Samira Zare
Graduated Masters Student
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Malaysia
Franklyn Chukwunonso
PhD Student
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Malaysia
HOW TRAVEL AGENCIES CAN DIFFERENTIATE THEMSELVES TO COMPETE WITH ONLINE TRAVEL AGENCIES IN THE MALAYSIAN CONTEXT
The profound impact of the Internet and information and communication technologies (ICT) has brought about several changes particularly in the area of online sales of travel and tourism products/services. This has challenged the traditional role of travel agencies as they seek urgent ways to re-invent their roles or face the threat of being disintermediated. This study focuses on what traditional travel agencies need to do to succeed in this information age by analyzing the functionalities of traditional travel agencies and the adaptive strategies they need to adopt to stay competitive in the Malaysian travel and tourism (TT) industry. A qualitative approach was employed for this purpose. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 participants comprising of top travel managers drawn from different travel agencies in Malaysia. The findings identified some distinct changes in the perceptions of travel agencies particularly with regards to their adaptive strategies and the business environment. The study concludes that traditional travel agencies should focus more on market specialization, reputation management, new distribution strategies and online marketing.
Keywords: Online Travel Agency, e-Tourism, Information Communication Technology, Malaysia.
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