotelera GHL desde el 31 de marzo de 2015 hasta el 31 de marzo de 2016. Mediante el uso del programa Revinate, los comentarios se clasificaron por departamento, y se elaboró un manual de buenas prácticas. A partir del análisis de los comentarios, se elaboraron recomendaciones sobre seis ámbitos de los hoteles: Habitaciones, Alimentos y Bebidas, Recepción, Centro de Negocios, Seguridad y Gerencia, para optimizar la calidad en los hoteles y de esta forma mejorar la reputación en línea.

This study examines the relationship between factors influencing the e-service quality of web based travel intermediaries and customer satisfaction and loyalty. For the purpose of the study, data was collected using survey method from 300 faculty members working at Akdeniz University and have purchase experience from web based travel intermediaries at least once. The study employed regression analysis. Study findings were discussed, evaluated and interpreted with the support of related literature. Statistical analysis reveals the existence of a relationship between three variables mentioned above. Besides, the results suggest that electronic service quality dimensions have varying severity of predictive power on customer satisfaction and loyalty. Study findings reveal valuable information for the managers of web based travel intermediaries about the electronic service quality dimensions that influence customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.

En la actualidad, los hoteleros presentan problemas con el manejo de la reputación en línea debido a las malas críticas que reciben en las redes sociales. El objetivo de la presente investigación es detectar los factores clave que se deben tener en cuenta en la operación de cada hotel para evitar comentarios negativos y poder mejorar la reputación en línea. Se analizaron las opiniones recibidas por medios virtuales en 57 hoteles latinoamericanos pertenecientes a la cadena hotelera GHL desde el 31 de marzo de 2015 hasta el 31 de marzo de 2016. Mediante el uso del programa Revinate, los comentarios se clasificaron por departamento, y se elaboró un manual de buenas prácticas. A partir del análisis de los comentarios, se elaboraron recomendaciones sobre seis ámbitos de los hoteles: Habitaciones, Alimentos y Bebidas, Recepción, Centro de Negocios, Seguridad y Gerencia, para optimizar la calidad en los hoteles y de esta forma mejorar la reputación en línea.

[e-mail winkler@hec.fr for the full version of the paper]

This article examines the concept of “significant imbalance” (SI) under French law and its impact on international business transactions. “Significant imbalance” is a legal standard meant to assess whether a contractual clause is unfair (abusive). Although initially restricted to consumer law, it has been extended to general contract law with the implementation of a reform entered into force on 1 October 2016. Previously, the Commercial Court of Paris in the ruling Ministry of Economy v Expedia, Inc (2015) had qualified SI as an “overriding mandatory provision” (loi de police) under Regulation 593/2008 on the applicable law to contractual obligations (Rome I). As a consequence, SI became operative in respect of international contracts despite an express choice of a foreign governing law made by the parties to the transaction. This article argues that, as a result of Expedia and the 2016 reform, French courts can interfere with international business transactions by striking down contractual terms that they deem unfair according to the SI standard. The analysis focuses on two key issues. On the one hand, notwithstanding recent judicial precedents, SI still fails to provide a reliable test for predicting which clauses or contracts are at risk of being deemed unfair. On the other hand, the legal arsenal supporting the French legislator’s disapproval of SI allocates great power to French courts and the French Government to pursue tort lawsuits against foreign companies allegedly oppressing their commercial partners with SI clauses. Empirical evidence shows that these actions are highly successful compared with those commenced by private actors. The article concludes that all these aspects, together with SI’s turbulent case law throughout the years, will give rise to uncertainty in international business transactions and may eventually disadvantage France in the global competition in such a field.

Las agencias de viaje online se enfrentan a crecientes niveles de competencia, por lo tanto, experimentan una necesidad, cada vez mayor, de evaluar la eficacia de sus sites. El presente estudio tiene como finalidad conocer cuáles son los factores clave que tienen en cuenta las agencias de viaje online para captar y fidelizar clientes a través de la red. Para la consecución de los objetivos planteados, se ha diseñado un modelo cuantitativo de análisis para la recogida de datos. Una vez recogidos, se realizó el tratamiento estadístico, primero con la obtención de estadísticos descriptivos y, posteriormente, con el análisis de asociación de variables aplicando el coeficiente de correlación de Spearman.

This study reports the findings of a research that compared the lowest airfares of full-service network carriers and low-cost airlines and mapped the cost distance between Budapest and European cities. The study investigated return air tickets for three time periods in 48 European cities for travellers who originated from Budapest. The study was based on quantitative research methods using automated internet data collection and a unique GIS-based mapping method to compare airfares and visualise the cost distance between European cities and Budapest. Our findings showed that low-cost airlines outperform full-service network carriers by offering lower-fare air tickets, while the cost distance maps showed that cities accessible by low-cost airlines are ‘closer’ to Budapest in general.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the effect of reviews on the online reputation of hotels located in Latin America, by comparing the ratings of GHL hotels that have the highest rankings on TripAdvisor and finding which channels receive the most comments to build a guide for digital marketing strategies. Nowadays, the reviews received on OTA (Online Travel Agencies) and opinion websites reflect the quality management of hotels. This study seeks to demonstrate that when hoteliers consider comments and their guests' opinions, they can improve their ratings and position on the social media their stakeholders utilize. To perform this research, the software REVINATE was used to measure the online reputation in 60 hotels of the GHL Hotel Chain located in Argentina,

El objetivo de esta investigación es estudiar el comportamiento de los huéspedes que reservaron hoteles en Bogotá – Colombia, cuyo mayor segmento de mercado pertenece a la industria de reuniones, observando la reputación online en 3 OTA (Online Travel Agencies) y en TripAdvisor. Del mismo modo se analizó día a día la disponibilidad de habitaciones para determinar si los hoteles con mejor reputación online terminaban su disponibilidad antes que los que no tenían mejores calificaciones. Se analizaron 10 hoteles de la Cadena Hotelera GHL, ubicados en Bogotá, en el periodo del 26 de enero al 26 de febrero de 2016 mediante la página oficial y las OTA. Se encontró que los hoteles más demandados son aquellos que se encuentran ubicados en la zona determinada por COTELCO (Asociación Hotelera y Turística de Colombia) como Zona Calle 93 - Calle 100 que se caracteriza por tener una amplia oferta gastronómica y recreativa que permite desarrollar el Bleasure, es decir, la combinación de negocios ...

El objetivo del presente trabajo fue analizar el impacto de las OTA En la probabilidad de realización de reservas en la página web de un hotel. Con este fin, del 26 de enero al 26 de febrero de 2016 se observaron las reservas realizadas en 10 hoteles de la Cadena Hotelera GHL de Bogotá (Colombia) por medio de la página web y OTA. Se encontró que el 6,8 % de las reservaciones fueron hechas mediante la página web del hotel, mientras que el 93,2 % se hicieron por intermedio de OTA. La OTA que registró el mayor número de reservas fue Booking.com, con el 55,3 %, seguida por Expedia.com, con un 29,1 %. La presente investigación es la primera en América Latina en llevar a cabo un análisis de las reservas mediante OTA y compararlas con la página web de un hotel. También analiza el porcentaje y número de reservaciones por las diferentes OTA.  

Öz
Gelişen teknolojinin bir ürünü olarak günlük hayatın değişmezi halini alan internet daha az maliyetle daha hızlı bir şekilde daha fazla müşteriye ulaşma imkanı sunması sebebiyle ticari hayat içerisinde önemli bir yere sahiptir. Turizm ve seyahat endüstrisinde de aynı önemine sahip olan bu araç online seyahat acenteleri ile günümüzde seyahat endüstrisi açısından göz ardı edilemeyecek bir teknoloji yenilik haline getirmiştir. Bu çalışmada amaç, seyahat satın almada klasik seyahat acentelerine kıyasla online seyahat acentelerini tercih eden tüketicilerin memnuniyet faktörlerini belirlemek ve her bir faktörün klasik seyahat acentelerine kıyasla ne derece memnuniyet sağladığını ölçmektir. Çalışmada ayrıca, online seyahat acentelerinin web sitelerinin taşıması gereken hizmet kalitesi kriterlerini tespit etmek amaçlanmıştır. Araştırma için Szimensky ve Hise (2000)'in geliştirdiği " E-memnuniyet Ölçeği " ve Barnes ve Vidgen (2002) tarafından geliştirilen " Web Kalitesi Ölçeği " aracılığıyla bir anket formu oluşturulmuştur. Oluşturulan anket formu tesadüfi olmayan örnekleme yöntemlerinden kolayda örnekleme yöntemi aracılığıyla 2015 Temmuz-Aralık ayları arasında, İstanbul ilini ziyaret eden 530 yerli ve yabancı turiste yüz yüze görüşme yöntemiyle uygulanmıştır. Çalışma sonucunda, katılımcıların demografik değişkenlerine göre e-memnuniyet düzeylerinin ve web sitesi hizmet kalitesi kriterlerine yönelik bakış açılarının farklılaştığı görülmüştür. Ayrıca, web kalitesi ile katılımcıların e-memnuniyetleri arasında pozitif yönlü bir ilişkinin bulunduğu belirlenmiştir. Çalışmanın sonuçları literatüre katkı sağlamakla birlikte, turizm ve seyahat endüstrisi pazarlamacıları açısından da önem taşımaktadır.
Abstract
The internet which appeared as a result of information and communication technologies affected travel industry as well as other industries. The internet also brought the competition among travel agents to the online area. Since the consumers started to use the internet for travel and holiday bookings, travel agencies have had to use internet more effectively every day and carried out their marketing activities on online platforms. As a result, the importance of website quality has increased for travel agencies implementing marketing activities online. In this research, a questionnaire was created by means of e-satisfaction scale developed by Szymanski and Hise (2000) and web quality scale developed by Barnes and Vidgen (2002). The questionnaire was administered by using deliberate (decisional) sampling which is one of the non-probability sampling methods to 530 local and foreign tourists who visited Istanbul through face to face interview method between July and December of 2015. At the end of the study, it was determined
that participants' e-satisfaction levels and their perspectives regarding web quality service criteria have changed according to participants' demographic variables. Moreover, it was identified that there is a positive relationship between participants' e-satisfaction and web quality. The results of the study not only contribute to the literature but also tourism and travel industry marketers.
Keywords: Online travel agencies, Tourist satisfaction, Istanbul.

The purpose of the study is to analyse the changing role of tourism intermediaries in the distribution chain.
Globalisation and the development of ICTs have undoubtedly changed both business practices and strategies
as well as industry structures. They are also creating new rules governing competition within the tourism market.
However, the idea of disintermediation to which e-commerce specialists often refer does not necessarily mean
distruction of travel intermediaries. By examining their traditional functions one can demonstrate that current
Internet trends go beyond disintermediation in tourism. Emerging new Internet players are being joined by
entirely new types of intermediaries, leading to the radical restructuring of tourism value nets.