INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN USERS AND SYSTEM FLEXIBILITIES WITH PERCEIVED USABILITY OF ONLINE AIRLINE RESERVATION SYSTEMS

It is very critical for the organizations to design flexible systems that are easy to use and can accomplish all the requirements by way of offering customizability. Philosophers argue that users are good in adapting the systems; however, research shows users dissatisfaction with existing Online Airline Reservation Systems in terms of task completion. Therefore, researchers are eager to find out ways for improving online usability of the systems, how users' Perceived Usability of the system is formulated by its flexibility functions. This research therefore examines travelers' expectations, preferences and online behavior (Users' Flexibility) and aligns that with designing of flexible online airline reservation systems (System's Flexibility) and users' as evaluators of the online systems to determine its Perceived Usability through users' effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction (Perceived Usability). In this dissertation, both quantitative and qualitative techniques were used to analyze the data collected in the context of SF, lJF and PU of the systems. A redesign solution for enhanced usability was developed based on HCI guidelines and the flexibility tactics used in online travel agencies, which led to a proposed interface with the integration of opaque mechanism. The two interfaces were used in the experiment. Participants were requested to complete the evaluation of the existing and proposed interfaces. The findings suggested that users can be classified on the basis of their Flexible Traveling Behavior which led to the development of a Users' Flexibility measuring scale. It is further investigated that integration of opaque fares concept would increase the usability of the system. Since flexibility is referred to its ability to respond to internal or external changes, systems incorporated with opaque fares would serve the role of external change agent by way of providing flexibility in users' decision making and will also serve the role of internal change agent by way of providing the capability of accepting changed decisions

PROFILING SOCIAL MEDIA TOURISTS USING LITERATURE DURING 2015-2019: CRIMINAL PROFILING METHOD

With the continuous development of mobile commerce and the Internet, social media has deeply penetrated people’s lives and fundamentally changed the way of searching, reading and using travel-related information. With this backdrop, this research studied social media tourists (SMTs) who share or acquire information related to the hospitality and tourism on social media platforms. Based on 271 empirical articles retrieved from major databases and top hospitality and tourism journals in the recent five years from 2015 to 2019, this research developed a profiling framework about SMTs using criminal profiling method. The findings showed the possibility of using the criminal profiling method to analyze SMTs and provided a holistic personal, social-psychological, and behavioral profile of SMTs. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed

The use of distribution channels by the accommodation sector in the Algarve

Neste trabalho estudamos o problema da dependência do setor do alojamento turístico face aos seus canais de distribuição, uma vez que é um problema relevante para vários países europeus. Uma das razões é o rápido crescimento da influência das principais OTA (Online Travel Agencies) no setor de alojamento turístico. Estas agências tendem a pressionar os fornecedores de alojamento a aceitar os seus termos e condições através da sua posição oligopólica no mercado. Após tomar medidas preventivas a Comissão Europeia e as entidades reguladoras a nível nacional sentem necessidade de continuar a monitorizar a situação do mercado de distribuição de alojamento turístico. De dois em dois anos a HOTREC (Confederação Europeia das Associações de Hotelaria, Restauração, Cafetaria e Similares), efectua um estudo que tem como objectivo a identificação da quota de mercado dos diferentes canais de distribuição no setor hoteleiro europeu. Dado que os resultados deste estudo não incluem Portugal, decidimos realizar um estudo semelhante no Algarve, a região portuguesa que registou maior número de dormidas no setor, com o objectivo de avaliar a relação entre os fornecedores de alojamento no Algarve e os canais de distribuição que utilizam. Com base na replicação do estudo da HOTREC sobre a distribuição de hotéis Europeu (Schegg, 2018) no Algarve (com algumas adaptações), os principais objetivos deste estudo são (1) determinar a quota de mercado dos canais de distribuição utilizados pelo setor de alojamento no Algarve; (2) identificar o canal de distribuição dominante; (3) avaliar a quota de mercado das principais agências de viagens online; (4) identificar a provável pressão exercida pela OTA sobre os fornecedores de alojamento, e por fim, (5) avaliar a quota de mercado dos principais canais de distribuição nos diferentes segmentos de alojamento. A investigação empírica analiza dados fornecidos por 50 estabelecimentos de alojamento do Algarve, durante os meses de janeiro a março 2019. Os dados permitiram definir as quotas de mercado de cada canal de distribuição e identificadar os três principais canais utilizados pelo setor de alojamento no Algarve: canais directos (com quota de mercado de 35,2%), operadores turísticos/agentes de viagens (quota de mercado de 29,1%) e OTA (16,6%). Os resultados do estudo demonstram, ainda, que os fornecedores de alojamento no Algarve se apresentam bastante dependentes de operadores turísticos, embora tentem diversificar a sua carteira de distribuição de modo a diminuir a pressão excessiva dos intermediários. Assim o nosso estudo permitiu demonstrar que, comparativamente com o estudo da HOTREC, não existe nenhum canal de distribuição particularmente dominante no Algarve. A análise da quota de mercado das agências de viagens online revela que os líderes de mercado são a Booking.com (38,5% de reservas) e a Expedia (14,2%), que também lideram no mercado europeu. Contudo, e contrariamente à maioria dos países europeus, as agências de viagens online não são o canal de distribuição dominante no Algarve. Consequentemente,a maioria dos participantes do inquérito (67,4%) respondeu que não se sente pressionada pelas principais agências de viagens online. Além disso, a maioria dos participantes afirma não ter qualquer tipo de conflito com as agências de viagens online (54,7%) e outros 40,4% dos participantes consideram que existe um método justo e efetivo para resolver desentendimentos com agências de viagens online caso venham a ocorrer. A análise por segmentos demonstra que os operadores turísticos dominam entre os hotéis que estão abertos todo o ano. A sua quota de mercado é mais elevada entre hotéis de 3 e 4 estrelas. Além disso, os números demonstram que a quota de mercado dos operadores turísticos aumenta de acordo com o tamanho de hotel. Por sua vez, a quota de reserva de operadores turísticos é maior para cadeias de hotéis do que hotéis independentes. A relação entre as OTA e os fornecedores de alojamento turístico é inversamente proporcional às destes com os operadores turísticos, ou seja, os segmentos com menor utilização dos operadores turísticos dependem mais das OTA e vice-versa. Por exemplo, hotéis com negócios sazonais, hotéis de tamanho pequeno e médio, hotéis de duas estrelas e alojamentos sem classificação por estrela (hosteis e apartamentos turísticos), ou hotéis independentes (sem cadeia) têm maior dependência das OTA do que operadores turísticos. O presente estudo também inclui um teste de hipóteses para identificar a dependência da quota de mercado dos três maiores canais de distribuição (canais diretos, operadores turísticos e OTA ) de fatores como o tamanho do estabelecimento, tipo de gestão, e localização. Os resultados demonstram que existe uma diferença estatística relevante na quota de mercado de operadores turísticos em grupos com diferentes tamanhos. Por exemplo, entre hotéis pequenos, a quota de mercado média dos operadores turísticos é de 12,0%, entre hotéis de tamanho médio 26,6% e entre hotéis grandes 32,5%. A relação de dependência entrequota de mercado dos canais diretos e OTA e o tamanho do estabelecimento não foi confirmada. Existe, também, dependência entre a quota das reservas dos operadores turísticos e o tipo de gestão hoteleira. Por exemplo, os hotéis independentes têm apenas 21,9% da quota de mercado dos operadores turísticos, enquanto que para as cadeias hoteleiras este indicador é, em média, 30,7%. A relação de dependência da quota de mercado dos canais diretos e das OTA e o tipo de gestão do estabelecimento não foi confirmada. A análise da localização geográfica confirma que a quota de mercado das OTA entre os hotéis localizados junto à costa marítima é, em média, 27,4% enquanto que os estabelecimentos situados noutros locais apresenta uma quota das reservas através das agências de viagens mais baixa – 16,9%. A relação de dependência da quota de mercado dos canais diretos e dos operadores turísticos e a localização do estabelecimento não foi confirmada. Concluímos que os estabelecimentos de alojamento no Algarve têm um diversificado portfólio de canais de distribuição. Estes resultados são encorajadores, porque isso significa que os fornecedores de alojamento no Algarve podem evitar a sobrepressão dos canais de distribuição. Isto pode também indicar que os hotéis têm um grau relativamente alto de liberdade para estabelecer e conduzir negociações com canais de distribuição, evitando conflitos e discriminação de preços. Podemos ainda afirmar que para além do conhecimento que adquirimos sobre as relações de (in)dependência dos alojamentos turísticos do Algarve face aos seus canais de distribuição, até aqui inexistente este estudo contribui significativamente para a reflexão sobre a abordagem metodológica, nomeadamente apresenta procedimentos úteis sobre como melhorar o desenhodo questionário e o processo de recolha de dados, para a realização futura de estudos semelhantes a nível nacional.This work addresses the problem of the dependence of the tourism accommodation sector on its distribution channels. As some channels tend to dominate the market, they abuse their oligopoly position to force accommodation suppliers to accept their terms and conditions. This is why we aim to evaluate the situation related to the relationships between accommodation providers in the Algarve and the distribution channels they use. Aiming to reproduce the European Hotel Distribution Study (Schegg, 2018) in the Algarve (with some adaptations) the main goals of this study are (1) to determine the market share of distribution channels used by the accommodation sector in the Algarve; (2) to identify the dominant distribution channel; (3) to assess the market share of major online travel agencies; (4) to uncover the probable pressure of online travel agencies on the accommodation suppliers; (5) to evaluate the market share of major distribution channels within different accommodation segments. The empirical investigation analyzes data provided by 50 accommodation establishments of the Algarve, during the months of January-March 2019, through which we defined the market share of each distribution channel. As a result, three main distribution channels used by the Algarve accommodation sector were identified: direct channels, tour operators/travel agents and online travel agencies. The analysis of the market share of leading online travel agencies revealed as market leaders, Booking.com and Expedia, which are also the market leaders across Europe. The results allowed to characterize the distribution channels’ market share within different accommodation segments, classified by seasonality, stars, size, location, main customer segment, and type of management. The research indicates that accommodation suppliers in the Algarve are still significantly dependent on tour operators. However, they try to diversify their distribution portfolio to avoid overpressure from intermediaries. This study concludes by presenting a portfolio of distribution channels used by the accommodation suppliers in the Algarve and the definition of main factors influencing channels’ market share

Application of Big Data in Tourism Destination Management: A Case Study of Changsha City

In the era of information technology, the utilization of big data technology is rapidly growing, leading to significant changes in the tourism industry. Big data not only creates more business opportunities for the industry but also drives the transformation and enhancement of tourist destinations and the implementation of efficient management. This study employs two research methods: literature review and case analysis. Firstly, by reviewing relevant literature, the latest research findings and trends in big data technology for tourism destination management are summarized. Secondly, through case analysis, a comprehensive understanding of the current situation and challenges in the application of big data technology in tourism destination management in Changsha is obtained. Leveraging the Changsha cultural and tourism data platform, this study retrieves information such as tourist reception data of tourism destinations in Changsha and assesses the impact of Changsha’s big data technology on tourism destination management. The research reveals limitations and challenges in the application of big data technology in Changsha’s tourism destination management, including data privacy protection and technical security, which require further exploration in future practices. The goal of this study is to offer insights for the application of big data in tourism destination management in Changsha and provide guidance for destination managers in similar cities

OntoTouTra: tourist traceability ontology based on big data analytics

Tourist traceability is the analysis of the set of actions, procedures, and technical measures that allows us to identify and record the space–time causality of the tourist’s touring, from the beginning to the end of the chain of the tourist product. Besides, the traceability of tourists has implications for infrastructure, transport, products, marketing, the commercial viability of the industry, and the management of the destination’s social, environmental, and cultural impact. To this end, a tourist traceability system requires a knowledge base for processing elements, such as functions, objects, events, and logical connectors among them. A knowledge base provides us with information on the preparation, planning, and implementation or operation stages. In this regard, unifying tourism terminology in a traceability system is a challenge because we need a central repository that promotes standards for tourists and suppliers in forming a formal body of knowledge representation. Some studies are related to the construction of ontologies in tourism, but none focus on tourist traceability systems. For the above, we propose OntoTouTra, an ontology that uses formal specifications to represent knowledge of tourist traceability systems. This paper outlines the development of the OntoTouTra ontology and how we gathered and processed data from ubiquitous computing using Big Data analysis techniquesThis research was financially supported by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation of Colombia (733-2015) and by the Universidad Santo Tomás Seccional Tunja

The value and structuring role of web APIs in digital innovation ecosystems: the case of the online travel ecosystem

Interfaces play a key role in facilitating the integration of external sources of innovation and structuring ecosystems. They have been conceptualized as design rules that ensure the interoperability of independently produced modules, with important strategic value for lead firms to attract and control access to complementary assets in platform ecosystems. While meaningful, these theorizations do not fully capture the value and structuring role of web APIs in digital innovation ecosystems. We show this with an empirical study of the online travel ecosystem in the 26 years (1995–2021) after the first Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) were launched. Our findings reveal that web APIs foster a dynamic digital innovation ecosystem with a distributed networked structure in which multiple actors design and use them. We provide evidence of an ecosystem where decentralized interfaces enable decentralized governance and where interfaces establish not only cooperative relationships, but also competitive ones. Instead of locking in complementors, web APIs enable the integration of capabilities from multiple organizations for the co-production of services and products, by interfacing their information systems. Web APIs are important sources of value creation and capture, increasingly being used to offer or sell services, constituting important sources of revenue

An Intelligent Customization Framework for Tourist Trip Design Problems

In the era of the experience economy, “customized tours” and “self-guided tours” have become mainstream. This paper proposes an end-to-end framework for solving the tourist trip design problems (TTDP) using deep reinforcement learning (DRL) and data analysis. The proposed approach considers heterogeneous tourist preferences, customized requirements, and stochastic traffic times in real applications. With various heuristics methods, our approach is scalable without retraining for every new problem instance, which can automatically adapt the solution when the problem constraint changes slightly. We aim to provide websites or users with software tools that make it easier to solve TTDP, promoting the development of smart tourism and customized tourism

Patterns and Pathways: Applying Social Network Analysis to Understand User Behavior in the Tourism Industry Websites

The contemporary tourism landscape is undergoing rapid digitization, necessitating a nuanced comprehension of online user behavior to guide data-driven decision-making. This research bridges an existing gap by investigating the tourism website ecosystem through social network analysis. It focuses specifically on inter-website communication patterns based on user navigation. Data mining facilitates the identification of 162 core Iranian tourism websites, which are visualized as an interconnected network with websites as nodes and user transitions as weighted directed edges. By implementing community detection, eight key clusters are discerned, encompassing domains like ticket/tour bookings, accommodations, location services, and cuisine. Further analysis of inter-community relationships reveals website groupings frequently accessed together by users, highlighting complementary services sought during travel planning. The research derives invaluable insights into user preferences and information propagation within the tourism ecosystem. The methodology and findings contribute original perspectives to academia while offering pragmatic strategic recommendations to industry stakeholders like service providers, investors, and policymakers. This pioneering exploration of latent user behavior patterns advances comprehension of the evolving digital tourism landscape in Iran. It contributes pathways toward a sustainable future vision of the ecosystem, guiding stakeholders in targeted decision-making based on empirical evidence derived from social network analysis of websites and consumption patterns. The innovative methodology expands the toolkit for data-driven tourism research within academia