Determining The Opinions Of Travel

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

The aim of this survey is to find out at which level the travel agencies

operating Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, use internet within the scope

of information technologies. Quantitative research method was used to

this end. Within this scope, following an examination on the literature,

questionnaire technique was preferred so as to collect data from subjects.

Since the space is of attainable size, no separate sampling methods were

used and the whole space was considered as the sample. The data

obtained were analyzed through descriptive statistical techniques such as

percentages and frequencies as well as through explorative statistical

techniques such as Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis techniques. While

the findings obtained demonstrate that there is no difference between the

perspectives of agency managers, having participated in the survey, on the

variables concerning the working times when they are active, their rates of

using information technology and internet and how frequently they

perform practices, they show a significant difference between the

perspectives of managers on the dimension of "online sales system"

depending on the total number of computers owned.

Keywords: Travel agencies, Internet, information technology

INTRODUCTION

All technologies also covering the

communication and computer

technologies utilized in the collection,

processing, storing of information and its

transfer from one place to another via

networks and its presentation for the

service of users can be called

"information technology".

Communication technology enables a far

Lütfi Atay, Ph.D.

Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University

School of Tourism and Hotel Mgmt

Çanakkale-Turkey

İzzet Kilinç, Ph.D.

Düzce University

School of Tourism and Hotel Mgmt

Akçakoca- Düzce-Turkey

E. DilÅŸad Tatar, MBA

Turkey

more rapid transfer of mails from one

place to another than previously known

techniques whereas computer

technology can enhance our calculation

and information processing abilities. It is

observed that the quality of human

abilities has improved upon the union of

computer and communication

technologies (information technology).

Communication technology enables

products to be sold in any place all

around the world from a single center

(Yarcan, 2003).

Among information technologies,

internet is a technology that occurred

following the gradually increasing

desires of people "to store and share the

information produced as well as to

access it easily". By means of this

technology, people are able to access

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information in many fields easily,

rapidly, safely and in a cheaper way. In

other words, it is a giant library where a

large amount of useful information is as

close as pushing a button. Internet is a

platform of democracy which involves

the media where people can freely state

their ideas about various subjects. With

its applications such as shopping from

home, banking services, radio and

television broadcasts and daily

newspaper services, internet is in fact at

the same time a new way of life. Internet

has gone beyond its initial objective and

begun to be used for many purposes and

primarily for commercial purposes

(Özdipçiner and Ceylan, 2001). It is

observed that internet is becoming more

and more active in communication

performed in various channels.

According to a research conducted in

2005, it was seen that, in America and

the countries of the Asian Pacific, search

engines ranked the first with 76% in

holiday decisions while travel journals

were used as a source of information

with 47%, recommendations with 42%

and travel agencies with 35% (1).

Intended to be explained by

concepts such as marketing via internet,

online marketing and electronic

marketing and also termed commercial

internet, the computer medium emerged

as a result of the transformation of

current flow of information by

enterprises gradually into the flow of

goods and services and it provided the

formation of a brand-new marketplace.

Since internet cannot be supervised by

any countries, institutions or

organizations due to its considerably

rapid growth, the lack of established

principles and rules and its use on an

international arena, marketing via

internet is an opportunity required to be

considered together with its various

problems.

One of the changes caused by

globalization in tourism industry is that

enterprises have begun to operate on

global scale and adopted a competitive

strategy based on internationalization.

The enterprises, which operate on global

scale, regard the whole world as their

fields of operation, develop global

strategies and maintain their existence at

global market. Global driving forces

change the structures of enterprises and

remove the limitations constraining

enterprises (Yılmaz S, D.Yılmaz, 2005).

Marketing via internet can provide

important advantages for customers

unlike traditional marketing. The

development of market on the one hand

and the decrease in the costs of

accessing market on the other hand are

outstanding as the features that make

internet advantageous. The advantages

of internet in terms of enterprises are as

follows: savings of marketing budget,

savings of time, equality of opportunity,

rich information as well as mutual

communication and international access

(Batman et al., 2002).

USE OF INTERNET IN

TRAVEL AGENCIES

The emergence of information

technologies and e-commerce practices

and the widespread use of internet lead

to significant changes in the structure,

marketing, reservation and sales

transactions of tourism industry. The use

of information technologies in tourism

industry leads to the participation of new

actors in tourism mediators (Yılmaz and

Öncüler, 2003).

The use of information

technologies in tourism industry

appeared at three successive

technological development stages. The

first stage was the commencement of

using computerized reservation systems

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25

(CRS) in the 1970s while the second

stage was the introduction of global

distribution systems (GDS) to tourism

industry in the 1980s. The third and final

stage was the commencement of the use

of internet to become widespread in

tourism industry in the 1990s (Buhalis,

2003).

Recently, the place of internet and

especially www applications and their

relationships with distribution systems

have become outstanding in the travel

industry. It is envisaged that other

technological developments (such as

voice recognition systems, data mining,

artificial intelligence practices, virtual

reality and geographical information

systems) will be far more effective in

changing touristic products and

distribution channels.

Before travel products are

demanded, the potential consumer

requires a high rate of information

(Gratzer et al., 2004). It is doubtless that

the provision of offer, information and

confirmation practically through

technology will satisfy consumers more.

Travel agencies, the locomotives of

tourism industry composed of dynamic

and complex network structures

(Baggio, 2006, 19), have to make their

future business plans under current

conditions on the grounds of information

technologies. Since the intermediary

travel agencies in travel industry use

information intensively, they need

information technologies for information

processing. Information on touristic

products, destinations, tariffs, prices and

availability is of great importance in

order for agencies to maintain their

existence and to carry on their activities

effectively. The more information travel

agencies can access electronically, the

more current and effective service they

can present on time to their customers.

Practices of information technologies in

travel agencies enhance effectiveness,

efficiency and opportunities for access to

the market (Sheldon, 1997).

At the beginning of the 1980s, tour

operators realized that they had to invest

in information technologies and begin to

use more effective distribution methods.

With a view to enhancing their

efficiency, improving their management

systems, reducing workforce costs of

telephone operators and presenting better

services for both consumers and

agencies, tour operators entered into a

technology-based transformation. The

videotex systems developed enabled

direct communication between tour

operators and agencies starting in

England and in Germany and France

(Buhalis, 2003). Thomson in England

was the first tour operator that created its

own specific data imaging system

(Thomson Open-line Programme).

Thomson began to use the videotex

system in 1982 and established the

widest special videotex system.

Furthermore, in 1986, it became the first

travel agency which performed all

reservation transactions with travel

agencies through interactive videotex

and eliminated the reservation

transactions on the phone (Poon, 1999).

The provision of continuous

development by travel agencies and their

presence in the markets, where they

operate, depend on the creation of a

communication system which will

ensure continuous communication with

their customers, partners and employees

and which is able to adapt to

innovations. At this point, internet

becomes a critical factor of success in

terms of travel agencies. The

applicability of technological

developments in the sector is one of the

essential advantages in terms of travel

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26

agencies. The developments in

information technology accelerate

agencies and tour operators particularly

in reservation systems, expand sales

networks and facilitate access to any

customers. The cost-reducing effects of

information technologies in tourism

industry appear most clearly in the use

of computerized reservation systems.

Computerized reservation systems are

regarded as an effective means that

provides exchange of information by

means of travel agencies between airline

enterprises and consumers. The use of

computerized reservation systems

reduces reservation costs in airline

enterprises while increasing efficiency

(Poon, 1996). Since the time of

transactions can be reduced by using

computerized reservation systems,

reservation costs also decrease (Yılmaz,

2005).

Thanks to the use of global

distribution systems in tourism industry,

touristic service providers are able to

carry out the distribution and

management of reservation on global

scale and harmonize touristic supply and

consumer needs. Globalization enables

the emergence of great synergies by

supporting the use of global distribution

systems whereas the use of global

distribution systems supports the

globalization of tourism industry. Global

distribution systems provide all parties

in tourism market with advantages such

as high quality and profitability (Buhalis,

1998).

Under present conditions, travel

agencies have to make their future

business plans on the grounds of

information technologies. Travel sales

via internet are increasing considerably

rapidly and the concepts of local and

physical markets are becoming a thing of

the past while the whole world is turning

into a single market. Everyone begins to

experience market conditions equally at

work or at home. Under these

conditions, it is observed that travel

agencies, which have had the greatest

share in the sales of travel products so

far, are making effort for specialization

to preserve this title and for transforming

into enterprises that can offer the best

alternatives at the best price.

The travel reservations made via

internet are increasing annually. It is

observed that the use of internet for

reservations in England is quite high and

that internet, with a share of 19% within

total reservations in 2005, increased this

rate to 30% in 2007 (2). Information on

recent and future figures concerning

online sales and online travel sales in

Europe is presented in Table 1.

Table 1 Development of European Online Travel Market (Billion Euros)

Years Transaction Volume Increase Ratio (%)

2004 19.5 --

2005 28.6 46

2006 39.3 38

2007 50.1 27

2008 61.3 22

Source: (3)

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The Turkish Tourism and Travel

Sector Authority of Google states that

there are 20 million internet users in

Turkey and that, in a survey conducted,

80% of this figure make use of the

search engines on internet when they

intend to search something about

tourism (4). This shows that 16 million

out of 20 million internet users use

internet with touristic purposes. The

enterprises providing service via internet

have had essential benefits for

distributing information, developing

customer relations, forming a wide

customer base and developing post-sales

services (Sarıışık and Akova, 2006). In a

study by ÅžimÅŸek (2003), as seen in Table

2, out of all people shopping touristic

products on internet, 84% express that

they use internet for airline ticket while

78% express that they use internet for

hotel reservation. As it can be

understood here, basic travel products

are preferred more via internet.

Table 2 Distribution of Travel Shopping on Internet

By Type Ratio%

Airline Ticket 84

Hotel Reservation 78

Rent A Car 59

Ticket for Socia-Cultural Activities 33

Animation Parks 18

Package Tours 17

Cruisehips 8

Source: Şimşek Güntekin, "Seyahat Acentalarında Rezervasyon Amaçlı Web Sayfası Standardı ve

Güvenliği" AB04, KTÜ, Trabzon, 2003,38

It is seen that the enterprises

providing service via internet have had

essential benefits for distributing

information, developing customer

relations, forming a wide customer base

and developing post-sales services. It is

observed that travel agencies will

undertake four essential roles in the

future (Sarıışık and Akova, 2006).

-To provide communication of

information between customers

and managers;

-To make reservation and transfer

money;

-To make recommendations for

customers;

-To provide customer services

for hotels and other travel needs.

The fact that people spend more

time at work daily causes them to be

stressed and to increase their searches

for simplifying their daily affairs. Within

this framework, the travel agencies,

which offer their products to consumers

through modern technologies, are

demanded more. There is no doubt that

the provision of offer, information and

confirmation practically through

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technology will satisfy consumers more.

Since a consumer, who purchases

an inclusive tour on internet, will

perform all ticketing and transportation

activities on his own thanks to the

instructions on the web pages, it is likely

that the agencies that operate solely by

providing services will not be required in

time. Internet and travel enterprises will

intertwine and, therefore, a decrease will

be observed in the functions and number

of travel agencies. The agencies, which

reach many different masses thanks to

internet, will also find an opportunity to

diversify their products in this way.

Cultural, person-specific, incentive and

VIP tours will gain importance for the

agencies that will orient to product

diversification. The quality of the service

provided is changing slowly upon the

entrance of technology into travel

enterprises while it is stated that travel

agencies have to follow the standards

required in order to take their place in

the global market and to develop an

effective sales technique (ÅžimÅŸek, 2005).

In 2006, the American Society of

Travel Agents (ASTA) prepared a

research report covering issues such as

benchmarking in internet sites, rates of

online reservations, website design and

the quality of websites by asking several

questions to agency members about the

use of internet, the use of technology and

the websites of their respective agencies

(5). In this report, it is stated that 76% of

the agencies have a website and use

online reservation efficiently.

When the sales of travels via

internet are examined, it is observed that

airline sales rank the first in the U.S.A.

whereas sales of inclusive tours rank the

first in Europe. Within the pie of online

agency, observed to be growing day by

day, Expedia, the giant internet agency,

achieved an increase by 16% in gross

reservation figures despite a fall by 2%

in world reservation revenues in 2007

and increased its gross profit over 2

billion sterling with an increase by 21%

(6). This consequence is an indicator of

the dimension and economic power

attained by online agency. The intensive

competition between online travel

portals also brings on the agenda the

problem of becoming outstanding in

search engines in online travel agency.

Besides their advantages, the

information technologies that facilitate

access of suppliers used by travel

agencies to their products can also be

considered as an element of threat.

According to a survey by the Turkish

Hoteliers Federation (TUROFED), 49%

make reservations directly from the hotel

while 22% make reservations on internet

and 19% plan their holidays by means of

a Travel Agency – Tour Operator (7).

Even though this seems to be a threat for

travel agencies, it may be stated that this

threat may be overcome particularly

when it is taken into consideration that

hotels offer higher prices than agency

quotas on their own websites (14).

LITERATURE OVERVIEW

When the current literatures are

examined, it is understood that there are

many studies regarding the use of

information technology in travel

agencies. As will be explained below, it

is observed that the studies on the use of

information technologies in travel

agencies have been concentrated

particularly since the first half of the

2000s. Within the period concerned, the

studies have primarily intended firstly to

determine how much information

technologies are used and then to study

their positive and negative effects on

agencies.

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With a view to determining the

factors that are effective on the

integration of travel agencies with the

developments in communication and

information technologies, Epik (2007)

conducted a sample event study on the

travel agencies operating in Kuşadası. 48

of the travel agencies were evaluated.

According to the survey, many of the

travel agencies want to implement the

developments in communication and

information technologies in spite of the

views that this is time-consuming.

Öztekin (2003) made a survey on

the reflections of practices of electronic

commerce on travel agencies. In this

survey, it was understood that all Group

A travel agencies in Fethiye (100%)

used internet efficiently. Again

according to this survey, it was found

out that the agencies used internet for

sales (12%), for advertisement (18%),

for being informed (18%) and for

communication (22%).

Another survey for determining the

effects of information technologies on

tourism distribution channels belongs to

Çizel (2002). According to this survey, it

is striking that the investments by

agencies in information technologies

were quite expensive. It was found out

that the amounts of investments

generally ranged from $ 10.000 to $

25.000. Moreover, the costs of these

investments are largely composed of the

costs of computer equipments. Again

according to this survey, 75% of the

agencies in the locality expressed that

they made use of communication and

information technologies efficiently and

did not encounter very serious problems.

The greatest problems of agencies,

which stated that they were unable to

make use of communication and

information technologies efficiently, are

observed to be due to the shortage of

trained staff.

ÅžimÅŸek (2005) carried out a survey

on the use of internet in travel agencies.

In this survey, the author stressed the

share and importance of internet in sales

techniques and then made a field study

on 52 travel agencies operating in

Kuşadası. In their research, Bacchus and

Molina (2001) examined the subject of

marketing tourism services on internet

and the study was performed in travel

agencies. The way travel agencies

introduced themselves on internet sites

was investigated in the study. It is

stressed that the tourism enterprises with

an opportunity of internet contribute to

the change in the sector, and this enables

provision of information and financial

transactions and, therefore, has an

essential effect on social and economic

life.

Aksu and Tarcan (2002) made a

survey on internet practices and needs of

training in 29 Group A travel agencies

operating in Antalya. In this study,

where the questionnaire technique was

used for data collection, 68.9% of

employees found it easy to access

internet sites whereas 44.8% stated that

it was difficult to adjust security on

internet sites. 86.2% of them considered

security as an element of great

importance.

On the other hand, in their study,

Özturan and Ronay (2004) investigated

the current state of use of internet by

travel agencies in Turkey. According to

the results of the investigation, it is

striking that, despite an increase in the

use of internet, the Turkish travel

agencies regarded internet as a

supplementary means of communication

and continued to use traditional

marketing and communication channels

such as published media and telephone.

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Ma et al., (2003) investigated how

information technologies and internet

have changed tourism industry in China,

how much important these changes are

and where they will take the Chinese

tourism industry. In the study, they

detected that travel agencies did not fully

have the opportunities of information

and communication technologies. In his

study, Çetinkaya (2002) investigated the

use of internet in 189 enterprises, with

94 being travel agencies and 95 being

accommodation facilities. According to

the findings of the survey, it was

observed that there was an internet site

in 84.4% of the accommodation facilities

and that this rate was very low in travel

agencies (16%). 29.8% of travel

agencies update their internet sites for

new types of service. Travel agencies

prefer internet rather because they access

information rapidly, easily and with a

low cost.

Çakıcı et al., (2007) made a survey

on pricing in travel agencies operating in

Istanbul. In this survey, it was calculated

that the shares of these sales made via

internet within total revenues varied

between 1% and 95%, that the mean

value was around 23.5% and that the

mostly repeated value (mode) was 10%.

In more than half of the responding

travel agencies, the share of sales made

via internet was below 15% within total

revenues.

As also observed in the related

literature, it is understood that travel

agencies use information technology in

different ways and for different

purposes. The field study in this section

of the study is aimed to contribute to the

literature.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Travel agencies create variations in

touristic products, offer alternatives and

discounts in product prices and fulfill

important services such as consultancy

and providing information. The travel

agencies, which operate in tourism

sector, are able to maintain their

existence as long as they are able to keep

up with the rapid developments in

communication and information

technologies and to make use of these

developments. Thus, the aim of this

study is to detect the reflections of

information technologies on travel

agencies by accessing data about the

rates of use of information technology

by travel agencies operating in Ankara.

The scope of survey is composed

of the travel agencies operating within

the borders of Ankara. According to the

information from the website of the

Union of Turkish Travel Agencies

(TURSAB), it was found that there were

totally 361 travel agencies in Ankara (8).

Since the size of the space is of

attainable size for the researchers, no

separate sample was determined and the

whole space was accepted as the sample.

Assistance was provided from both

competent academics and travel agencies

in the process of developing the

questionnaire form prepared in two

sections. Both the problem of validity of

the contents of the questionnaire formed

in this way was overcome and a

preliminary test was applied with 25

usable questionnaire applications with

the agencies. In the preliminary test

application, the recommendations from

participants were also taken into

consideration and the questionnaire was

finalized. The questionnaire was applied

to the population between 05.12.2007

and 30.01.2008. The travel agencies

were visited and the questionnaire forms

prepared were applied to agency

authorities; however, totally 100 usable

questionnaires were obtained at the end

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of the questionnaire application. The

sample obtained represents nearly 28%

of the population.

In the first section of the

questionnaire, answer was sought for the

questions about their use of agency

information and information

technologies. In the second section, 5-

point Likert scale was used and it was

intended to find out to what extent the

use of information technology affected

the activities of travel agencies. The

values of Likert scale were ranked from

the most negative to the most positive,

with the smallest value being 1 and the

greatest value being 5 (1= Definitely

disagree, 5= Definitely agree). The data

obtained as a result of the application of

questionnaire were analyzed and

interpreted using the SPSS statistical

program. The parametric tests could not

be used in the process of analysis since

data were not distributed in a balanced

way. Hence, it was considered more

appropriate to use nonparametric tests

and, within this scope, Mann-Whitney U

test and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used.

The hypothesis that two independent

groups are from populations with

identical distribution is tested with the

Mann Whitney U test. This test was

preferred since we were unable to test

parametrically whether there was any

difference between the mean values of

two samples. In addition, Kruskal-Wallis

H test was used in order to test whether

there was any significant difference

between both distributions by comparing

the measurements of two or more

independent groups (samples)

concerning a dependent variable (Uçar,

2006). In the results of data evaluated by

the SPSS program, the Cronbach’s

Alpha value calculated for the scale used

appeared as .825. This is at an

acceptable value interval (Nunnally,

1957) and shows that the scale is

reliable.

FINDINGS AND EVALUATION

The aim of this section is to

analyze the data obtained in line with the

survey time and to evaluate the findings

resulting from the analysis. Since the

problem of participation in the

questionnaire, one of the basic problems

in surveys, was also observed in this

research and that the number of

questionnaires likely to be evaluated was

less than desired, difficulties occurred in

analyzing the data comprehensively.

Thus, the data frequencies and the

evaluation of frequencies were primarily

dealt with. Later on, the data obtained

were analyzed by analysis methods

decided to be suitable for the data and

the findings obtained were evaluated.

The results of the demographical

findings of the questionnaire forms

analyzed are tabulated below. The

findings of the responding agencies were

found by applying frequency and

percentage analyses to the data. It was

detected that 38% of the responding

travel agencies began to use internet

before and in 2000 while 38% began to

use it between 2001 and 2004 and 23%

in and after 2005. The fact that the rate

of creating an internet site was 24%

before and in 2000 while 38% of the

agencies were using internet in the same

period demonstrated that the agencies

followed developments but were not so

much hasty about creating their own

website due to lack of information,

security and similar problems. The fact

that 87% of the responding travel

agencies had an internet address while

12% did not have any internet addresses

can be perceived as very thoughtprovoking

and as an indicator of how far

they are from developments and

competition.

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Table 3 Results for Descriptive Questions (n= 100)

N %

The Year to Start Using

Internet

2000 and earlier 38 38,0

2001- 2004 38 38,0

2005 and later 24 24,0

Total 100 100,0

Total Number of

Computers

1–3 17 17,0

4–7 57 57,0

8–11 13 13,0

12–20 7 7,0

21 and over 6 6,0

Total 100 100,0

Website status

Yes 87 87,0

No 13 13,0

Total 100 100,0

Internet site Creation

Date

2000 and Earlier 24 24,0

2001–2004 36 36,0

2005 and Later 40 40,0

Total 100 100,0

Average Time To

Connect Internet Per

Day

1–6 hours 9 9,0

7–12 hours 71 71,0

13–24 hours 20 20,0

Total 100 100,0

Frequency of Updating

Internet

Daily 16 16,0

Weekly 28 28,0

Once in 2 weeks 7 7,0

Monthly 30 30,0

Other 19 19,0

Total 100 100,0

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The rate of use of central

reservations by travel agencies was

expressed to be 64%. It can be stated

that the considerable majority of

agencies (36%) did not make use of

central reservation systems and that they

had difficulty in keeping up with rapidly

developing and changing information

technologies. When the data on the use

of online sales system are examined, it is

observed that 55% of the agencies

declared that they performed online sales

while 45% declared that they did not

perform online sales. Those that did not

perform online sales presented reasons

such as the slow internet network, the

technical problems experienced in credit

cards and the failure of citizens to adapt

to this system yet. In addition, it can be

stated that the travel agencies operating

in Ankara do not use online sales system

widely also because they provide service

rather for congress tourism. It was found

that 48% of the responding agencies also

used the online alternative in their

purchasing transactions.

Table 4- Expressions regarding the Use of Internet

It is observed that the majority of

the managers of responding travel

agencies is of the opinion that internet is

the main means of communication in the

travel agency, that internet is used rather

for being informed, that their products

can be sold on the sites of other

enterprises and that their internet sites

are sufficient. The fact that the agency

managers found their internet site

sufficient also indicates their

expectations from the internet. Security

and the lack of trained staff can be stated

as the most important reasons why the

agencies having stated to have an

insufficient level of use of internet were

unwilling about internet.

1 2 3 4 5

n % n % n % n % n %

Ä°nternet is main communication

tool for our agancy

17 17,0 3 3,0 8 8,0 12 12,0 60 60,0

We use internet to obtain data mostly 12 12,0 3 3,0 22 22,0 15 15,0 48 48,0

Our products are being sold on the website of other

companies

47 47,0 8 8,0 16 16,0 10 10,0 19 19,0

Our website is sufficent 20 20,0 7 7,0 13 13,0 24 24,0 36 36,0

Our internet useage is sufficent 14 14,0 2 2,0 11 11,0 22 22,0 51 51,0

Internet is an advance in favor of agencies 21 21,0 4 4,0 17 17,0 26 26,0 32 32,0

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Table 5 Effect of Use of Internet on Sales

When the opinions of agencies

concerning the effect of use of internet

on sales are considered, it is observed

that 56% of the respondents were of the

opinion that it was effective. Therefore,

it is seen that travel agencies are willing

to create an internet site so as to improve

their sales significantly. Moreover, 63%

of the responding agencies express that

the use of internet reduces the activity

expenses. It can be stated that

particularly the use of services such as email,

messenger and skype in

communication reduces costs and is

effective.

It is observed that with the use of

internet, the direct marketing of products

by producers via internet by by-passing

agencies does not have much effect on

agency profitability. It is understood that

the considerable majority of the

participants does not consider the direct

marketing of their products by tourism

suppliers using internet as a negative

development. It is understood that

internet has positive contributions to

product diversification and creation of

alternatives.

It is observed that the participants

are divided equally into two groups

about the occurrence of additional costs

in agency activities with the use of

internet. The agencies thinking that

internet causes additional costs are

observed to be of the opinion that the

costs are increased largely due to

computer equipment costs.

Expression

1 2 3 4 4

n % N % n % n % n %

Ä°nternet increased sales valume

seriously

21 21,0 6 6,0 13 13,0 15 15,0 45 45,0

Ä°nternet decreased our operating

expenses seriosly

18 18,0 7 7,0 19 19,0 12 12,0 44 44,0

That the supliers using internet

merket the products directly by

passing agencies decreased our

profitability

21 21,0 10 10,0 24 24,0 14 14,0 31 31,0

Agencies must improve

customized products by using

internet

9 9,0 10 10,0 12 12,0 26 26,0 43 43,0

Ä°nternet caused some extra

expenses for us

27 27,0 23 23,0 20 20,0 12 12,0 18 18,0

The Consortium Journal Volume 14 Issue 1

35

Table 6 Qualifications of Agency Employees regarding Information Technology

80% of the agencies stated

positive opinions on the sufficiency of

knowledge levels of agency staff with

respect to the use of computer. Hence,

the opinion that no problems are

experienced in employing staff with

technical equipment and sufficient

knowledge of use of computer is

supported by a large participation. It can

be stated depending on findings that the

agencies support their staff in renewing

themselves.

Table 7 Expressions regarding the Use of Centralized Reservation Systems

Expression

1 2 3 4 5

n % n % n % n % n %

Knowledge of our staff to use

computer is sufficient

16 16,0 4 4,0 8 8,0 17 17,0 55 55,0

Knowledge of our staff to use

internet is sufficient

15 15,0 4 4,0 11 11,0 18 18,0 52 52,0

We have diffuculties to find

qualified staff with internet

knowledge

40 40,0 12 12,0 15 15,0 15 15,0 18 18,0

We support our staff to

improve themselves

16 16,0 6 6,0 15 15,0 22 22,0 41 41,0

Expressions

1 2 3 4 5

n % n % n % n % n %

To use centralized reservation system

increase competitivity

13 13,0 6 6,0 17 17,0 22 22,0 42 42,0

Global distribution systems are necessary for

agencies

13 13,0 13 13,0 12 12,0 19 19,0 53 53,0

Global distribution systems on internet (like

Expedia.com) affect our sales negatively.

16 16,0 10 10,0 30 30,0 21 21,0 23 23,0

Our useage of global distribution systems is

sufficent

13 13,0 11 11,0 21 21,0 27 27,0 28 28,0

The Consortium Journal Volume 14 Issue 1

36

When the data with respect to the

use of central reservation system are

examined, it is understood that agencies

are generally aware of the importance of

global distribution systems. It is also

understood that they have opinions about

the fact that they will be negatively

affected unless they are able to keep up

with competition.

Table 8 Expressions regarding Online Sales System

When the Table is examined, it is

understood that 71% of the responding

managers of travel agencies think that

online sales system is used efficiently by

agencies. These rates can be expected to

rise further in the following years. In the

interviews, it was observed that the

agencies, which had not performed

online sales yet, made the preparations

for online sales and that they were quite

willing to this end. In addition, it can be

stated that they were of the opinion that

online sales level was not found

sufficient by agencies; however, an

impression was made regarding the fact

that this rate would increase in the

future.

It is seen that travel agencies did

not think much positively about the

necessity of online sales. Developments

and measures about security are

continuing to reduce the concern of

agencies. It can also be thought that

agencies will have no more problems

about security in the future.

It is understood that the most

serious problem in online transactions

for travel agencies is about returns in the

cancelation of online sales. It may be put

forward that the intermediary role of

travel agencies, the marketing of

products rather by other suppliers and

the returns’ requirement of a chain of

transactions are the fundamental reasons

for this problem.

Expressions

1 2 3 4 5

n % n % n % n % n %

Online sales system is used by

agencies effectively

19 19,0 10 10,0 19 19,0 16 16,0 36 36,0

The share of online sales in our gross

sale big enough

21 21,0 12 12,0 19 19,0 20 20,0 28 28,0

Online sale has security issue 33 33,0 17 17,0 22 22,0 11 11,0 17 17,0

Collection of payment for online sales

is smooth

27 27,0 12 12,0 17 17,0 14 14,0 30 30,0

Refund of cancellation of online sales

is smooth

33 33,0 12 12,0 19 19,0 18 18,0 18 18,0

The Consortium Journal Volume 14 Issue 1

37

Whether there was any difference

among the perspectives of the

responding agency managers on the

variables regarding the working times

when they are active, the rates of use of

information technology and internet and

how frequently they performed

applications was examined by means of

Kruskal-Wallis Test and Mann Whitney

U test. It was evaluated whether the

perspectives of agencies on the

independent variables varied depending

on the total number of computers they

owned.

Table 9 Total Number of Computers and Kruskal-Wallis Test concerning Independent Variables

In the analysis, the sign values

greater than 0.05 show that managers

made the same evaluation while the sign

values smaller than 0.05 show that the

managers made a different evaluation.

For instance, the sign value was found as

0.043 in the analysis of replies to the

factor of "online sales system". The sign

values of 0.043 < 0.05 show that

managers responded differently to this

question. In conclusion, when the replies

to all factors other than this factor are

analyzed, the sign values greater than

0.05 show that there is generally no

difference between the total number of

computers of the responding managers

and their perspectives on independent

variables. However, a significant

difference was observed between their

perspectives with respect to the online

sales system, the 5th factor.

As a consequence of analyses

using Kruskal-Wallis Test and Mann

Whitney U test, it was found that there

was no difference between the

perspectives of the responding managers

with respect to the independent variables

according to their daily durations of

connecting to internet, their ownership

of an internet site, the date of creating an

internet site, how frequently they update

their internet sites, their employment of

an information technology unit or staff

performing this function, their use of

central reservation systems, their

offering of online sales opportunity and

their performance of online purchasing

transactions.

CONCLUSION

Technological developments are

observed to be one of the most important

Variables (Factors) Chi-Square Median Sig.(2tailed)

Use of Internet(F1) 4.492 4 .343

Effect of Internet on Sales(F2) 2.319 4 .677

Qualifications of Staff(F3) 3.571 4 .467

Use of Central Reservation(F4) 3.076 4 .545

Online Sales System(F5) 9.825 4 .043

The Consortium Journal Volume 14 Issue 1

38

factors behind the globalization process

and information society. Advances in

transportation technology as well as

information and communication

technologies are effective on the

development and change of tourism

industry. The advances in transportation

technology reduce costs and eliminate

the constraints created by distance. On

the other hand, the advances in

information and communication

technologies enable global

communication, enable the expansion of

global distribution systems and facilitate

the access of small enterprises to

markets. The fact that internet has

recently reached considerable user

masses and that any visual, textual and

audio data can be shared via internet

provide various advantages such as

direct access to the enterprises and

consumers in tourism sector, making

communications and efficient

promotion.

Thanks to internet, the

communication opportunities of travel

agencies, which undertake an extremely

essential duty in terms of assuming a

duty of being a bridge between the

producers of touristic products and

services and consumers and in terms of

offering services with various

alternatives and various price levels to

consumers, have increased and

accelerated. Furthermore, activities have

accelerated upon more systematic and

easier storage of information. The

practices of electronic commerce, which

we now encounter frequently, have

provided many facilities and

opportunities in terms of both consumers

and travel agencies. Thanks to practices

of electronic commerce, consumers have

had an opportunity to purchase holiday

packages or touristic products without

going out from their homes. In addition,

travel agencies have had an opportunity

to sell products not only in the markets

where they operate but also in the global

market. In order for travel agencies to

maintain their existence against the rapid

developments in communication and

information technologies, it is of

extreme importance for them to include

the developing technologies within their

bodies. It was observed that the use of

internet accelerated travel agencies and

that they had an opportunity to reach

more people within a shorter period of

time.

According to the findings of

survey, it is observed that the travel

agency managers leaned towards the

idea that internet is used as the main

means of communication while a

considerable majority used internet

rather for being informed and that

managers were indecisive about the sales

of their own products on the internet

sites of other enterprises. It is found out

that the online sales system has not been

used so widely in travel agencies yet

and, therefore, the share of internet in

the total sales of agencies is not so high.

Nevertheless, it is understood that travel

agencies are willing to create an internet

site so as to increase sales and are aware

of the fact that the use of internet

significantly reduces the costs of their

activities. It is remarkable that the

agency employees have sufficient

knowledge of computer and use of

internet and that the opportunities and

support required for the staff to train

themselves are provided. It is understood

that agency managers are of the opinion

that the employees are sufficient in terms

of knowledge and experience in

information technology but they have

difficulty in finding qualified employees.

The insufficient education about the use

of information technologies particularly

The Consortium Journal Volume 14 Issue 1

39

at schools providing tourism education

also confirms this negative view.

There is a difference between

starting to use internet and taking place

on internet properly. Promotional

contents suitable for the purpose and a

very good design enable an instant

attainment of the objective. Transactions

such as ticket, hotel, holiday reservation

and car rental are services that people

can easily get in their location via

internet with their computers without

any constraints about time and space.

As the developments in

information and communication

technologies have accelerated, security

has begun to be perceived as a serious

problem, as also suggested in the study

by Aksu and Tarcan (2002). Travel

agencies firstly have to ensure the full

security of the website they establish.

For protection against harmful software

such as viruses or worms, it is necessary

to actively use updated anti-virus and

protection software. Moreover, the use

of special data security systems about

monetary transactions in online services

is also an essential factor for consumers

to prefer the travel agency. Particularly

the intensive use of credit cards in

shopping makes security indispensible

for protecting and saving credit card

information.

Travel agency managers will be

able to maintain their existence and

address wider market shares as long as

they are able to integrate the innovations

in communication and information

technologies with their agencies. The

acceptance and development of practices

of electronic commerce by agency

managers have been facilitated with the

legal regulations for online transactions.

The requirement of continuously

updating websites, provision of facility

of use, monitoring customers, suitability

of the language and design used and the

requirement of designing the websites

suitable for development are among the

important issues to be taken into

consideration in e-commerce. The

criteria for development should be the

requests and demands of customers.