Abstract
The emergence of the Internet altered the structure of the tourism industry as it changed dramatically best operational and strategic practices. This paper aims at examining these changes by using Porter’s model of industry analysis (5 Forces). It identifies how the Internet has changed the five forces and the competitive position of each of the key players and how the tourism industry is shaped. Data were collected by qualitative methods, as the study is exploratory in nature, and were analysed by content analysis. The results depicted the strategic impact of the internet primarily on tourism suppliers such as Hotels, Airlines, whilst intermediaries such as Travel Agencies (TAs) and Tour Operators (TOs) are also examined. The study concludes that rivalry has increased dramatically; bargaining power of both buyers (consumers) and suppliers (principals) has been strengthened due to their ability to communicate directly at the expense of the position of intermediaries.
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Buhalis, D., Zoge, M. (2007). The Strategic Impact of the Internet on the Tourism Industry. In: Sigala, M., Mich, L., Murphy, J. (eds) Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2007. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-211-69566-1_44
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-211-69566-1_44
Publisher Name: Springer, Vienna
Print ISBN: 978-3-211-69564-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-211-69566-1