The Impact of Online Travel Services on the Travel Industry

Running head: INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT FOR TRAVEL & TOURISM
INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT FOR TRAVEL & TOURISM
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1INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT FOR TRAVEL & TOURISM
Executive Summary
This report provides an investigation on how the travel business changed from the travel
agents once playing a dominant role in the travel industry to people preferring and adapting
to online travel services over the time. This report also discusses on the pros and cons of the
online travel booking method as well as the traditional brick and mortar travel agencies.
Various benefits of the use of mobile apps to both the customers as well as the travel
companies are also mentioned in this report along with highlighting the security issues of the
websites that these travel companies need to address in order to provide better protection to
their customers. Lastly, this report concludes with certain recommendations for the travel
agents that would help them to adapt and grow in the competitive market of the travel
industry alongside the online travel agencies and the online travel search engines.

2INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT FOR TRAVEL & TOURISM
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Discussion..................................................................................................................................4
A critical investigation into the changes from the high street travel agents to the 24 hour
online equivalent....................................................................................................................4
Evaluation of how technology changed the methods of conducting business, as compared
to the old ‘Bricks and Mortar’ businesses..............................................................................5
Advantages and Disadvantages of traditional and online booking........................................6
Critical analysis of the benefits associated with the use of mobile-apps, alerts and mobility
when selling/buying travel & tourism services......................................................................7
Discussion of the security issues associated with having a web presence.............................9
Recommendations....................................................................................................................10
Conclusion................................................................................................................................10
References................................................................................................................................12

3INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT FOR TRAVEL & TOURISM
Introduction
The tourism and travel sector comprises of various suppliers who provide travel
services to the people with the best travel experience. High street travel agents as well as
travel agencies have played and play an important role in providing the best promotion of
travel and tourism to the people (Mossaz and Coghlan 2017). Today, the travel industry is
one of the largest and the most energetic industries in the world. The travel agencies along
with the travel agents have been acting and serving as a link between the service providers
including the tour operators, airlines and hotels and the customers (Lai 2014). With the
introduction of the internet and advancement in the information and communication
technologies (ICT), many businesses including the travel industry got affected with this
change and thus adapted to the online method in order to survive in the competitive market.
This report discusses on how the ways of conducting business in the travel industry
changed over time from customers consulting the high street travel agents to now opting the
24-hour online services. It highlights how internet and the use of technology added to this
change in the approach of the customers for the travel services, leading the brick and mortar
business to suffer the most. Several advantages and disadvantages of the online booking
system as well as the traditional travel agency are also mentioned in this report. This report
also discusses the benefits of using the travel related mobile apps to both the customers and
the travel agencies as well as points out the security issues related to the travel agencies
online presence and how these issues could be tackled.