Determinants of the selection of travel agencies on Polish tourist services market

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to present differences regarding the sources of searching for information about the travel agency, the determinants which the respondents follow when purchasing tourist events in a given travel agency and the main purposes of the journey, taking into account the respondents’ place of residence. The research used the method of a diagnostic survey using the direct questionnaire technique. The research was carried out in 2017 in various regions of Poland among residents using off-line services of travel agencies (tourism organizers). A fivepoint Likert scale was used to measure attitudes. The size of the research sample was based on the size of the adult population of Poland. A layered selection was used, in which respondents were selected on the basis of availability, taking into account the criteria related to adulthood, gender and age. Statistica 13.1 PL was used for statistical calculations. The discriminant function analysis was used. The tourist services market is a very variable and difficult to predict market. Research of the author of the paper indicates that for people living in villages and small towns the most important thing is the recommendation of a travel agency by friends, a well-known brand to which tourists are convinced and a price. For people from medium-sized cities, location of travel agency is very important, and the inhabitants of large cities pay particular attention to the rich offer of travel agencies and adjustment of the tourist event to individual needs of clients. The least important is the equipment and decoration of the office.