Prioritization of the Destination Attributes

This chapter aims to identify the destination attributes and compare them based on two assumptions that form either a symmetric or an asymmetric relationship between destination attribute performance and tourist satisfaction. For this purpose, data were collected from tourists coming to Fethiye, Turkey. Multivariate regression analysis was performed on the obtained data based on the linear assumption first. The results revealed that the attitudes of staff and the attitudes of the shopkeepers are the main determinants of tourist satisfaction. Then, penalty-reward-contrast analysis was performed based on the nonlinear assumption. According to analysis results, attitudes of the staff are performance factors; and travel agency services, attitudes of the shopkeepers, security/safety, and beach/sea are classified as excitement factors. The elements that take part in the excitement factor are the attributes that contribute to satisfaction the most.

Underestimating risk leading to the collapse of a market leader in tourism

The topic of this paper, underestimating risk leading to the collapse of the market leader in tourism, is demonstrated on the example of the British travel agency Thomas Cook, which at one time was one of the oldest and largest travel agencies in the world. The aim of this paper is to analyze the development of the stock prices of Thomas Cook from May 13, 2018 to May 19, 2019 and the factors that had an impact on the share price of this company in the monitored period. The base source of data are the share prices of the travel agency Thomas Cook in the specified period from May 13, 2018 to May 19, 2019 published by MarketWatch. A statistical description of time series is used, a moving average trend line is displayed, and a cause-and-effect analysis evaluating the impact of the published information on the value of Thomas Cook’s stocks is carried out. The general lesson for companies resulting from this contribution is that every negative event, announcement or piece of information has a negative impact on the value of a company’s shares and a collapse could happen even to the leader of a given industry. The collapse of Thomas Cook provides lessons for companies doing business in tourism, so that in the event of a planned merger, a suitable company is selected, the company’s funds are under control and development trends in the field are monitored.

Consumer Online Search with Partially Revealed Information

Modern-day search platforms generally have two layers of information presentation. The outer layer displays the collection of search results with attributes selected by platforms, and consumers click on a product to reveal all its attributes in the inner layer. The information revealed in the outer layer affects the search costs and the probability of finding a match. To address the managerial question of optimal information layout, we create an information complexity measure of the outer layer, namely orderedness entropy, and study the consumer search process for information at the expense of time and cognitive costs. We first conduct online random experiments to show that consumers respond to and actively reduce cognitive cost for which our information complexity measure provides a representation. Then, using a unique and rich panel tracking consumer search behaviors at a large online travel agency (OTA), we specify a novel sequential search model that jointly describes the refinement search and product clicking decisions. We find that cognitive cost is a major component of search cost, while loading time cost has a much smaller share. By varying the information revealed in the outer layer, we propose information layouts that Pareto-improve both revenue and consumer welfare for our OTA. This paper was accepted by Juanjuan Zhang, marketing.

How do online hotel consumers perceive room rates?

While it has been perceived that hotel consumers using online travel agencies (OTAs) are overall price sensitive, a dominant use of OTAs in hotel booking suggests that there are more diverse consumers in terms of price perception. As such, this study investigates the price sensitivity of the Online Travel Agency (OTA) consumer segments, using price sensitivity measurement (PSM) by using factor analysis and cluster analysis. The results showed four OTA consumer segments, i.e., planned bargain seekers, enthusiastic shoppers, deal hunters, and apathetic shoppers. Differences in price sensitivity was confirmed among these segments. This study uncovers the characteristics of OTA consumers who are more (less) price sensitive. By using PSM, this study presents and compares the optimal pricing points across the customer segments in terms of monetary values. Based on the findings, this study provides theoretical and practical implications.

Efektivitas Pemberian Alokasi Kamar pada Biro Perjalanan Wisata: Kasus di Hotel The Kuta Beach Heritage Bali

Despite the rapid development of online travel agents who market hotel rooms via the internet, traditional travel agencies also still play an important role in marketing and booking hotel rooms. As The Kuta Beach Heritage hotel still utilizes and uses room marketing channels through offline travel agencies. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of providing room allocation or room allocation to travel agents at The Kuta Beach Heritage Bali. The data used is secondary data in the form of production from each travel agency and given room allocation. While the primary data was obtained through interviews with various related parties at the hotel. Data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The results showed that the utilization of room allocation by the travel agency had not been maximized or had not been able to achieve the target given by the hotel, which was 60%. The practical implication of this research is the need for innovative efforts to increase the production of room nights by both hotels and travel agencies

Perception of Fairness of Interaction in Handling Complaints of Users of Travel Agency Services: Evidence from Serbia and Croatia

Service-dominant logic observes the user as a co-creator of value in the process of providing services. In the case of a complaint, as a result of dissatisfaction, the user and the travel agency become a co-creator of the value of service recovery. The perception of interactionist fairness is one of the determinants of a user’s complaint behaviour. Interactionist fairness is seen in the extent to which users consider to be treated fairly in terms of their interaction with a travel agency employee during the service recovery process. The research presented in this paper is based on determining the differences in perception of fairness of interaction in handling complaints of users of travel agency services in terms of their socio-demographic characteristics. The survey was conducted on a sample that included 297 respondents from the territory of Serbia and Croatia. The proposed hypotheses were tested using the Mann – Whitney U test and the Kruskal–Wallis test. The purpose of this paper is to point out to travel agencies the importance of users’ reactions to unsatisfactory service as a kind of reflection of cooperation in service recovery. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Breaking the psychological contract of travel agency employees during the COVID-19 pandemic: The moderating role of mindfulness

This study investigates the influence of psychological contract breach (PCB) on work-related attitudes and behaviors (i.e., organizational cynicism, workplace incivility and work alienation) and employees’ emotional exhaustion. It also examines the direct association between these attitudes and behaviors and emotional exhaustion as well as investigating how mindfulness moderates these associations. Based on a quantitative approach, data were collected from 437 employees of Egyptian travel agencies. The PLS-SEM analysis revealed that PCB positively affects employees’ emotional exhaustion and job-related attitudes as well as behaviors, which consequently impact their emotional exhaustion. The findings indicated that the effect of organizational cynicism, workplace incivility, and work alienation on emotional exhaustion is weaker with higher levels of mindfulness and greater with lower levels of mindfulness. Besides its theoretical contributions, this paper presents substantial practical insights and managerial implications for managers of travel agencies regarding the outcomes of PCB. Limitations and future research are also given.

Research on the Influence of Emotional Intelligence and Emotional Labor on the Service Recovery Effect of Online Travel Agency

At present, online travel agency (OTA) service failure events emerge continually, which makes the OTA service operation mode face new challenges. This study uses the situational experiment method to explore the effects of OTA employees’ emotional intelligence and emotional labor (surface behavior and deep behavior) on the effect of service recovery. The results show that the emotional intelligence of OTA employees has a positive impact on the surface behavior and deep behavior; the emotional intelligence and deep behavior of employees have a significant positive impact on service recovery satisfaction, but the positive impact of employees’ surface behavior on service recovery satisfaction is not statistically significant; finally, service recovery satisfaction has a positive impact on customer loyalty. This study helps to better explain the mechanism of OTA service recovery effect and provides a theoretical reference for improving the service recovery effect of OTA.

Analysis of Islamic Law on Consumer Protection in Hajj and Umrah Business in Indonesia

This research is motivated by the failure of thousands of Umrah pilgrims to go to Mecca since 2017 but do not get their rights as consumers. Several facts prove that although regulations related to Hajj and Umrah organizers as well as the Consumer Protection Act have explicitly regulated consumer rights, in reality the pilgrims who are victims of hajj and umrah travel agency fraud are still not getting consumer protection. This research is a descriptive qualitative research using a normative juridical approach. Sources of data used in this study are primary data and secondary data obtained from interviews and document studies. This study concludes that the presence of Law No. 8 of 2019 concerning the Implementation of Hajj and Umrah contains the spirit of upholding consumer protection in the Hajj and Umrah business. However, its success is largely determined by the extent to which the regulator empowers internal supervisors to prevent irresponsible practices of hajj and umrah travel agencies. On this side, unfortunately, the role of guidance, supervision and legal protection carried out by the Indonesian Ministry of Religion as a regulator in protecting Hajj and Umrah pilgrims seems to be still at a very low level.