A Study of the Website Performance of Travel Agencies Based on the EMICA Model

Abstract

Recent developments in information technologies (ITs), in particular the popularity of the Internet in the early 1990s, have changed the way that tourism businesses communicate with its customers and the way that promotion and sales of tourism products are conducted. Travel agencies with established websites are in a position to undertake productive marketing activities. This paper uses the extended Model of Internet Commerce Adoption (eMICA) to evaluate the web-site performance of travel agencies in China, with some modifications of the model for the purpose of the study. The results showed that travel agencies in China were not utilizing the Internet to its full potential, particularly in terms of marketing using its websites. Suggestions and recommendations are also provided based on the findings of this research .