Title: Attributes of tourism distribution channels: a conceptual study

Authors: M. Raghul; Jitendra Mohan Mishra

Addresses: Department of Tourism Studies, Pondicherry University, Puducherry – 605014, India ' Department of Tourism Studies, Pondicherry University, Puducherry – 605014, India

Abstract: This paper summarises the attributes of tourism products under the heads of leisure travel, accommodation, business travel, quality issues, service quality management and the effects of the information technology on the tourism supply chains. In the up-market product of leisure travel, the perceptions of tourists are based on obtained quality and process of service rather than expected bench-marks. Operators are found to be more interested in the business travel for their price insensitivity than leisure travel, which is a major revenue generator for the operators. The distribution of accommodation services is influenced by factors including the style of the relevant establishment, the scale of operation, the location, the target people and the budget. The accommodation sector on the contrary is highly dependent upon the intermediaries for obtaining business and marketing. The companies not able to adapt to the changes find it difficult to grow and survive in the competitive environment.

Keywords: tourism distribution channels; leisure travel; business travel; accommodation; service quality; tourism products; quality management; information technology; tourism supply chains; supply chain management; SCM; tourist perceptions; marketing.

DOI: 10.1504/IJQRS.2013.056339

International Journal of Qualitative Research in Services, 2013 Vol.1 No.2, pp.125 - 134

Received: 20 Dec 2012
Accepted: 19 Mar 2013
Published online: 05 Jul 2014 *

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