Assessing Structure of Online Channel Use By American Travelers

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 1

Assessing structure of online channel use

By American travelers Yeongbae Choe

Daniel R. Fesenmaier

National Laboratory of Tourism & eCommerceSchool of Tourism and Hospitality Management

Temple University, Philadelphia, USA


IntroductionInternet

• Obtaining/ SharingInformation

• Trip Planning (pre-, during)

• Purchasing products/services

Travelers

• DMOs, Travel Companies

• Connecting the industry and travel markets

• Key components

Suppliers

The Internet has transformed travelers’ behaviors as well as the distribution of the information in many different ways


Introduction

• Consequently, a considerable amount of research have been conducted to understand the use of Internet for trip planning.– User characteristics, the impact, influencing factors, media repertoire etc.– (e.g. Bieger & Laesser, 2004; Beritelli, Bieger, & Laesser, 2007; Gretzel, Hwang, &

Fesenmaier, 2012; Hsieh, & O’Leary, 1993; Hyde, 2007; Pan & Fesenmaier, 2006).

• However, relatively little of research has focused on the hierarchical structure of online channel use for trip planning.– Indeed, people only use a small number of information channels

based on their needs, a set of constraints and etc.


Introduction

General SearchPortal Site

Destination Official Sites

Online ReviewSites

Social MediaSites

Various Internetwebsites

Hotel Websites


Research Objectives

• The objective of this study

– to identify how online trip planners combine the various online channels for their trip planning, especially focusing on their structural relationships

– to categorize online trip planners according by the use of online channel

– to examine any differences in demographic, information, and online behaviors between respective groups


Methodology

• A national-wide online survey was conducted from January 7-9, 2013– Population: Americans who had travelled and used the Internet during the

calendar year 2012

• Data collected 1,043 usable samples (total 1,184 respondents)– Only used someone who used the Internet and had taken a trip 50 miles or

more, one-way from home or that included an overnight stay

– Respondents were asked which of the 14 online channels they used

• Analysis– Guttman scaling procedure, Cross-tabulation, ANOVA


Respondents CharacteristicsVariable Percentage Variable PercentageGender: Annual household income: Male 49.0 Less than $20,000 7.2 Female 51.0 $20,000 - $29,999 8.6Age: $30,000 - $39,999 10.7 18 - 21 years 4.6 $40,000 - $49,999 11.1 22 - 29 years 16.8 $50,000 - $74,999 22.6 30 - 39 years 20.8 $75,000 - $99,999 17.1 40 - 49 years 17.6 $100,000 - $149,999 12.8 50 - 59 years 19.8 $150,000 - $199,999 4.6 60 - 69 years 16.2 $200,000 or more 2.0 70 and above 4.2 Highest education level: Current employment: Less than high school 0.9 Employed full-time 49.2 Completed high school 11.9 Employed part-time 14.8 Some college, not completed 29.3 Retired 16.2 Completed college 37.4 Not employed 18.5 Post graduate work 20.1


Use of online channelsOnline Channel Frequency %Online travel agency sites (Expedia.com, Travelocity.com, or Orbitz.com) 707 69.0Company sites (airlines, hotels, rental cars or tour operators) 635 62.0Search engines (Yahoo!, Google or Bing) 592 57.8Destination sites (provided by a city, state or attraction) 412 40.2Travel Search Engines (Kayak) 268 26.1Travel review sites (IGOUGO, Yelp! or TripAdvisor) 193 18.8Social networking sites (Myspace, Facebook or Pinterest) 167 16.3General travel sites (offering free travel brochures about destinations) 166 16.2Travel guidebook sites (Fodors, Frommers or Lonely Planet) 123 12.0Photo or video sharing sites (YouTube, Instagram, or Flickr) 113 11.0Newspaper or magazine sites (New York Times or Conde Nast Traveler) 107 10.4Special interest and online community sites 94 9.2Personal blogs 64 6.2Micro blogs (Twitter or Tumblr) 39 3.8


Structure of Online channel use

• Guttman Scaling– The goal of the analysis is to derive a single dimension that can be used to

position both the questions and the subjects

– In this study, it is used to examine the cumulative structure of online channel use during an online trip planning stage

• Procedure– 1) construct a scalogram based on the number of online channel use

– 2) derive the ideal patterns and actual patterns from raw data

– 3) calculate the amount of error (differences between two patterns)

– 4) check the criteria (i.e. CR, MMR, and CS)


Structure of Online channel useNumber of online channel use1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+

Online travel agency sites 48 64 69 73 80 79 92 95Company sites 31 53 67 72 76 83 82 91Search engines 10 49 63 73 82 87 88 97Destination sites 3 17 38 55 69 79 78 89Travel Search Engines 2 7 18 33 40 60 66 82Travel review sites 2 2 8 20 25 63 52 77Social networking sites 1 4 9 18 28 37 34 62Photo or video sharing sites 0 1 4 12 19 16 20 70General travel sites 1 2 10 14 31 30 58 65Newspaper or magazine sites 2 1 6 6 12 11 32 74Travel guidebook sites 1 1 4 11 15 32 38 70Special interest and online community 1 1 4 8 14 13 28 53Personal blogs 1 1 2 5 4 6 20 50Micro blogs 0 0 1 0 4 3 12 38Number of responses 200 200 200 147 99 63 50 66

Coefficient of reproducibility (CR) =0.89; Minimum marginal reproducibility (MMR) =0.67; Percentage improvement=0.22; Coefficient of Scalability (CS) =0.67.


Group 1

CoreTravelSearch

Group 2

EnhancedTravelSearch

Group 3

TravelFocusedSearch

Group 4

Compre-hensiveSearch


Differences in demographic char. Core Enhanced

Travel Focused

Comprehensive

X2

Current employment: 26.753** Employed full-time 43.8 48.4 58.0 60.6 Employed part-time 14.3 15.3 13.2 21.2 Retired 19.0 16.1 12.3 12.1 Not employed 21.3 18.7 16.5 6.1Education: 45.158*** Less than high school .8 1.2 .9 - Completed high school 17.5 8.1 9.9 3.0 Some college, not completed 32.5 29.1 23.1 28.8 Completed college 34.8 38.6 37.7 45.5 Post graduate 14.3 22.2 28.3 22.7Age Generation 22.785* Young (1990 ~ 1994) 9.0 6.3 5.2 9.1 Gen Y (1981 ~ 1989) 18.0 19.0 21.7 30.3 Gen X (1965 ~ 1980) 25.8 30.0 29.2 36.4 Baby Boomers (1946 ~ 1964) 38.8 38.6 40.1 19.7 Greatest (1924 ~ 1945) 8.5 6.1 3.8 4.5

Note: Age, Gender, and Household Income are not significantly different


Differences in information searchingCore Enhanced

Travel Focused

Comprehensive

Total F-value

Information Types Hotel prices or places to stay 55.8abc 74.6ad 85.4bd 89.4c 70.4 28.225*** Info. about a particular destination 53.0abc 72.6ade 87.3bd 93.9ce 69.4 37.965*** Airline fares and schedules/flight times 53.5abc 65.7de 74.1b 86.4ce 64.0 14.979*** Things to do at the destination 23.0abc 53.3ade 72.6bdf 89.4cef 47.8 83.027*** Potential destinations to visit 26.0abc 48.4ade 70.3bd 80.3ce 46.2 56.836*** Rental car prices and availability 29.8abc 38.0de 57.1bdf 81.8cef 41.6 32.677*** Travel discount or promotion 20.3abc 39.8ade 61.3bd 74.2ce 38.8 53.064*** Dining and entertainment 16.3abc 39.2ade 64.6bdf 83.3cef 38.3 83.087*** Maps and/or driving directions 15.5abc 32.6ade 50.5bd 63.6ce 31.6 42.744*** Local event calendars at the destination 8.3abc 26.8ade 46.2bdf 69.7cef 26.3 69.903*** Travel packages for resorts, etc. 11.0abc 27.1ade 40.6bdf 66.7cef 26.1 47.971*** Stores or other places to shop 11.8abc 26.8ade 38.2bdf 68.2cef 26.0 45.099*** Cruises 9.0abc 21.0ade 33.0bdf 56.1cef 21.1 37.536*** Sites that distribute travel brochures 1.0abc 8.1ade 20.8bdf 53.0cef 10.8 75.503*** 800 numbers 1.8bc 2.3de 10.8bdf 34.8cef 6.0 48.742***Number of information searched 3.36abc 5.76ade 8.13bdf 10.91cef 5.64 253.078***


Differences in product purchasingCore Enhanced

Travel Focused

Comprehensive

Total F-value

Online Trip products purchases

Lodging accommodations 59.8abc 75.9a 77.0b 89.1c 70.8 13.722***

Airline tickets 68.2c 61.3de 78.0cd 89.1e 69.3 9.856***

Car Rental 35.3bc 40.9de 55.5bdf 79.7cef 44.4 19.811***

Tickets to attractions/events 22.6abc 44.9ade 60.5bdf 78.1cef 41.8 45.894***

Travel package 8.2abc 17.6ae 21.5bf 53.1cef 17.2 29.734***

Cruise Reservations 5.7bc 10.2e 13.5bf 40.6cef 11.2 24.394***

Sport activity reservations 1.9abc 8.7ae 13.0bf 34.4cef 8.7 28.688***

RV rental/purchase 0.5c 2.5e 2.5f 21.9cef 3.0 31.149***

Average number of purchased product 2.17abc 2.91ade 3.97bdf 6.70cef 3.10 137.979***

Average spending on trips

Pleasure trips 1737abc 2289ade 3193bdf 4272cef 2409 30.457***

Business trips 1803c 2353e 2543f 3721cef 2420 5.053**


Conclusions

• The results of this study confirm that there is a strong hierarchical pattern in the use of online channels for trip planning by American travellers. – Online travel agency sites are “essential” for all travellers and build the

foundation for all other channels

• Online trip planners differ – in terms of demographic, information searching behaviour, trip product

purchasing behaviour, and spending on trip


Discussion• Theoretical Contributions

– Identifies the use of information channels is uni-dimensional

– Travellers can be categorized into several groups based on the level of media use

• Practical Implications– DMOs and tourism suppliers could allocate their resources and turn their

attentions to highly profitable channel

– This study reveals ‘progression of sophistication’ in online travel planning• There are important differences between those that use only one channel and those that

use, for example, five channels.


Thank you for your attention

Questions and comments?


What types of Websites have you used when you planned a trip over the past 12 months (January 1, 2013 - December 31, 2013)? (Please select all that apply)Online travel agency sites such as Expedia.com, Travelocity.com, or Orbitz.comCompany sites such as airlines, hotels, rental cars or tour operatorsSearch engines such as Yahoo!, Google or BingDestination sites such as those provided by a city, state or attractionGeneral travel sites that specialize in offering free travel brochures about destinationsTravel guidebook sites such as Fodors, Frommers or Lonely PlanetNewspaper or magazine sites such as the New York Times or Conde Nast TravelerTravel Search Engines such as KayakTravel review sites such as HoboTraveler, IGOUGO, Yelp! or TripAdvisorPhoto or video sharing sites such as YouTube, Instagram, or FlickrSocial networking sites such as Myspace, Facebook or PinterestPersonal blogsSpecial interest and online community sitesMicroblogs such as Twitter or TumblrI do not knowNone of the above

Assessing Structure of Online Channel Use By American Travelers

Technology

Transcript of Assessing Structure of Online Channel Use By American Travelers