Motivations, attitudes and behaviour towards travel purchase on the World Wide Web : A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management (Honours) at Lincoln University

The travel and tourism industry is facing a crucial time of change with the advent of the Internet and World Wide Web. Over the last few years, the popularisation of the Internet and the Web has led to a proliferation of electronic commerce (e-commerce), with business being increasingly conducted over the Web. The travel and tourism industry is particularly suited to e-commerce as it is information-intensive. To seize the business opportunities that the Internet creates, travel firms need to understand how consumers are being affected by it so that appropriate business strategies can be developed to address their customers' changing needs. The present research directly focuses on this gap in the knowledge about e-commerce in travel and tourism by conducting a preliminary investigation into consumer motivations, attitudes and behaviour towards travel purchase on the World Wide Web. The following hypotheses were tested: (a) Frequent and more experienced users of the Internet have a higher propensity to purchase travel via the Web than do less frequent and less experienced users; (b) people are more likely to purchase travel via the Web for routine travel decisions than for complex travel decisions; (c) people are more likely to purchase individual travel components (air tickets, car rental, accommodation, tour activities) than tour packages on the Web; (d) seasoned travellers are more likely to purchase travel via the Web than are infrequent travellers; and (e) allocentrics have a higher propensity to purchase travel via the Web than do psychocentrics. Two questionnaire surveys were conducted. The first was a mail survey targeted at managers and professionals of firms and organisations in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, selected through systematic sampling (n = 41). The second survey employed a convenience sample of students at Lincoln University (n = 38). The main findings of this research show that (a) managers/professionals who used the Web more frequently were more likely not to purchase travel on the Web than were less frequent users; (b) managers/professionals, but not students, were more likely to purchase travel via the Web for routine travel decisions than for complex travel decisions; (c) people were more likely to purchase individual travel components than tour packages on the Web; (d) there was no significant relationship between frequency of travel and propensity to purchase travel via the Web; and ( e) there was no significant relationship between allocentrism/psychocentrism and propensity to purchase travel via the Web. These and other results have important implications for the travel and tourism industry. They suggest optimism for the future of on-line travel retailing. At the same time, they pose challenges for travel principals, intermediaries and the industry as a whole to respond to the market changes brought about by the Internet. Essentially, on-line travel retailers must overcome the issue about security of transactions, travel agencies need to re-establish their consultation role, and restructuring of the industry is required as the traditional distribution chain alters. Much work remains to be done in understanding online consumer behaviour in travel and tourism. It may be useful for future research to continue from where this study has left off.