Business travel and tourism, by John Swarbrooke and Susan Horner. Butterworth‐Heinemann, Oxford. 337 pp. £19.99. ISBN: 0‐7506‐43927

Influence of New Media on Travel Decision Making

“…There are a number of authors who have pointed out that decision making is a process, which involves a series of stages, such as need recognition, search for information on various products according to the need, formation of alternative choices, evaluation of alternatives, act of purchase and consumption and post purchase behavior (Foxall and Goldsmith, 1994;Kotler, et.al., 2003;Horner and Swarbrooke, 2007). Some authors have suggested a number of stages in this process in different ways.…”

“…In addition to the determinants in the buying behaviour of common products, tourist destination selection includes a number of other factors (Yale, 1995;Middleton and Clark, 2001;Mathieson and Wall, 1982). In the opinion of Horner and Swarbrooke (2007), a tourist has to take into account of various aspects while taking a decision -which destination (country, region, resort) to choose, which mode of travel (like scheduled air, charter air, ferry, rail, coach, car, bus) to use, which type of accommodation (Eg. serviced or non-serviced) to choose for stay, duration of the holiday, at which time of the year should the holiday be taken, whether to go on a package tour or undertake independent travel, and if choosing a package tour, which operator to contact -these are some relevant factors to consider.…”

“…It is commonly understood that wherever the need for information is important, the role and influence of Information and Communication Technology is of extreme significance, and correspondingly new media. As a result of the complexity of decision making and the intrinsic characteristics of the tourism products, information need in each stage for a potential tourist is remarkably high (Cooper et al, 2003;Middleton 1994;Horner & Swarbrooke, 2007). In this regard, new media is something that has evolved as the most crucial interactive tool due to the advancements in Information and communication technologies.…”

“…Travel decision making is rather an intricate affair, which, akin to the general buying behavior process, involves a number of sequential stages beginning from need identification to post purchase behavior (Horner and Swarbrooke, 2007;Schiffman and Kanuk, 2009). A consumer in any industry is surrounded by a variety of internal and external factors while taking a decision to buy a product.…”