Travel and tourism-related products and services are highly compatible with the internet with the result that travel and tourism is one of the highest revenue-generating sectors of the internet. The rapid growth of the internet is having an impact on the distribution of travel services and has heightened speculation about the potential for disintermediation of the travel agent. This research investigates the impact of the internet on the distribution of travel services and the extent to which it has influenced travel agencies by focusing on Taiwan, a technologically advanced country and one which has witnessed rapid growth of the internet. Employing a combination of a quantitative questionnaire administered to 438 travel agencies and personal in-depth interviews, the research found that travel agencies in Taiwan generally regard the internet as an effective tool for their business. Most agencies have adopted the internet in their daily operations and some have provided e-commerce services on the internet. Although travel agencies are affected by e-commerce services, the effect is not found to be significant. Equally, no significant difference was apparent between company size and classification in terms of the effect of ecommerce travel services on travel agents. Travel agencies agreed that commission cutting by suppliers was a threat but disagreed that disintermediation would occur, although booking offices were seen to be at risk. The research identified two principal future roles for travel agents: first, the need for them to reposition themselves as travel consultants and secondly, the need for them to become more technologically orientated. Finally, seven key strategies were suggested for Taiwan's travel agencies to ensure survival.

National tourist offices and tourism stakeholders are challenged to maintain and secure travel markets. Travelers are constantly bombarded with travel marketing messages. Compounding the challenge is a lack of research on effective, efficient, and optimal methods in convincing tourists to travel to a particular destination. To address this literature gap, a questionnaire survey on destination brand image research was conducted on outbound travelers from four major cities, examining their image perceptions of Macao and the degree of influence that various information sources had on destination selection. Results show that a communication mix strategy could be designed to more effectively manage tourist destination image perceptions. A cross-tabulation of the data revealed that the information sources affecting travel destination choice had varying levels of influence. A “Communication Effectiveness Grid” (CEG) was conceptualized from the research with quadrants indicating marketing resource effectiveness. The CEG has significant implications for destinations with limited budgets wishing to influence travelers.

No abstract

No abstract

KEYWORDS: destination brand image, attraction attributes Destination image research asserts that the enhancement and portrayal of positive tourism image perceptions and expectations are critical in attracting travellers. This has subsequently created a drive by destinations to attempt to assemble an array of high ranked image perceptions and holistic impressions as a central attraction strategy with the hope of stimulating and developing inbound travel. Research conducted on Chinese travellers at Beijing International Airport on their perceptions of Macao's destination image revealed that while they held several high rated image perceptions of Macao, some of these were not the actual image attributes used as destination decision attributes or in their judgment were they attributes that actually stimulated their decision to travel to a destination. Such fi ndings not only have signifi cant implications in the development of an optimum image formation strategy for Macao in its future targeted traveller markets, but also for other locations that wish to enhance or amend their brand image as a destination repositioning approach.