New Zealand Travel Agents in the Internet Era

This book focuses on the information and
communication technologies (ICT) impact on the
travel industry with a focus on the New Zealand
travel agent (TA) sector. Key findings from
longitudinal study on TA businesses conducted during
seven years are presented. A theoretical approach
based on regulation theory combined with a mixed
research method approach was used to investigate the
main issues of the sector. The study explores major
pressure factors on TA businesses: direct airline-
consumers sale, introduction of the internet, and
emergence of the well-informed consumer. This
research has also established that there is great
variation in the extent to which travel agents use
the advantages associated with new technology and
how New Zealand travel agents perceive ICT. These
findings are compared and contrasted with
information gathered from in-depth interviews with
consumers. It is argued that in such a crucial
moment in disintermediation and the fight for a
consumer TA will need to implement more aggressive
advertising policies with a strong emphasis on their
professional advice, personal financial and time-
saving attributes for clients.