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Managing online distribution for tourism growth in India

Managing online distribution for tourism growth in India Purpose – With the growing use of the internet, online distribution is emerging a communication and distribution channel. This paper aims to explore the role of the internet as a tool for sustainable tourism in India, especially as deployed by a large segment of three star and four star hotels in India. It discusses the practices currently employed by the mid‐segment hotels for the distribution of their services and seeks to delineate how they can use this as a tool for working towards sustainable growth. Design/methodology/approach – The paper discusses how selected hotels in the National Capital Region (Delhi) are deploying online distribution. Their web sites have been assessed to evaluate how they fare in a generic search on the three major search agents currently being used in India: Yahoo, MSN and Google. The web sites are assessed as to whether they are likely to attract and provide enough information to potential tourists. Discussions with practitioners from the industry have also been incorporated to give more conclusive insights into how they practice the online distribution of their services. Findings – The paper points at elements which should be incorporated while designing the web sites so as to effectively distribute their inventory and make it easily accessible to tourists looking for accommodation. This will reduce the intermediaries involved and, as this is paperless transaction, result in sustainable low‐cost economic growth. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides an insight into what consumers have access to when they search for hotels via different search engines and whether or not this information is sufficient to precipitate a decision when choosing a particular hotel. If this can be managed effectively, customers can go online for all their bookings. This would yield cost savings for the organization and the customer, and in so doing, contribute to sustainable growth. Practical implications – These findings are relevant to academics and practitioners as they offer an insight into online distribution channel management and communications with potential customers. Originality/value – Relatively few studies have been conducted in the field of online distribution in the hospitality industry. This paper aims to assist hospitality operators in framing strategies to use the internet as a tool for sustainable tourism. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes Emerald Publishing

Managing online distribution for tourism growth in India

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References (20)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1755-4217
DOI
10.1108/17554210910949878
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – With the growing use of the internet, online distribution is emerging a communication and distribution channel. This paper aims to explore the role of the internet as a tool for sustainable tourism in India, especially as deployed by a large segment of three star and four star hotels in India. It discusses the practices currently employed by the mid‐segment hotels for the distribution of their services and seeks to delineate how they can use this as a tool for working towards sustainable growth. Design/methodology/approach – The paper discusses how selected hotels in the National Capital Region (Delhi) are deploying online distribution. Their web sites have been assessed to evaluate how they fare in a generic search on the three major search agents currently being used in India: Yahoo, MSN and Google. The web sites are assessed as to whether they are likely to attract and provide enough information to potential tourists. Discussions with practitioners from the industry have also been incorporated to give more conclusive insights into how they practice the online distribution of their services. Findings – The paper points at elements which should be incorporated while designing the web sites so as to effectively distribute their inventory and make it easily accessible to tourists looking for accommodation. This will reduce the intermediaries involved and, as this is paperless transaction, result in sustainable low‐cost economic growth. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides an insight into what consumers have access to when they search for hotels via different search engines and whether or not this information is sufficient to precipitate a decision when choosing a particular hotel. If this can be managed effectively, customers can go online for all their bookings. This would yield cost savings for the organization and the customer, and in so doing, contribute to sustainable growth. Practical implications – These findings are relevant to academics and practitioners as they offer an insight into online distribution channel management and communications with potential customers. Originality/value – Relatively few studies have been conducted in the field of online distribution in the hospitality industry. This paper aims to assist hospitality operators in framing strategies to use the internet as a tool for sustainable tourism.

Journal

Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes – Emerald Publishing

Published: Apr 10, 2009

Keywords: Internet; India; Tourism; Sustainable development; Hotels; Information retrieval

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