The Disintermediation and Re-Intermediation of Travel Agents

* Impacts of technology e.g. on traditional operational practices for selling travel services, issuing e-tickets, offering dynamic packaging

Before the days of the Internet, if a family wanted to travel to a far-off, exotic locale, they would have to either find a local travel agent or call a travel agency and plan their getaway. In the 1990’s, the Internet became a staple of everyday life and began entering many homes. As the availability of the Internet increased, so did the services available to clients. With the increasing availability of the World Wide Web the travel industry found itself faced with revolutionizing changes. All of the tools that were once solely available to travel agents now became readily available to anyone with access to the Internet and a search engine. Websites quickly formed around the idea of providing consumers with quick vacation planning ideas at low costs. Getting

Question 10. TCO 12. Some argue the Internet has diminished the need for travel agents. Others boast the travel agent offers a unique level of personalized service the Internet lacks. Profile the customer that would utilize a travel agent versus the typical internet

Today’s on-line travel market is succeeding because the companies are using a more software-centric, online business model termed “E-commerce.” This has become the popular avenue for businesses as it mirrors the ideas of mobility. The sheer amount of data available, coupled with the advanced operating systems and social media platforms, have created new possibilities for E-commerce organizations. The infrastructure of E-commerce has expanded into platforms such as peer-to-peer networking, crowd-sourcing, social websites, and mobile devices and media. E-commerce trends are findings ways to incorporate every aspect of our daily lives into an online package associated with our everyday needs (Fishbein, 2013).

One major task of a travel agency is to develop travel plans based on a traveler's need and wants. A similar set of social worker task is to develop an intervention plan based on a client's needs and wants. Contrasting how these tasks are handling illustrates the features of the network model of interoperability. This model goes on to explain that today's interconnected information available to a travel agent has caused major changes in how travelers find vacations that meet their needs. Some of these organizations even use the information provided by the traveler to further their goals. An example the model gives is that immediately after the traveler makes an airline reservation on a travel site. The information can automatically be used by an airline application that optimize airline profits by ensuring that each plane is full with the highest paying passenger. Advantage this model has it that now u can consider technology is typically used when clients want to find a counseling service that meets their needs. Clients can just call 211 if implemented in their area to obtain a list of possible agencies to contact. Having this type of access they don't have to feel alone on making the decision about traveling they can feel confident with the decision that is made. Disadvantage on this model Schoech explain the major issues is how to make a globally connected system out of many independent local agencies. They face

Senior management at Outrigger is aiming towards entering management agreements with large brands and third part owners. Online agencies such as Expedia, TripAdvisor, and Orbitz are threatening Outrigger’s ability to provide consumers information through human travel agents (Piccoli). I would recommend implementing more functionality into their web services to handle all kinds of travel requests so no revenue is lost to competitors. This would also eliminate the need for travel agents, instead replacing them with the occasional, cheap customer service employee, cutting costs as

The buyer’s power is increasing with access to online travel brokerages which automatically provide the cheapest available airfares to desired destinations, regardless of airline. These services allow

Forging a new horizon of traveling, Allegiant Travel Company is an airline company that offers airline travel from smaller cities to vacation destinations, for competitively lower prices (3). What makes this company different from others is their plan itself - most of the cities they fly from rarely get attention from the larger airlines (4). In addition to their cheap fares, Allegiant Travel Company offers bundle deals with hotels, rental cars, and other amenities that might be useful when traveling (3), a major factor in the purchasing decisions of their customers, and ultimately the company’s economic state.

The bargaining power of buyers in the leisure & recreation industry has increased with the use of online travel booking and online customer reviews. Buyers are now able to become better informed with the services that they are purchasing and can

The criterion for a travel agent is reliability. Two potential surrogate indicators could include company and experience. A consumer will perceive a travel agent as reliable if that individual works for a reputable agency with good previous customer experiences. Furthermore, a consumer will perceive a travel agent to be reliable if that individual has a lot of prior work experience. A consumer would not want to book a trip internationally with a travel agent who has never worked outside of the United

Travel started to develop as a business many years ago. This industry began, when the ancient and rich inhabitants of Phoenicia, Rome, Egypt, Greece, and China; out of curiosity and a sense of adventure, about their surroundings, began to travel. Today tourism is a billionaire industry that serves the needs and wants of millions of domestic and international tourists. There is no doubt, that capitalism has played an active role in the developing of this powerful enterprise. However, when this business began, only the rich populations were able to enjoy their summers on the coasts and countryside. As these powerful people continue traveling, their servants have to cater for their patrons travel and accommodations needs and wants. As the Roman Empire decline, this business endured a backlash. In Central America the Incas had to travel to trade with the different racial groups, which were part of their empires to trade and collect taxes from their peasants.

Of the total travel market only 1% was generated from the online travel market, and consumers still depended on customer call centers to confirm payment status. To counteract the risks it is important that Lucky Air create an effective business-consumer-business model that will do the obvious and draw consumers to their site and make an online purchase of airfare. To draw in consumers Lucky Air will need to focus on Web 2.0, which is the unique feature or features of e-commerce and the Internet coming together as applications and social media technologies. Web 2.0 will allow for a better online experience with inter-human connections, consumer interacted blogs and the staff to constantly monitor the site to provide consumer feedback. Web 2.0 is crucial to providing customer relationship management. Promoting reviews from consumers in regards to destinations and airline experience are important so the consumer can feel they are important enough to expose the truth from other consumers even negative remarks. But the single most important part of focusing on e-commerce is the ability to provide a online experience and advanced technology that enables customer self-service without the need for multiple customer call centers. Customers should be able to pay for fares, cancel fares, use a safe payment method that can verify a credit card, check on the status of flights and use rewards programs

The Development of the Travel and Tourism Industry and the Factors Affecting it Today Contents The development of the travel and tourism industry Page 3-4 Factors that have led to the growth in travel and tourism Page 4-6 Future developments in travel and tourism Page 6-7 Factors affecting the travel and tourism industry today Page 8-9 Bibliography Page 10 The Development of the Travel and Tourism Industry Throughout history, people have travelled across Britain for purposes of trade, education, religion and to fight in battles.

The buyers of the services of travel agencies are consumers, that is, individuals and businesses. For this industry we are dealing with a small degree of concentration, due to the wide range of services.

Travel Agents – These agents offer transportation, accommodation, and admission to various recreation activities to people and the groups arranging their trips. They offer guidance on destinations, design trip schedules, and make travel arrangements for customers.