Travel Agencies Research Articles

Sustainable Tourism Performance Through Green Talent Management: The Mediating Power of Green Entrepreneurship and Climate

This study investigates how green talent management influences green performance, green entrepreneurship, and the green organizational climate. Additionally, it analyzes the impact of green entrepreneurship and green organizational climate on green performance. The research also delves into the mediating roles of green entrepreneurship and green organizational climate within the framework of dynamic capability theory in the tourism and hospitality industries. Data were gathered from employees working in travel agencies and tour operators in Saudi Arabia, with a PLS-SEM analysis conducted on 788 valid responses. The results revealed that green talent management has a positive impact on green performance, green entrepreneurship, and the green organizational climate. Additionally, the study found that both green entrepreneurship and a green organizational climate positively influence green performance. Importantly, the findings underscored the partial mediating roles of green entrepreneurship and green organizational climate in the link between green talent management and green performance. This study enriches the literature by clarifying the mechanisms through which green talent management can be utilized to enhance green performance. Theoretically, the findings expand on dynamic capability theory by emphasizing the importance of green-focused human and organizational resources as dynamic capabilities that enable environmental adaptation and sustainable competitive advantage. Practically, these insights provide actionable implications for tourism and hospitality organizations seeking to improve sustainability practices through green talent management, green entrepreneurship, and a green organizational climate, thereby reinforcing the role of dynamic capabilities in achieving sustained green performance.

The Role of Customer Satisfaction in Mediating the Influence of Service Quality on Repurchase Intention

Tourism activities in Indonesia are activities that can make a big contribution to the country. One form of contribution to increasing tourism is the activity of Online Travel Agents. Bali Panca Hanasta Tours is one of the Online Travel Agents in Bali that prioritizes the quality of service to encourage consumer repurchase intentions. The quality of service presented is expected to be able to provide a sense of satisfaction to customers by paying attention to customer needs and desires in order to be able to increase consumer repurchase intentions for the services provided. This study aims to understand the effect of service quality on repurchase intentions and the role of customer satisfaction as a mediating variable on online travel agent customers of Bali Panca Hanasta Tours in Bali. This study involved 100 respondents of Bali Panca Hanasta Tours customers. The data collection method was carried out through an online questionnaire, and data analysis using path analysis. The results of this study indicate that service quality has a positive and significant effect on repurchase intentions, and customer satisfaction successfully partially mediates the effect of service quality on repurchase intentions. The implications of the results of this study theoretically can be a reference for other researchers who want to study service quality, customer satisfaction, and repurchase intentions. In practice, it is expected to be a consideration and input for marketers and business actors in maximizing service quality and customer satisfaction as an effective and sustainable marketing strategy to increase repurchase intentions.

When do tourists prefer to continue using online travel agencies? An empirical study from Vietnam

Online travel agencies have profoundly influenced the travel industry by offering numerous essential advantages to both consumers and service providers. This paper aims to examine the factors that influence the intention to continue using online travel agencies in Vietnam, while also assessing the moderating effect of e-loyalty on the relationship between perceived usefulness and continuance intention. An integrated research framework was constructed using the Technology Acceptance Model as its foundational basis. The study utilized the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling approach to analyze the data. The survey data were obtained through an online survey administered to a valid sample of 301 Facebook users with prior experience using online travel agencies. Compared to conventional approaches such as telephone or mail surveys, utilizing Facebook for data collection offers a more cost-efficient alternative. This platform also enables researchers to reach a broad and diverse population of potential respondents, representing a wide range of demographics, geographic locations, and backgrounds. The results reveal that perceived compatibility, perceived ease of use, innovativeness, electronic word-of-mouth, and subjective norms all positively influenced perceived usefulness. Additionally, perceived usefulness is found to have a significant impact on the intention to continue using online travel agencies, while e-loyalty positively moderates the relationship between perceived usefulness and continuance intention to use online travel agencies. These findings extend the Technology Acceptance Model within the context of online travel agencies and provide practical insights for enhancing strategies among online travel agencies in Vietnam. AcknowledgmentThe author would like to thank the International University, Vietnam National University (VNU), HCMC, for providing research assistance.

Predicting Tourist Arrivals in Greece With a Novel Tourism-Specific Business Leading Indicator

We introduce a novel tourism-specific business expectations sentiment index and explore whether it can operate as a leading indicator for international tourist arrivals in Greece. Using monthly data spanning 2002‐2021 and employing a VAR model, we document that this newly introduced tourism-specific business expectations index serves as a leading indicator, whose higher levels foreshadow increased demand for international travel. We also find that its inclusion in a tourism-oriented model increases forecasting accuracy, which can be utilized by travel agent businesses, local government officials, and policymakers in their efforts to predict tourist arrivals in Greece.

Behavioural economics: the role of trust in hospitality

ABSTRACT Behavioural economics is a recent field of economics, and in this study, we assess how e-trust affects hotel satisfaction and behavioural intentions, representing different purchase modes: online travel agencies and hotel websites, through a mixed structural equation and a third-person perception questionnaire. The results suggest that travellers believe that hotel websites are more benevolent and have more integrity and reliability than online travel agencies, whereas online travel agencies are more effective in terms of competence. In addition, consumers are more satisfied when their trust is high, and they are more likely to recommend and return to the same hotel. Reliable and efficient information management systems, whether provided by online travel agencies or hotel websites, are recommended.

ANALISIS FAKTOR MEREK, KEGUNAAN SITUS WEB DAN HARGA YANG MEMPENGARUHI PERSEPSI KONSUMEN TERHADAP AGEN PERJALANAN ONLINE

The rapid development of information technology today has a significant effect on all human life and also makes business organizations easier to do business. Travel and tourism have illustrated how e-commerce can change the structure of the industry and in the process create new business opportunities. Although the online travel agent market is still small, it poses a threat to traditional/conventional travel agents because it operates 24 hours. However, travel companies can take advantage of opportunities by implementing e-commerce technology in their business. The purpose of this study was to identify whether brand, website usability, and price affect customer perceptions in choosing an online travel agent. The number of respondents participating in this study was 116 samples that could be taken using a random sampling method to Indonesian internet users who had made online transactions. This study uses multiple linear regression with the SPSS 21 statistical program. The results showed that the variables brand, website usability, and price have a positive effect partially and simultaneously on customer perceptions.

Online travel agency or blockchain-based platform?

Online travel agency has been used by most hotels to attract customers. However, hefty commissions and unverified reviews reduce hotels' cooperation intentions. Armed with unique advantages, blockchain-based platforms with higher blockchain-adoption costs can alternatively offer peer-to-peer booking service. This paper investigates the hotels' choice strategies on online travel platforms, blockchain-adoption conditions, and effects of blockchain-based platform. The results show that marginal blockchain cost, commission rate and customers' perceived distrust value of online reviews have great influence on the hotels' decisions. Although blockchain-based platforms can create win-win situations for hotel(s) and customers, they are not widely available as it is considered imperfect and costly. Alarmingly, there exists an invalidation effect of online travel platforms in a competitive market, resulting in non-equilibrium.

Travel Agency Companies Under Environmental Uncertainty: Multiple Strategic Orientation and Performance

The global pandemic has significantly impacted the economy, tourism industry, and its supporting industries. Many market areas of the tourism industry, including hotels, restaurants, and travel agents, have reached a point of saturation. To better understand how environmental uncertainty affects travel agency performance, this research will investigate the organizational strategic orientation's mediating impact. A questionnaire is used to gather the data, which is subsequently subjected to PLS-SEM analysis. The population consisted of travel agent’s manager across Indonesia, from which 75 were selected using purposive sampling. According to the findings, technology uncertainty affects the strategic orientation that organizations choose, and this includes entrepreneurial and market orientations, which might affect the learning orientation and organizational performance of travel agency organizations

Analysis of the Current State and Prospects for the Development of the Tourism Services Market in China

Aim. The purpose of the study is to analyze the current state of the Chinese tourism services market and the prospects for its development in the context of the public policy of the PRC.Tasks. Research objectives: perform a cluster analysis of entrepreneurial activity in the field of tourism, construct a diagram of the distribution of travel agencies by clusters; comply with the current state of the tourism services market in terms of key metrics; study government support measures for the industry; determine the prospects for the development of the tourism services market of the PRC and Russian-Chinese cooperation in the context of the implementation of the new “double circulation” strategy.Methods. Methodological basis and research methods: systematic approach, logical analysis, synthesis, cluster and regression analysis, content analysis of open sources.Results. The results obtained: the supply-side model of China’s modern tourism landscape includes three clusters; The specificity of China’s domestic tourism market is the holiday tourism segment; a new driver of economic growth is domestic tourism, the preferences of domestic tourists reflect a wide range of interests; the system of state support for tourism includes direct and indirect methods that adapt to changes in the external and internal environment.Conclusions. With a high probability, the prospects for cooperation between the PRC and the Russian Federation are assessed quite highly; favorable factors in the development of Russian-Chinese cooperation are the opening of new “windows of opportunity” after the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the restriction of outbound tourist flows to unfriendly countries and changes in the vector towards the BRICS countries, SCO, and EAEU.

Peran Travel Consultant dalam Penjualan Tiket Perjalanan dalam Negeri di Anta Express

The tourism industry in Indonesia has experienced significant growth, particularly following the post-COVID-19 recovery and the rise of the creative economy. As the sector rebounds, travel agencies play a crucial role in facilitating domestic ticket sales and travel packages. Traditional travel agencies, such as PT Anta Express Tour & Travel, face competition from online booking platforms, which calls for a study on the unique value offered by travel consultants in enhancing customer experiences and the sales process. This study aims to explore the role of travel consultants at PT Anta Express Tour & Travel in domestic travel ticket sales. Using a qualitative research approach, data was gathered through direct observation, semi-structured interviews, and a review of relevant literature. The findings highlight four key roles played by travel consultants: providing personalized advice and recommendations, managing bookings, resolving issues, and delivering customer service. Additionally, three main reasons were identified for why customers still prefer using travel consultants: convenience, access to exclusive offers, and ongoing support during the trip. The study concludes that travel agencies can maintain their competitiveness by focusing on personalized services that appeal to specific customer segments, particularly those who value professional advice and human interaction in their travel planning. Therefore, traditional and online booking channels can coexist in the future, serving different market needs.

Exploring the Selection and Training of Tour Leaders: An Evaluation Model Based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process

Since the outbreak of the global pandemic in 2020, the tourism industry in various countries has nearly come to a standstill, resulting in many individuals who previously worked as tour leaders shifting to other professions due to financial issues. As the pandemic gradually eases and border controls are progressively relaxed, the outbound travel market is seeing a glimmer of recovery. This signifies that the demand for tour leaders will increase for travel agencies. Tour leaders are not only promoters of business sales but also frontline service personnel who interact directly with customers. Their performance directly affects customer satisfaction with travel itineraries. Therefore, travel agencies must pay special attention to selection criteria when re-selecting tour leaders. This study aims to explore the selection criteria for tour leaders to assist travel agencies in objectively and effectively evaluating suitable candidates. Although tour leaders may not play as central a role in travel activities as tour guides, they remain crucial factors influencing the success or failure of travel activities. This paper collects expert opinions through the Delphi method and employs the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to categorize the selection criteria for tour leaders into five main dimensions and sixteen indicators, covering aspects such as personal conditions, professional knowledge, professional skills, service attitude, and execution capability. The ultimate goal of this study is to provide travel agencies with a more objective and effective basis for selecting tour leaders.

Strengthening Global Health Security: The Role of the International Health Regulations in Monitoring and Controlling Vector-Borne Diseases

Abstract Vector-borne diseases pose a significant global threat, with approximately 500 million reported cases annually, affecting previously unaffected regions due to climate change and increased international travel. This presentation brings insights from two scoping reviews examining the implementation and operationalization of the International Health Regulations (IHR) in preventing the spread of vector-borne diseases. The first review analysed strategies and policies adopted at continental and national levels and identified four major categories of measures: surveillance and epidemic intelligence, Declaration of Public Health Emergency of International Concern, measures in Points of Entry, and vaccination status. Surveillance systems vary widely across countries, with severe asymmetries in their implementation. The COVID-19 pandemic facilitated the adoption of screening measures and collaboration with airlines and travel agencies, highlighting the importance of early detection and response. An additional review focused on the contribution of IHR to public health action in monitoring and controlling vector-borne diseases. It emphasised the prioritisation of preventive measures related to travel and borders, including vector surveillance. Environmental changes, particularly socio-ecological and climate factors, influence the recurrence of outbreaks, creating the need for enhanced epidemic intelligence. Both reviews underscored the importance of cooperation between institutions and countries in effectively monitoring and controlling vector-borne diseases. Assessing core capacities under the IHR enables readiness levels in outbreak response to be measured, promoting concerted action tailored to each epidemiological context. As the world faces ongoing health challenges, it is imperative for State Parties to refine their core capacities in alignment with the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring a robust global response to future infectious disease outbreaks.

AI trust divide: How recruiter-candidate roles shape tourism personnel decision-making

The artificial intelligence revolution has prompted tourism organizations to consider whether and how to use AI to improve efficiency and create value, particularly in areas such as personnel selection. Through five experimental studies (N = 2199), this paper first reveals that a trust divide exists between job candidates and recruiters in travel agencies. We then investigate how the consideration focus of personnel attributes mediates the impact of roles on trust through thought-listing (Study 1), mediation-by-moderation (Studies 2a & 2b), and self-reported measures (Study 3). To mitigate this misalignment, we examine the AI–human assemblage design and offer an optimal way to bridge the trust divide (Study 4). The current research extends motivated reasoning theory and provides novel insights into practice.

Penentuan Faktor Prioritas dalam Pemilihan Moda Transportasi Penumpang Rute Medan-Pematangsiantar dengan Menggunakan Metode Fuzzy-AHP dan Topsis

The aim of this research is to help Unimed students determine priority modes of passenger transportation that suit the needs and capabilities of the community for the Medan-Pematangsiantar route. This research uses the Fuzzy-AHP and Topsis methods. The research results reveal that cost criteria have the greatest influence in choosing a mode of transportation, while safety criteria have the smallest influence. Apart from that, the most popular mode of transportation is buses, while the least popular is travel agents.

Paradoxical Leadership and Employee Proactive Work Behavior: Exploring the Mediating Role of Perceived Psychological Contract Fulfillment.

Background This study delves into the intricate interplay among paradoxical leadership (PL), employees’ proactive work behaviour (PAB), and perceived psychological contract fulfilment (PPCF). PL, characterized by its simultaneous emphasis on apparently contradictory behaviours, has garnered attention due to its potential to foster innovation, adaptability, and creativity. The study’s main objective is to thoroughly explore the complexities of PL, its influence on PAB, and whether the PPCF serves as a mediator. Methods A survey was distributed to 338 hotel and travel agency employees to gather data. The data was analysed using structural equation modelling through a SmartPLS program. Results The results reveal a positive correlation between PL and PAB. Additionally, PPCF partially mediates this relationship, indicating its vital role in exploring the positive impact of PL on boosting proactive behaviours. Conclusions This research brings forth meaningful contributions to both theoretical and practical dimensions. Theoretically, it enhances our comprehension of how PL manifests in the distinctive landscape of the hospitality and tourism domain, substantiating its potential to drive proactive behaviours among employees. The mediation of PPCF enriches our grasp of the underlying mechanisms, accentuating the significance of maintaining harmonized and consistent leadership practices. From a practical vantage point, these findings offer valuable insights for hospitality and tourism establishments aspiring to optimize their leadership strategies for cultivating proactive work behaviour among their workforces.

Evolving Consumer Preferences: The Role of Attribute Shifts in Online Travel Agency Satisfaction and Loyalty

The attributes that people consider when selecting an online travel agency (OTA) change over time, affecting how consumer satisfaction and loyalty evolve. However, attribute weight shifts in subsequent OTA visits cannot be determined using a cross-sectional approach. Thus, this study investigates the linkage dynamics between satisfaction and loyalty intentions as OTA attribute weights shift over time. We also assess the moderating effect of sales promotions on this linkage across subsequent OTA visits. Using a two-time-lag survey methodology (T1 and T2), we obtain 329 usable data. Our findings demonstrate that the link between satisfaction and loyalty intentions strengthens as customers gain more experience with an OTA. While price and post-service quality weights increase sharply, the weights of security and ease of use decrease. Furthermore, our findings show that the moderating effect of sales promotions does not appear in the early stages of a consumer’s experience with an OTA. Our research is the first to offer a complete understanding of the role of sales promotions based on the satisfaction–loyalty mechanism, considering a broad range of OTA selection attributes.

Air quality and tourism orders: a quasi-experimental study

ABSTRACT Using a unique dataset collected from a Chinese online travel agency, we empirically examine the causal effect of air quality on tourism orders by employing a two-step regression-discontinuity design (RDD). The RDD serves as a local randomisation approach that allows us to eliminate the endogeneity concern of air quality. We control for meteorological conditions, city and month fixed effects, and additional social factors specific to the tourist destination. Our empirical results show a range of 49.3% to 51.9% drop in travel orders on the day at the cutoff point where air quality breaks through light to moderate pollution levels (AQI = 150). Furthermore, our empirical results suggest that tourists who select different orders may respond differently to air quality. Our research provides critical empirical evidence, elucidating the additional cost incurred in the tourism sector due to poor air quality.

Is The Instagram as A Homestay Selection in A Tourist Village?

This research explores how Instagram is used to find homestay information in tourist village areas. Using a descriptive method and quantitative approach, data were collected through field surveys, Google Forms, and in-person interviews with participants from Jakarta.. The findings show that women prefer Instagram over men due to its image-centric nature, and young people aged 16-25 find it useful for homestay searches. Nonetheless, 27% of respondents express disagreement, stating that they primarily use Instagram for archiving photos and videos and favor online travel agent apps for booking accommodations. Nevertheless, 73% of participants concur that Instagram's features streamline the process of finding homestays. This study contributes to the tourism sector by highlighting Instagram’s potential to enhance homestay visibility, which could help improve the household economy in tourist villages. Keywords: Instagram, homestay, tourist village

Navigating the Digital Landscape: Evaluating the Impacts of Digital IMC on Building and Maintaining Destination Brand Equity

In the evolving realm of digital marketing, digital integrated marketing communication (IMC) has emerged as a critical factor in building and maintaining brand equity for sustainable tourism destinations. This research examines the impact of digital IMC consistency and interactivity on establishing destination brand equity, while exploring the interconnections among its various dimensions. Grounded in both empirical and theoretical frameworks, this study collected data via an online questionnaire administered to 435 users of online travel agencies, which was analyzed through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results demonstrate that customer-perceived digital IMC (consistency and interactivity) exerts a significant positive influence on destination brand equity, uncovering the intricate dynamics among destination awareness, image, perceived quality, and loyalty. Notably, destination loyalty is influenced by destination awareness through destination image and perceived destination quality, with destination image having a more significant impact than perceived destination quality. This research is significant in constructing knowledge of IMC in the digital tourism marketing paradigm, shedding light on how the consistency and interactivity of online communication affect various consumer brand equity outcomes. Additionally, it provides valuable insights into digital tourism practices and sustainable development, enriching the discourse regarding how digital IMC enhances destination brand equity.

Solutions to insufficient incentives for developing green tourism by travel agencies: government intervention

PurposeThis research aims to develop an improved model with government intervention and find the government policy for developing green tourism to induce the travel agencies have incentives to produce green tourism products.Design/methodology/approachThis research employs Stackelberg game theory to study two travel agencies in the horizontal direction of the tourism supply chain. Two deterministic, price-sensitive linear demand functions are utilized for these two different tourism products to derive possible analytical solutions.FindingsNo travel agency is willing to produce green tourism products without government intervention. The solution proposed in this paper is that a government should subsidize green travel agencies for their production of green tourism products, and create a tax for non-green traditional travel agencies for the production of non-green traditional tourism products. The amount of government subsidies for green tourism products plus the tax on non-green traditional tourism products equals the difference in unit cost of the two products. The travel agency that produces green tourism products has incentive to produce if there is government intervention.Practical implicationsThis paper provides the stakeholders with three practical implications. The first one is that the amount of subsidy for green travel agencies can be paid by taxing non-green ones. This is the optimal solution. The second one for both the tourism sector and government is that technological innovation in cooperation between government and tourism industry such as low-carbon technology is critical to reduce the cost difference between green travel agency products and non-green ones. The third one is that green travel agencies that produce green tourism products can also fulfill their corporate social responsibilities and enhance their social image.Originality/valueThis paper is unique in that it develops a model to resolve the problem of insufficient incentives. In terms of government intervention, this article also considers tax policy in addition to subsidy policy which is different from previous literature.