The Influence of Technology in the Travel and Tourism Sector: A Research Project

This research project investigates the impact of technological advancements on the travel and tourism sector. It explores how technology influences customer behavior, business operations, and strategic decision-making. The study utilizes a quantitative approach, analyzing data collected through questionnaires and surveys to understand the role of technology in shaping the travel experience and driving industry growth.

Research Project- The Influence of
Technology in the Travel and Tourism
Sector

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Task 1...........................................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Formulate and record possible research project outline specifications.............................................1
1.2 Identify the factors that contribute to the process of research project selection................................3
1.3 Undertake a critical review of key references...................................................................................4
1.4 Produce a research project specification............................................................................................6
1.5 Provide an appropriate plan and procedures for the agreed research specification...........................8
Task 2.........................................................................................................................................................10
2.1 Match resources efficiently to the research question or hypothesis................................................10
2.2 Undertake the proposed research investigation in accordance with the agreed specification and
procedures..............................................................................................................................................10
2.3 Record and collate relevant data where appropriate........................................................................11
Task 3.........................................................................................................................................................14
3.1 Use appropriate ‘research evaluation techniques’. Which types of evaluation (formative or
summative) is more appropriate for your research? Why?....................................................................14
3.2 Interpret and analyze the results in terms of the original research specification.............................15
3.3. Make recommendations and justify areas for further consideration..............................................27
Task 4.........................................................................................................................................................28
4.1 Use an agreed format and appropriate media to present the outcome of the research....................28
References..................................................................................................................................................29

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Gantt chart.....................................................................................................................................8
Table 2: Questionnaire form......................................................................................................................11

Task 1
1.1 Formulate and record possible research project outline specifications
Introduction
Travel industry is the most growing sector that contributes effectively national economy. However, the
increasing competition and customer demands have introduced new trends and approaches to rule the
market. The organizations have to move from the traditional approaches of the business to attain more
competitive benefits and sustainability. The technological advancements have impacted the ways
customers purchase the products and the organizations achieve the maximum profitability (Xiang et.al.
2015). Technological changes also impact travel and tourism sector to reach the customers and to
monitor the market for the profit directions. The current study will majorly focus on the technological
advancements and influences on travel industry. This section will include research background together
with the objectives and purposes set to meet the standards of travel industry. According to the latest
trend, the use of internet has the important main role in development and growth of TT sector.
Research background
The backbone of the travel industry is optimization of the cost and time to meet the customer orders and
deliver more quality in the services to engage them in business. For effective communication and
management of the organization, digital technology is very supportive. Travel and tourism sector is
making use of technology to engage the customers and employees in business for more effective
decision making and operations. Internet technology has enabled to make the order process and
payments simple and secure. Also, sensors are being used to track the location and monitor the security
of the people during the travel in effective manner. But new technology implementations also involve
risks that lead to uncertainties, system failure and enhanced expenditure etc (Chung and Koo, 2015).
Thus it is crucial for the industry to first have a look on challenges and difficulties and then implement
the same to meet the higher advancements. Further, communication and management also helps in
storing and collection of data in easier manner.
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Aims and objectives
Aim
The report has aim to assess the influence of technology in travel and tourism sector so that customers
can be engaged and managed with the business whereas quality and performance of the internal
operations can be boosted.
Objectives
 To determine the technological factors those can drive the positively to achieve the growth and
scalability.
 To determine the influence of the technological advancements on the business operations and the
customer purchase behaviour.
 To identify the ways in which traditional approaches of business are diverted with new digital
strategies (Robinson et.al. 2016)
 To understand the stakeholders those can utilize the technology and support the business.
Research question and hypothesis
It is essential to formulate the research through the questions as it can help to understand the industry
requirements and the contribution of the technology to achieve effective control on the customers to
increase profitability. The below are the questions that are dependent on the research objective:
 Discuss the importance of digital technology for the customers during the travel to desired
location?
 What are traveller’s opinions in concern with digital technology and how it influences to select
the specific tour package?
 How internet technology has enabled the business operations aligned to customer demands and
market trends?
 How the organizations can grow with technology to improve quality of the services?
Research rationale
The organizations in the travel and tourism sector has achieved effective growth due to the use of the
technology as it has helped to bridge the gap between the organization and the customers to design the
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desired packages. Customers are more close to the organization to meet their goals and objectives
regarding travelling whereas the organizations are also capable to analyze the market trends in effective
time. In the last few years, high growth in the TT sector has been seen that is greatly beneficial to
countries economic situations. Tourists are the major assets that escalate the TT sector growth (Baum
et.al. 2016). Due to this it is important to assess the influence of technology adoption for making the
decisions in both negative and positive way. Communication and media technology is crucial to
influence the business operations. The research has primary focus on the influence of the technology in
the decision making of the customers during purchase and service utilization in travel and tourism
sector. The research can help to determine the potentials of technology to meet business scalability and
quality goals and determine new scope to achieve competitive benefits and control on customer market.
1.2 Identify the factors that contribute to the process of research project selection
Data collection techniques are the main contribution to the research selection project. The experimental
and descriptive approaches of the research are few of the factors that take part in the research project in
conducting the suitable research. The review of literature is highly focused on the study topic and will
review the advantages and limitations of the technology in TT sector (Sekaran and Bougie, 2016).
Together with the literature review, research methodologies are discussed in detail along with the aims
and objectives; research rationale has also been included to get the good overview of the research topic.
Furthermore, various techniques and approaches along with the research project selection supports in
analyzing and identifying the customer level of satisfaction so that useful relationship can be developed
with the customers for the growth of future as well. The most crucial is to follow the business activities
according to the procedures but it also increases the customer services that will greatly support the
retaining of new and current customers. The useful customer services are very much important to meet
the tourist attention and it is important as well to increase the development and growth of the tourists.
Consumer decision making in TT sector is majorly defined with respect to buying power of customers.
Product and service selection must be done according to the quality, price and other factors that impact
the external and internal elements along with serving services and products (O'Leary, 2017). However,
product and service intangibility is to be concern in the process of research. Together with the main
influences of products, the climatic and seasonal fluctuations impact the decision making of the
customers for buying the tour package.
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1.3 Undertake a critical review of key references
Customer decision making in travelling
According to Hernández-Méndez et.al (2015), the travel sector is the most growing sector in the world
as it involves the complex structure that directly influences the economy and GDP of the country.
According to the statistical data, 9% contribution in the GDP is shown and it also offers approx 200
million employment growth opportunities to the individuals. Increase in number of overseas tourists is
also been observed across the globe which has majorly achieved the milestone for the travel sector.
Tourist plays the crucial role in the growth development of the sector and they also need to fulfill the
demand with respect to tangible and intangible products. The author also identified that the technology
is now a day integral part of the business to meet the competitive benefits. According to author, online
booking, vehicle monitoring and payment system has simplified the business operations and involving
the customers with business in more effective manner.
Media importance to meet the satisfaction of stakeholders
From the research, it is determined that travelers relied on the various digital sources to investigate for
most suitable destination. For example: Through the current survey, it is determined that around 80% of
the public uses the laptops and computers and mobile devices to see the destinations and feedbacks of
the past experience of the consumers who has visited the destination prior.
Dedeoğlu et.al (2015) has determined that the computers use and laptops is reduced in comparison to
smart phones as it is easy to access anywhere and can be carried everywhere. Smart phones and tablets
are used for the reservations and bookings along with that it allow the prospective traveler to search for
the destination which is unknown to them. Thus to give the facilities to the customers it is crucial for the
travel sector to adopt the technology advancement for their long terms sustainability. Further, they must
also focus on the website improvement along with offering the compatibility related to smart phones so
as to easily access the information related to various services and products that are being offered.
From the few surveys it is been identified that 4 out of 1 traveler uses the mobile devices for planning
the holidays and the booking the same. The reason for this is that it has high influence of videos that are
shown on YouTube for the destinations as around 51% of the prospective buyer make decisions based
on YouTube videos. The businesses of the travel industry are also raised from 65% to 69% in the 2012.
The videos of travelling also support the travelers to assess the destination beauty together with the
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attractive places and the activities that are performed their as fares etc. Thus, it can be said that attractive
videos and images are highly recommended to the tour operators to show on their websites to attract the
customers.
Zeng and Gerritsen, (2014) stated, for having suitable understanding in traveler’s behavior and gestures
investigation was carried out by the famous research firm by Google. Research shows that around 6500
participants only 150 were the prospective travelers which hold the income of more than 250K in dollars
and 1500 business travelers and rest travel for leisure purposes. The research was dependent on the
demographic profiles of 20 minutes survey which shows that respondents were from the age group 20 to
50 years. The research basic requirement is that individual shall have travel at least one time for the
leisure activities and three times for the business and should have citizenship of US.
Latest media technology in TT sector has assured better communication for sharing the information
related to new services and products. Media technology communication with the support of latest digital
technology and has made stronger customer relations. Social media is the popular medium that enabled
internet platforms to collect the customer information before purchasing (Suhartanto and Triyuni, 2016).
The social media platform such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Google etc gives the information in
the efficient way to have consistent expansion. Thus, it is highly suggested to the TT industry to use the
media marketing for effective growth of the industry. But with that social media also includes cyber
terrorism for which latest steps must be carried out to assure the system in the security.
However, several steps includes making of decisions and estimations in relation with motivation,
determination and other substitutes that are importantly assessed for consumption and selection purposes
to value the buying behavior of customers in TT industry.
Impact of media on decision making of tourists
According to Jones et.al (2016), web based plays the crucial role for making the decisions by the
tourists. It is important as 60% of the tourist basically relied on the advertisement in several platforms of
internet. In the era of technology, customers have to move smartly and can have the access on the deals
related to the holiday packages on the several websites to use the benefits at the most affordable prices
without any compromises in features and quality. The existing research shows that the consumers are
well aware with all the offered options in context with travel sector by using the data on the sources of
internet. The extent of travellers from the research has been determined that more concentration is on
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holiday planning that will also include transportation, accommodation, food and other services. Further,
around 70% travellers can navigate prior to final their bookings to assure about all the needed benefits at
reasonable prices.
1.4 Produce a research project specification
The present report will concern about the service quality and business environment to retain the
customers in the business and attract new customers through the proper utilization and integration of the
technology. The main purpose of the research is to identify the customer purchase behaviour with
business in association with technological advancement. Positive etiquettes and working patterns of the
employees can impact the quality of service in the positive way.
Objectives
The research project has objectives to identify the influence of the technology on the customer
purchasing behaviour in travel and tourism sector and how the organizations can make the sustainable
changes in traditional business approaches to meet competitive benefits.
Background
The research in based on the concept that technological advancement has influenced the business to
meet their goals and reshaped the business approaches. The research is being carried out to understand
the business practices, customer purchase behaviour and organizational management and how all these
functions are aligned to technological integration. The research has goal to identify the ways in which
technology has influences the strategic decision making process.
Scope
Description: The research project will use the historical data on the travel and tourism and emergence
of the technology in business to understand the relationship and influences. It will use published data as
well as experiences to determine the influences on the business practices.
Coverage: The project will cover several questions are structured to determine the answer of the
questions those can be further analyzed to meet the business goals and objectives with the use of
technology. It covers the factors and subjects related to the technological implementation for effective
growth and scalability. The research project will answer following questions:
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 How travel and tourism sector reshaped or influenced with the internet services and online web
portals for booking, payment and awareness of the tour packages and destinations?
 How customers are using the technology to identify the most suitable and effective product or
service?
 What are factors influencing the organization in decision making for strategic growth?
 What are major financial factors on the business with adoption of the technology?
 How the practices and cost can be utilized to reshape the business according to market trends?
It will also include the considerations of:
 Methods to accomplish the research
 Data samples that can be used to analyze the customer opinions
 Factors of technological implementations influencing business practices, outcomes or quality.
Method
Investigation is generally connected with the logical and theoretical researches that encompass both
quantitative and qualitative research. The research is dependent on assessment of numerical information
which is gathered through the quantitative research type (Brace, 2018). On the other side, data collected
from books and journals are called as qualitative research type. Both the type gathers structured semi-
structured and unstructured information which is sequentially studied in order to have the effective
conclusions.
Sampling techniques
A sample can be referred as choosing the random units from the entire universe to have analyzed on the
views and opinions. The size of the sample shall be chosen in such way that when the information is
gathered reliable results can be drawn. However it shall not be too big that data filtration become hectic
and it shall not also be too small that even true results cannot be given. Thus effective results show the
reliability and accuracy in the sample size selection and are dependent on several approaches of data
gatherings.
Data collection technique
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The two data collection techniques are primary and secondary data collection that can be used by the
researcher as per their requirements. Primary data collection is basically dependent on the information
collection through questionnaires and surveys, mails and web based interviews (Robson and McCartan,
2016). The information from such method is highly reliable and efficient and the investigator has to
assess the issues to meet the purposes of the research. Secondary data collection on the others side, is
dependent on the data collection from several sources that encompass government surveys, databases,
articles and many more. But more reliability is ensured in primary data collection as information from
direct resources may be at few times being inaccurate and reliable.
Data analysis methods
The process includes data analysis to draw the appropriate and systematic summary. The data is
analysed which is being collected from the primary sources according to the designed questions and
hypothesis. Thus the main concentration of the researcher is on quantitative data collection to have the
reliable research.
Ethical considerations
Prior to conduct of research, the interest of the participants must be ensured. It is crucial for the
investigator to carry out the research in considering ethics with context to data collection even if it out of
way as per the hypothesis introduced (Veal, 2017). Furthermore, research shall be carried out in the
polite with following all the etiquettes that are necessary to be presented in human being.
1.5 Provide an appropriate plan and procedures for the agreed research specification
The research plan shall be shown through the preparation of Gantt chart which is shown below:-
Table 1: Gantt chart
Activities/
Schedule
Month 1st Month 2nd Month 3rd Month 4th Month 6th Month 7th
Conceptualizatio
n of the project
Requirement
gathering
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Method selection
for research
Determining
technological
advancements
Analyzing current
business structure
and scope
Analysing
influences on
business
Future scope with
project
Ethical
considerations
Documentation
Project closure
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Task 2
2.1 Match resources efficiently to the research question or hypothesis
Research design: The quantitative method is quite supportive to ensure accuracy and reliability.
In the current research, the researcher has decided to apply the descriptive research design that
helps in creating the hypothesis with the supports of questionnaire details and opinions drawn
(Tussyadiah and Pesonen, 2016).
Research hypothesis: It is the process that helps in getting the aims and objectives
accomplishment. The information is gathered on the basis of the questionnaire for the particular
questions prepared. Moreover, the questions prepared are dependent on the topic taken under
account.
Resources needed in research: The major resources required to money and time. In this
context, scheduling shall be done on the basis of the month for the management of activities. The
other resource such as MS excels software resource that will support in creating the graphs and
tables to have correct analysis (Bernard, 2017). The resource determination is also dependent on
the type of research and hypothesis along with.
2.2 Undertake the proposed research investigation in accordance with the agreed specification
and procedures
Validity and reliability factor: The existing research summarized that information gathered is
greatly reliable and efficient as data collected from several authenticated sources. Several
confidential techniques in respect to manage the factor of validity of research are important
(Collins, 2017). The complete information gathered in the research is secured by applying the
authentication and security approach to ensure that no confidential information is opened to
anyone.
Sampling technique: The technique is greatly useful as it help the investigator to create the
suitable decisions in area to identify the sample size from the universe. By using the technique of
sampling, obtained solutions can be well justified and challenges can be lowered down and
objectives can be met. The sample size is 100 respondents.
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Data analysis: The data is collected through the quantitative mean and then it is indicated with
the preparation of graphs and tables to have the opinion on the same (Brunt et.al. 2017).
Questions prepared must completely revolve around the topic taken under study and then the
analysis on the same shall be done which shall be based on the knowledge and skills of the
researchers.
2.3 Record and collate relevant data where appropriate
The report section will include the questionnaire design so as to have effective information in
respect of conclusion drawing. The gathered data in the responses form will be shown in tables
and charts. The investigator will concentrate on data analysis according to the questions and
hypothesis of the research (Magalhaes and Roseira, 2017). The collected data will bring the
comparison with real findings and assumptions. Further, it also gathered for the use in future and
is analyzed by carrying out the suitable techniques.
Table 2: Questionnaire form
Name:
Date:
Course:
1. Gender
 Male
 Female
2. Age of participant
 Below 30
 31-40
 41-50
3. What are the benefits of technology for travellers with respect to travelling experience?
 Time and cost effective
 Comparisons of packages with many service providers
 Online reviews
 Others
4. What is the duration gap of your travelling?
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 2-4 months
 More than a year
 Within 6 months
 Do not travel
5. Social Media impact the decision making with respect to choosing destination for travelling. State
your opinion
 Counter booking is preferred
 Yes
 No
6. What do you feel about attractiveness of destinations on social media platforms?
 Agree
 Strongly Agree
 Disagree
 Neutral
7. Below are some features relevant to social media that influence the purchase power of travellers.
Choose the appropriate option as per your preference and experience.
 Visual display images
 Online ads
 Travel stories on websites
 Travel related blogs
8. What form of technology is widely used by travellers as well as travel agencies?
 Internet
 Software
 Hardware
 Communication technology
9. What is your opinion on the importance of cyber tools that helps to take decision in choosing
appropriate destination?
 Agree
 Disagree
10. Choose an appropriate source from which travellers gain maximum of information of holiday
packages.
 Social media sites
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 Email
 Tradition media such as Books, newspapers, etc
 Friends and relatives
11. What are the major issues faced by travellers at the time of online booking?
 Slow internet Speed
 Complex methods of booking
 Payment security
 Low response of online help desk
12. What is the frequency of recommending social media to friends and relatives for taking travel
decision?
 Very often
 Often
 Less often
 Never
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Task 3
3.1 Use appropriate ‘research evaluation techniques’. Which types of evaluation (formative or
summative) is more appropriate for your research? Why?
Evaluation is the approach of examining progress of research by identifying what is working and
what not and along with this it focuses on determining the reason of barriers in the research.
Evaluation techniques are generally divided into two: formative and summative. The technique
utilised measuring and judging the worth of the process that is carried out for conducting the
research is referred to as Formative Evaluation Technique (Hox et.al.2017). It is important to
identify the interest of respondents taking part in the research whose responses are used to draw
efficient conclusions. Therefore Summative Technique can be utilised to assess the nature of
participants involved in the research program. The added advantage of using Summative
technique is that along with assessment of nature of participant it also supports measuring the
efficiency of the overall output of the research.
Therefore by observing the utility and benefits of both the evaluation techniques, current project
is evaluated by using Summative Evaluation Technique. It will support research to draw
effective conclusion based on the response of respondents.
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3.2 Interpret and analyze the results in terms of the original research specification
1. Gender
 Male
 Female
Female 35
Male 65
Total 100
35%
65%
Gender
Female Male
Analysis: To obtain the efficient outcome it is essential to identify the opinions of both the
genders that are male and female. Research constitutes of more number of male as compared to
female. The data above shows that 65% are male respondents and 35% are female.
2. Age of participant
 Below 30
 31-40
 41-50
Below 30 35
31-40 45
41-50 20
Total 100
15

35%
45%
20%
Age
Below 30 31-40 41-50
Analysis: Above statistical depict that more of the travellers belong to the ages between 31-40.
Participants under 30 years are also keen of travelling and therefore 35% of respondents belong
to this age group. Less number of participants i.e. 20% belong to the age group of 41-50 is less
into travelling because of some health issues and other factors like discomfort and many more.
3. What are the benefits of technology for travellers with respect to travelling experience?
 Time and cost effective
 Comparisons of packages with many service providers
 Online reviews
 Others
Time and cost effective 25
Comparisons of packages with many service
providers
35
Online reviews 35
Others 5
Total 100
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25%
35%
35%
5%
Benefits of technology for travellers with
respect to travelling experience
Time and cost effective
Comparisons of packages with many service providers
Online reviews
Others
Analysis: Travellers now days rely on social media and other internet sources for making their
travel decisions because of its large number of advantages (Veal, 2017). The above statistical
depict that maximum number of participants use social media because of its comparing and
review features. Along with this there are many other benefits which are time and cost
effectiveness for which travellers use social media to select destination and travel agent as well.
4. What is the duration gap of your travelling?
 2-4 months
 More than a year
 Within 6 months
 Do not travel
2-4 months 30
More than a year 15
Within 6 months 45
Do not travel 10
Total 100
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30%
15%
45%
10%
Duration gap of travelling
2-4 months More than a year Within 6 months Do not travel
Analysis: Participants under the age of 30 as well as 31-40 are more into travelling as depicted
above. These are the respondents who travel during the gap of 6 months. There are many other
participants who travel for different purposes in between 2 to 4 month of time period. Only 10%
respondents were identified who do not travel because of many reasons and probably lie between
the ages of 41-50.
5. Online media impact the decision making with respect to choosing destination for
travelling. State your opinion
 Counter booking is preferred
 Yes
 No
Counter booking is preferred 20
Yes 60
No 20
Total 100
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20%
60%
20%
Online media impact the decision making
with respect to choosing destination for
travelling
Counter booking is preferred Yes No
Analysis: Counter booking in the era of digitalisation is less preferred over the online booking
which is reflected in the above statistical data (Jiang et.al.2016). 60% of the respondents shows
their favourable response in using online booking and social media and agree to the fact that their
decision of choosing a destination is influenced by social media. 20% of the participants do not
use social media for selecting the destination for holiday purpose.
6. What do you feel about attractiveness of destinations on social media platforms?
 Agree
 Strongly Agree
 Disagree
 Neutral
Agree 30
Strongly Agree 35
Disagree 5
Neutral 30
Total 100
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30%
35%
5%
30%
Attractiveness of destinations on social
media platforms
Agree Strongly Agree Disagree Neutral
Analysis: There are numerous numbers of features on social media that impact the decision
making of travellers. Travel Agents make different strategies to market their product on social
media. Because of such strategies and advanced features 65% of respondents strongly agree to
the fact that attractiveness of various destinations and advertisements by travel agents support
consumers to choose the appropriate destination as per their choices.
7. Below are some features relevant to social media that influence the purchase power of
travellers. Choose the appropriate option as per your preference and experience.
 Visual display images
 Online ads
 Travel stories on websites
 Travel related blogs
Travel stories on websites 35
Online ads 20
Visual display images 15
Travel related blogs 30
Total 100
20

35%
20%15%
30%
Features relevant to social media that influence
the purchase power of travellers
Travel stories on websites Online ads
Visual display images Travel related blogs
Analysis: There exist various features on social media like travel stories which highly influence
maximum number of travellers to choose travel destination (Solomon et.al.2014). Other features
of social media are online advertisements, travel blogs as well as visual images. Travel blogs are
also very familiar to travellers and therefore 30% of the respondents are attracted towards the
blogs related to beauty of various destinations.
8. What form of technology is widely used by travellers as well as travel agencies?
 Internet
 Software
 Hardware
 Communication technology
Internet 55
Software 10
Hardware 20
Communication technology 15
Total 100
21

55%
10%
20%
15%
Technology used by travellers as well as
travel agencies
Internet Software
Hardware Communication technology
Analysis: Internet is one of the major forms of technology that is widely used by population now
days because of its high speed and cost effectiveness (Zeng and Gerritsen, 2014).
Communication technology is also widely used to connect with travel agents for various
purposes like customisation of packages, negotiation, etc. Hardware devices such as laptops,
mobile phones, etc are widely used for accessing internet.
9. What is your opinion on the importance of cyber tools that helps to take decision in
choosing tour operator?
 Agree
 Disagree
Agree 80
Disagree 20
Total 100
22

80%
20%
Importance of cyber tools that helps to take
decision in choosing tour operator
Agree Disagree
Analysis: Travel and tourism sector is customer oriented industry and usage of cyber tools
provides high level of satisfaction to customers associated with the sector (Munar and Jacobsen,
2014). These tools are widely used by travel agents to secure the personal and financial details of
customers which help to gain the trust of customers. 80% of respondents agree that cyber tools
are necessary to be identified to choose the travel agent for higher reliability.
10. Choose an appropriate source from which travellers gain maximum of information of
holiday packages.
 Social media sites
 Email
 Tradition media such as Books, newspapers, etc
 Friends and relatives
Tradition media such as Books, newspapers,
etc
15
Social media sites 40
Friends and relatives 10
Email 35
Total 100
23

15%
40%
10%
35%
Appropriate source from which travellers gain
maximum of information of holiday packages
Tradition media such as Books, newspapers, etc Social media sites
Friends and relatives Email
Analysis: Social media is widely used by both travellers as well as travel agents for gaining large
number of benefits (Horner and Swarbrooke, 2016). With the emerging technology business as
well as consumers has positive impact on decision making. The above statistical data depicts
that 40% of respondents use social media for gaining appropriate information about travel
packages. Other than social media Email, books, journals ad newspapers are some of the other
sources from which customers can varied information related to travelling purposes.
11. What are the major issues faced by travellers at the time of online booking?
 Slow internet Speed
 Complex methods of booking
 Payment security
 Low response of online help desk
Slow internet Speed 25
Complex methods of booking 30
Payment security 35
Low response of online help desk 10
Total 100
24

25%
30%
35%
10%
Major issues faced by travellers at the time
of online booking
Slow internet Speed Complex methods of booking
Payment security Low response of online help desk
Analysis: In added to advantages and benefits, travellers suffer from lot of issues while making
online bookings. Major of the respondents resist making their bookings online because of their
insecurity related to payment. Therefore, it is recommended to travel agents to implement some
measures to safeguard the financial and personal information of travellers at the time of online
booking (Bilgihan et.al.2016). Other issues faced by travellers are slow speed of internet which
is highly frustrated along with complex process of booking.
Tour operators must update their website on regular basis to check the complexity of the method.
Online services by tour operators provide high level of customer satisfaction through their online
help desk but still 10% of the respondents say that they are not satisfied with online services.
12. What is the frequency of recommending social media to friends and relatives for taking
travel decision?
 Very often
 Often
 Less often
 Never
Very often 20
Less often 35
Often 10
25

Never 35
Total 100
20%
35%10%
35%
Frequency of recommending social media to
friends and relatives for taking travel decision
Very often Less often Often Never
Analysis: As per the issues explained above such as complex methods of booking as well as less
secured payment facilities, more of the respondents prefer less usage of social media for making
travel decisions and therefore they do not recommend friends and relatives to rely on social
media for choosing destination as well as travel organization.
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3.3. Make recommendations and justify areas for further consideration.
Emerging technology facilitates travel operators as well as consumers to compare various travel
facilities so that large number of benefits can be gained. The above analysis of data depict that
social media highly influence decision making of consumers with respect to choosing destination
as well as travel operators. From the above statistical data, it is recommended to travel
organization to identify the need and preferences of customers in the market to make marketing
strategies by adopting advancement in technology. Modifications in the strategy will put positive
impact on decision making of consumers and will provide high level of customer satisfaction.
Tour operators must identify the importance of E mails and other internet sources to send
information related to customised packages as well as current discounts and offers.
Internet sources utilised by tour operators not only provides information about their current
offerings but at the same time it also facilitate consumers to verify the details of the destination
as well as packages before they begin with all the bookings related to their travelling (Schegg
and Stangl, 2017). As per the analysis many of the respondents resist to make online booking
because of various issues such as complex booking processes as well as less security to payment
procedures. It is recommended to travel organizations that rely on internet for their businesses to
take measures to avoid such situations. Strong password and authentication are some of the
secured methods to gain the trust of customers with regards to payment facilities.
Tour operators must understand the fact that customers belong to various age groups with
different levels of understanding. It is important to make online booking process easier and less
complex so that customers can make online booking very easily. From all the above discussions
and analysis, lastly it is recommended that advanced technologies like online booking and
marketing through social media will help customers to gain in depth knowledge about travel
packages which will directly puts positive impact on travel agents or tour operator’s business.
Therefore, adoption of technology is very important for the future growth of tour operators in
travel and tourism sector.
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Task 4
4.1 Use an agreed format and appropriate media to present the outcome of the research.
28
Influence of technology in the travel and tourism
sector
Research is conducted to understand the
importance of technology in travel and tourism
sector. With the support of appropriate evaluation
tools and techniques, it is identified that social
media as well as internet sources highly influence
the purchase decision of consumers in travel and
tourism market. Usage of social media not only
facilitates travel organization but provides an
ease of online booking to consumers by
comparing lots of available options which saves
lot of time and overall cost of travelling. Results
found out to be in favour of the topic and
therefore it is recommended to travel operators to
adopt technology to make consumers aware
about their new and current offerings as per their
needs and preference.
There are various sources of media to facilitate
better travel experience to consumers.
Travellers can consider online advertisements,
as well as recommendations from relatives for
conducting research and online booking
purposes. They can also check past reviews on
website of tour operators and on social media to
make appropriate decision in choosing their
destination.

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