Tourism agents' attitudes on internet adoption: an analysis from Greece

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to adopt a total view on the issue of usage and attitude of travel agents towards internet technology. Many aspects are being investigated, such as agents' attitudes towards internet applications, the current state of internet use, the relative maturity of the web sites, and internet marketing by Greek tourist agencies. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was conducted. Greek Travel Pages (GTP), notified travel agents via e‐mail sent about the online questionnaire web site. Travel agents willing to participate visited a tailor made web site replied to the questionnaire and the data were recorded to a database. A total of 117 questionnaires were answered. The questionnaire used included five sections and questions were adopted from previous researches. Findings Facilitation of global marketing and completion of online services are the most important reasons for using internet practices according to tourism agents. Travel agencies generally do not use internet practices effectively as a relatively small number of transactions are completed on line. The web pages are merely used as another means to exhibit their static information. Security difficulties and the need for social interaction are the main barriers to marketing over the internet Research limitations/implications This is an exploratory study addressed to agents on‐line. Further research and studies are needed by a broader range of travel agencies Practical implications Provides suggestions for good practices to tourism agents along with an understanding of their attitudes on internet use Originality/value Enables travel agents to recognize the pros and cons of using internet and to make technology an essential part of the company.