Determinants of traditional travel agencies versus otas in the new millennium

Abstract

The strong market competition between travel agencies and OTAs and the complex dynamic and uncertain environment where they operate, make necessary to develop survival strategies to improve their competitiveness. Despite the market size and economic impact of the travel intermediaries in the tourism sector there is a lack of studies that propose an integrated assessment of the industry and most of them only focused on certain parts of the demand or the supply from a quantitative perspective. The present study tries to fill this gap and provides a deeper insight into the trends affecting the traditional travel agencies and propose recommended strategies to improve their competitiveness in the future. This research integrates the different perspectives of customers, travel agency managers, and experts through a qualitative study, trying to understand the current situation of traditional travel agencies, the future scenarios they will have to face, and the possible actions they can take to succeed in the future. Finally, after identifying the main 14 trends of the industry and 23 recommended strategies, the study also proposes some future research topics useful for the industry.