Research Paper on Impact of the Internet on the Travel Industry

Introduction

The travel industry seeks at identifying ways of attracting new members and giving them the best experience. With the industry being among the most competitive sectors of the economy, there is need to ensure that it is operating in ways that will ascertain profitability. Among the several ways of attaining this objective are the efforts employed to improve communication. The industry is fragmented in several ways, which incorporate means of achieving this success. Among the many options available is the use of the internet to appeal to its clients. With the rapid growth of the industry, the internet, in collaboration with other information technology factors, is prudent enough to help a travel agency maximize operations. The internet, with its diverse and efficient ways of easing service delivery, penetrates into various facets of the travel industry (Wang et al.). However, the use of internet in the travel industry brings out valid concerns.

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Positive Impacts of the Internet on the Travel Industry

Several factors have played vital roles in the adoption of the internet in the travel industry. The industry boasts of increased attention from the public thus necessitating it to provide the best. Stakeholders in the travel industry cite this increased attention as a call for them to improve their services and offer the best of the industry. They provide that with the input of internet services, such as a website, the industry is set to boom and increase profits. According to Standing et al., they perceive this notion as a way of interacting directly with the clients. The sites give them a platform where they can post their services and reach a wide variety of their customers, as well as attracting new ones. It also boosts their communication strategies, which enable them to interact, with the clientele, more efficiently.

Moreover, websites help in the marketing of their services, thus reducing the use of intermediaries in the industry. From a travel agency's perspective, the use of sites saves them additional costs incurred during the distribution of the information regarding the services offered and expenses born in the marketing of these services. To the travel agency, a website serves as a one-stop shop for providing all services, while at the same time using minimal costs in the operation process (Wang et al.). As a result, they can communicate to a large sphere of audiences, thus boosting service delivery.

Consumers make up a higher percentage of the beneficiaries of the use of internet in the industry. The move has streamlined their purchasing patterns by making them more affluent and educated on other payment techniques, rather than incurring agent costs. Travel industry websites provide consumers with information on their destination preference thus saving them expenses incurred in seeking agent advice. The internet provides them with a more vast option from which they can choose what works best. Consequently, this move eliminates all impediments incurred in information access as they communicate directly with their service providers. Additionally, this has transformed them from being novice travelers to becoming veterans (Xiang, p. 517).

Negative Impacts

However, there are concerns about the impact of the internet on the travel industry. Despite the several benefits accrued from the internet use, there are problems associated with this venture. There are several changes, in the industry, related to the incorporation of the internet. Various studies posit that despite the more significant benefits perceived by the use of the internet, that the travel industry is prone to adverse changes (Standing et al., p. 100). They argue that the impact of the internet in the industry will reduce, in the end, as people venture into this perception.

The travel industry comprises of multiple players, who make up its supply chain. They include the service providers, distributors, travel agents, charge card companies, and the travelers. While the use of websites is beneficial to some such as the service providers and the travelers, it affects the work of the distributors and the agents. Sites create a link between the service providers and the travelers, thus changing the work provided by the agents and distributors (Wang et al.). This direct communication affects the services provided by the agents as the websites assimilator their work. Most agents, who were providing services for the industry, become irrelevant. As such, most have closed their facilities, while others, who prefer to press on, incur multiple losses. Travelers prefer to seek all help from the websites, as opposed to contracting agents.

Although consumers cite the benefits associated with the move to incorporate internet services in the industry, some posit several challenges. They claim that service providers provide unreliable information on their websites. Service providers are in the business of maximizing profits, and this entails the use of any available technique to achieve this objective. As a result, some tend to post false information to attract clients (Xiang, p. 520). Additionally, some travelers provide that the use of internet in the industry has increased the number of malicious activities in the industry. They posit that malicious persons create websites, acting as the service providers, with the aim of soliciting resources from the travelers. Most have lacked the confidence of the use of the internet, while others choose to use traditional means of travel planning.

Conclusion

The travel industry has advanced significantly through the incorporation of the internet in its operations. The use of websites has streamlined communication for stakeholders in the travel industry most specifically the travel industry service providers and travelers seeking for their destinations. With the increased use of the internet, service provision is highly streamlined. The different facets of the travel industry suffer positively and negatively. Consumers and service providers are the principal beneficiaries of this movement. The incorporation of the internet gives them a platform, where they access multiple information if issues regarding their preferred services. It has transformed them from novice to veteran travelers. Service providers are free from additional costs incurred in the process, as they can provide information about their services to their website. Through this, they increase their marketing strategy by appealing to a large number of audiences.

However, this streamlined communication affects distributors and travel agents negatively. As consumers transform to veteran travelers, it reduces their reliance on the agents for travel and communication. As such, travel agents become irrelevant, as travelers demand less of their services. Distributors also suffer negatively, as the service providers replace their services by using websites to market their products. Additionally, the use of internet in the travel industry raises significant security concerns, with many travelers citing an increase in theft and swindling activities. As such, this has reduced the influence of the internet on the industry.

Works Cited

Standing, Craig, Jean-Pierre Tang-Taye, and Michel Boyer. "The impact of the Internet in travel and tourism: A research review 2001-2010." Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing31.1 (2014): 82-113.

Wang, Dan, et al. "The Changing Impact of the Internet on Travel Planning Behavior." (2016). [Online] http://scholarworks.umass.edu/ttra/2010/Oral/20

Xiang, Zheng, et al. "Adapting to the internet: trends in travelers' use of the web for trip planning." Journal of Travel Research 54.4 (2015): 511-527.