Online vs. Traditional Travel Agents: Growth and Impact
This thesis examines the development of online travel agents and their impact on traditional high street travel agencies, with a focus on European — and particularly British — consumers. Drawing on a survey of 80 industry participants at the World Travel Mart in London (November 2003), the paper tests three hypotheses: that online booking is quicker and easier than using traditional agents; that price is the primary driver of online booking growth; and that consumers genuinely regard online agents as the superior option. The paper presents a literature review, describes the survey methodology, and analyses the findings across four respondent groups: traditional travel agents, online travel agents, holidaymakers, and media/PR professionals.
- Introduction and Overview: Thesis scope, hypotheses, and survey context
- Literature Review: The Rise of Online Travel Booking: Industry data on declining high street agents and online growth
- Three Hypotheses and Their Literature Foundations: Literature support for speed, price, and consumer preference hypotheses
- Methodology: Survey Design and Distribution: Questionnaire design, distribution, and respondent categories
- Findings and Analysis: Survey results analysed against all three hypotheses
- Conclusion: Price, comfort, and ease drive online booking dominance
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper anchors its argument in three clearly stated, testable hypotheses, then returns to each one systematically through the literature review, methodology, and findings sections — giving the work a tight, disciplined structure.
- Primary research (an 80-respondent questionnaire distributed at an industry event) is combined with secondary sources, lending the argument both empirical grounding and contextual breadth.
- The respondent sample is deliberately stratified across four stakeholder groups — traditional agents, online agents, consumers, and media/PR — which strengthens the credibility of the conclusions.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates hypothesis-driven research design: each hypothesis is introduced, reviewed against existing literature, operationalised through specific questionnaire items, and then evaluated against the collected data. This loop — literature → methodology → findings — is a foundational technique in applied social-science research and helps readers follow the logic of each conclusion.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a summary and three hypotheses, then moves through a general literature review (organised as themed questions), individual hypothesis literature reviews, a methodology overview and per-hypothesis breakdowns, findings and analysis mirroring the same structure, and a concise conclusion. An appendix reproduces the full questionnaire. This parallel structure across literature, methodology, and findings sections makes it straightforward to trace any single hypothesis from question to conclusion.
Introduction and Overview
This thesis examines the development of online travel agents and their impact on traditional high street travel agencies, with a particular focus on European consumers. Online bookings for travel and tourism are increasing at a remarkable rate worldwide, and noticeably so in Europe — particularly in Britain.
The thesis considers this development in its social and cultural context by investigating the growth pattern through analysis of a survey undertaken among key players in the travel and tourism industry, who were interviewed at the World Travel Mart held in London in November 2003.
Three main hypotheses are considered throughout:
1. The characteristics of online agents make it quicker and often easier for people to book their own travel online than through traditional high street travel agents.
2. The prices offered by online travel agents are the main factor driving the growth of online travel and tourism bookings.
3. Consumers genuinely believe online agents to be a better option than high street traditional travel agents.
The thesis first examines the rise of online travel and tourism bookings, then presents a literature review addressing each of the three hypotheses. The methodology used to test each hypothesis is then discussed in turn, followed by a Findings and Analysis section presenting the main results of the research.
The research is based on answers given to a questionnaire distributed in November 2003 to delegates of the World Travel Mart in London. Respondents included people running traditional high street travel agents, people running online travel and tourism agencies, people using travel agencies, people using online travel and tourism agencies, and those responsible for promoting travel and tourism within the UK (journalists, PR professionals, etc.). The questionnaire is reproduced in the Appendix; the findings and main conclusions arising from respondents' answers are discussed in detail in later sections.
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