Influencing Role of Key Determinants on Consumers' Preference towards Online Travel Agencies

Abstract

Today, the travel and tourism industry has been particularly affected by the great advancement and the wide application of e-commerce in business. The present study investigated the factors that affect customers' preferences towards the online and offline tourism market. This research also investigates the potential of those factors to influence the decision of travel agencies' choice. Most studies on travel agencies' choice consider that the customer preference is influenced before he make the decision based on the information that is available, online or offline. Thus, online travel booking is the act of booking travel over the Internet. Most travel bookings are nowadays done by using their websites and applications. It has been continuously eliminating the concept of traditional booking methods and is almost virtual now. The main purpose of the study is to know the determinants influencing consumer preferences and satisfaction levels towards online travel agencies. The secondary data, such as research papers and information, etc., that is available on various sources, are used in this research study. This paper provides in-depth insights into the key determinants of consumer preferences and discusses the various aspects of online travel agencies, which certainly increase consumer preference levels. Customer preferences in India are changing, creating tremendous potential for the tourism industry to explore innovative ideas and introduce new services with creative marketing approaches to tap into the huge working population.