Home⇛Asian Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research⇛vol. 4 no. 1 (2010)

Factors affecting university students’ choice of travel agencies: The case of North Cyprus

Salih Turan Katircioglu | Dogan Unlucan | Ilhan Dalci

Discipline: tourism, transport and travel

 

Abstract:

This paper investigates the importance of travel agency selection factors for undergraduate students from different countries who use travel agencies of a small island — North Cyprus. A total of 250 undergraduate students studying at the Faculty of Business and Economics of Eastern Mediterranean University responded to a travel agency selection factors instrument. Descriptive analysis through mean scores was used to investigate and compare travel agency selection factors by nationality. Results of the present study reveal that “Giving individual attention to customers” is the most important factor for students from Turkey, while “customer relations/ friendliness of agency personnel” is the most important one for Turkish Cypriots, and “speed and quality of service” is the most important one for the other overseas students. Results also reveal that the travel agency selection process differs in nationality classification in the case of international students in North Cyprus implying that young generation customers from different cultures generally focus on different types of factors in considering traveling services. This study has shown that young generation customers from different cultures generally focus on different types of factors in considering traveling services. Furthermore, family tradition does not exert a significant role for university students from different countries in preferring traveling services.



References:

  1. Andereck, K. L., & L. L. Caldwell (1993). The influence of tourists’ characteristics on rating information source for an attraction.Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 2(2/3), 171-189.
  2. Anderson, W.T., Fox, E.P. & Fulcher, D.G. (1976). Bank selection decision and market segmentation. Journal of Marketing, 40(1), 40-5.
  3. Bitner, M. J., & Booms, B. H. (1982). Trends in travel and tourism marketing: The changing structure of distribution channels. Journal of Travel Research, 20(4), 39 - 44.
  4. Boyd, W. L., Leonard, M. & White, C. (1994). Customer preferences for financial services: an analysis. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 12(1), 9-15.
  5. Brown, S., & Swarts, T. (1989). A gap analysis of professional service quality. Journal of Marketing 53(2), 92-98.
  6. Capella, L. M., and A. J. Greco (1987), “Information sources of elderly for vacation decisions”, Annals of Tourism Research, 14(1), 148-151.
  7. Gerrard, P. & Cunningham, J. B. (2001). Bank service quality: A comparison between a publicly quoted bank and a government bank in Singapore. Journal of Financial Services Marketing, 6(1), 50–66.
  8. Gitelson R. J., & Crompton, J. L. (1983). The planning horizons and sources of information used by pleasure vacationers. Journal of Travel Research, 21(3), 2-7.
  9. Huang, L. & Tsai, H. (2003). The study of senior traveler behavior in Taiwan. Tourism Management, 24(5), 561-574.
  10. Heung, V. C. S. & Chu, R. (2000). Important factors affecting Hong Kong consumers’ choice of a travel agency for all-inclusive package tours. Journal of Travel Research, 39(1), 52-59.
  11. Holstius, K. & Kaynak, E. (1995). Retail banking in Nordic countries: The case of Finland. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 13(8), 10-20.
  12. Hui, T. K. & Wan, D. (2005). Factors affecting consumers’ choice of a travel agency: The case of Singapore. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 19(4), 2-12.
  13. Kaynak, E. & Kucukemiroglu, O. (1993). Foreign vacation selection process inan oriental culture. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 5(1), 21-41.
  14. Kennington, C., Hill, J. & Rakowska, A. (1996). Consumer selection criteria for banks in Poland. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 14(4), 12-21.
  15. Lam, T. & Zhang, H. Q. (1999). Service quality of travel agents: The case of travel agents in Hong Kong. Tourism Management, 20(3), 341-349.
  16. Lawton, G. & Page, S. (1997). Evaluating travel agents’ provision of health advice to travelers. Tourism Management, 18(2), 89-104.
  17. LeBlanc, G. (1992). Factors affecting customer evaluation of service quality in travel agencies: an investigation of customer perceptions. Journal of Travel Research, 30(4), 10-16.
  18. Lewis, B.R. (1991). Customer care in service organizations. Management Decision, 29(1), 31-4.
  19. McKercher, B., Packer, T., Yau, M. K. & Lam P. (2003). Travel agents as facilitators or inhibitors of travel: Perceptions of people with disabilities. Tourism Management, 24(4), 464-475.
  20. Millan, A. & Esteban, A. (2004). Development of a multiple-item scale for measuring customer satisfaction in travel agencies services. Tourism Management, 25(5), 533-546.
  21. Mok, C., & Armstrong, R. W. (1996). Sources of information used by Hong Kong and Taiwanese leisure travelers. Australian Journal of Hospitality Management, 3(1), 31-35.
  22. Mok, C. & DeFranco, A. L. (1999). Chinese cultural values: Their implications for travel and tourism marketing. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 8(2), 99-114.
  23. Money, R. B. & Crotts, J. C. (2003). The effect of uncertainty avoidance on information search, planning, and purchases of international travel vacations. Tourism Management, 24(2), 191-202.
  24. Murphy, J. & Tan, I. (2003). Journey to nowhere? E-mail customer service by travel agents in Singapore. Tourism Management, 24(5), 543-550.
  25. Olshavsky, R. (1985). Perceived quality in consumer decision making: An integrated theoretical perspective. In perceived quality. J. Jacoby & J. Olson (Eds.), Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
  26. Persia, M. A., & Gitelson, R. J. (1993). The differences among travel agency users in the importance ratings Tak Kee Hui and David Wan 11 of agency service features. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 1(4), 77-97.
  27. Reimer, G. D. (1990). Packaging dreams: Canadian tour operators at work. Annals of Tourism Research, 17(4), 501-512.
  28. Runyon, K. E., & D. W. Stewart (1987). Consumer behavior and the practice of marketing (3rd ed.).Columbus, OH: Merill.
  29. Solomon, M., C. Surprenant, J. Czepiel, & Gutman (1985). A role of theory perspective on dyadic interaction: The service encounter. Journal of Marketing, 49(1) 99-111.
  30. SPO (State Planning Organization) (2006). Economic and social indicators, Prime Ministry, Nicosia, North Cyprus.
  31. Wong, C. S. and Kwong, W. Y. (2004). Outbound tourists’ selection criteria for choosing all-inclusive package tours. Tourism Management, 25(5), 581-592.
  32. Yau, O. (1988). Chinese cultural values: Their dimensions and marketing implications.

Tools


Copyright © 2025  KITE Digital Educational Solutions |  Exclusively distributed by CE-Logic