Influence of internet on consumer behaviour in tourism.

Grgona, Jadranko ; Andrlic, Berislav ; Del Vechio, Manuel 等

1. INTRODUCTION

Tourism is at the same time one of the most significant yet misunderstood phenomenon nowdays. The globalisation process is characterised by stronger competition and ever-stricter marketing conditions. Therefore, marketing management in tourism and consumer behaviour become a necessity in the struggle for a market and buyers resulting in continuous work in this field.

There is a general lack of information on how these consumers use the Internet for information, booking and purchase of travel products and services. The aim of this paper is to determine influence of Internet on consumer behaviour in tourism and to identify the levels of usage of Internet in student population. By using scientific methods of interview, analysis and synthesis, purpose and terms of certain parts of research are described.

2. CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR IN TOURISM

The consumers buying behavior in tourism has been always a interesting marketing theme, extensively studied and debated over the last decades. Consumers buying behaviour is behaviour of final customers who buy goods or services for personal consumption. The central point og marketing planning in tourism is to identify how tourists respond to the different marketing stimuli, becacuse they are very heterogeneous social group (Senecic & Grgona, 2006).

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

The predominant approach, explaining the fundamentals of consumer behavior, describes the consumer buying process as a learning, information-processing and decision-making activity divided in several consequent steps (Engel, et al., 1995):

1. Problem identification

2. Information search

3. Alternatives evaluation

4. Purchasing decision

5. Post-purchase behavior

The starting point for studying consumer buying behavior is the stimulus response model shown in Figure 1. As this model shows, both marketing and environmental stimuli enter the tourist's consciousness. In turn, the tourist's characteristics and decision process lead to certain purchase decisions. The marketer's task is to research what happens in the tourist's consciousness between the arrival of outside stimuli and the tourists's purchase decisions. As this model shows, a consumer's buying behavior is influenced by internal and external factors. Starting with problem recognition, the tourist passes through the stages of information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post purchase behavior. As this approach demonstrates, the buying process in tourism starts long before the actual purchase and has consequences long afterward. (Kotler, 2001). Although the approach implies that tourists pass sequentially through all five stages in buying a product, tourists sometimes may skip or reverse some stages. However, this model captures the full range of considerations that arise when a consumer faces a highly involving new purchase.

3. THE IMPACT OF THE INTERNET ON BUYING BEHAVIOUR IN TOURISM

Information technology has changed fundamentally the very nature of marketing in tourism. Traditional marketing activities are being translated into their electronic equivalents which gives rise to entirely new and particular form of e-marketing in tourism. The development of the Internet and the World Wide Web in the 1990s as a means for the global sharing of information has opened up a whole range of new possibilities in marketing practice. The Internet serves as a new communication and distribution channel for e-travellers and suppliers of travel services and products (Law et al., 2004). The changes in information technology are at the same time threatening and stimulating for the potentials of business entities to develop enduring relationships with their customers, which sustains the theory of marketing relationship. Internet enables the customer to be in direct contact with business entity any time of day or night, from any location, providing him with all the information necessary for buying. The information can be tailored to the needs of a specific customer. Internet is also an easy tool that enables the customers to find available information on competitive products and services. he Internet provides them with the means to gain immediate access to relevant information of greater variety and depth than has been available previously, about destinations throughout the world; and to book quickly and easily. For tourism destinations and businesses, it offers the potential to make information and booking facilities available to large numbers of consumers at relatively low cost; it enables them to make large-scale savings on the production and distribution of print and on other traditional activities (e.g. call centres and information centres); and it provide a tool for communication and relationship development with tourism suppliers and market intermediaries, as well as end-consumers. It is also an easy way for the business entities to find new consumers while at the same time rendering their services to the existing ones. For that purpose they use databases containing personal profiles of customers. Tourism products and services are perfectly suited to online selling because they possess the necessary characteristics that can function in the electronic environment. three main characteristics of products and services are likely to influence Internet usage for both information searching and making online purchases. These are: cost and frequency of purchase; value proposition; and degree of differentiation. (Peterson et al., 1997). Tourism products engage a higher level of involvement, intangibility and higher level of differentiation than other tangible consumer goods and, therefore, are more easily sold through the Web. The development in electronic communication is significant for tourism marketers who sell a perishable, intangible, heterogeneous and high-risk product. The ease of description and commodity-like nature of many travel products (i.e. airline seats or hotel rooms) also favour the development of electronic commerce (Lewis & Semeijn, 1998).

4. RESEARCH RESULTS

The consumer's decision in the tourism sector is very complex because he demands services in several areas of the economy. E-marketing is growing at a dramatic pace and is significantly impacting customer and business market behaviour in tourism. Because of these reasons, main focus of further research is influence of Internet on buying behaviour in tourism. There is a general lack of information of how students use Internet for information, booking and purchase of travel products and services. This research is exploratory, in that it tests ideas about what factors are important to decisions about Internet purchases in tourism. The purpose of research is to examine the relationships between Internet purchasing and tourist factors. Specifically, how do tourist personal factors affect individual intentions to make Internet purchases and actual purchasing behavior? To answer this question, a empirical research was conducted. Data collection took place in April 2008. A sample of 120 students were recruited from all studies of Polytechnic of Pozega to complete a survey that contained questions about influence of Internet on buying behaviour in tourism.

It is difficult to imagine that today exists big number of students who do not use Internet for information and buying in tourism. Presently there are no relevant information on the degree of e-marketing usage by student users in eastern Croatia. On the basis of this research, we can conclude that Croatian students, even though limited by a considerably small number of Internet users, still have to change their consumer habits and to follow the trends of more developed countries.

5. CONCLUSION

The rapid development of modern telecommunication and digital technology, and the resulting Internet technology, provides a number of new possibilities in marketing in tourism. Nevertheless, it seems that the vast majority of students prefer personal contact to make a buying decision. In the tourism sector, however, the use of Internet for this purpose is below average in eastern Croatia.

It is possible to conclude that e-marketing will grove at a dramatic pace and significantly impact customer and business market behaviour in tourism, what will be the subject of future research.

6. REFERENCES

Engel F. J., Blackwell D. R. & Miniard W. P. (1995). Consumer Behavior, The Dryden Press, ISBN 0-03-076751-2, Fort Worth

Kotler, P. (2001). Marketing Management, Prentice-Hall, Inc., ISBN 0-536-63099-2, New Jersey

Law, R., Leung, K. & Wong, J. (2004). The impact of the Internet on travel agencies, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 16, No.2, p.100-107. ISSN 09596119

Lewis, I. & Semeijn, J. (1998). The impact of information technology on travel agents, Transportation Journal, Vol. 37 No. 4, pp. 20-26.

Peterson, R.A., Balasubramanian, S. & Bronnenberg, B.J. (1997). Exploring the implications of the Internet for consumer marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 24, pp. 329-346.

Senecic, J. & Grgona J. (2006). Marketing management in tourism, Informator, ISBN 953-6286-74-2, Zagreb

Tab. 1. Level of Internet usage

1. Do you you use internet for information and buying in tourism?

Yes 49 40, 83%
No 68 56, 66%
Without answer 3 2, 51%

Tab. 2. Reasons for nonuse of Internet

2. Which are the reasons nonuse of Internet for
information and buying in tourism?

I don't have Internet 16 23,52%
access

Unsufficient 14 20,58%
knowledge about
Internet possibilities

Paying risk and 31 45,58%
privacy

Other ways of buying 6 10,32%

Tab. 3. Other sources in buyer decision process

3. Which other sources you use for in buyer decision
process in tourism?

Radio 3 4,41%
TV 4 5,88%
Magazines 9 13,23%
Friends 24 35,29%
Family 18 26,47%
Company's staff 6 8,82%
Own experience 4 5,9%

Tab. 4. Place of living

4. Where do you live?

Pozesko slavonska county 12 17, 64%
Osjecko baranjska county 20 29, 41%
Brodsko posavska county 25 36, 76%
Vukovarsko srijemska county 11 16, 19%

Tab. 5. Tourists segmentation

Male 42 61, 76%
Female 26 38, 24%