Could the Tide be Changing (Travel Agency Management) Essay

Could the Tide be Changing (Travel Agency Management) - Essay modellingand Horner, S. 2006). However the recent proliferation of the e-commerce business model has challenged traditional adage that location, location, location is critical to commercial success (Chaffey, D. 2006) effectively undermining the traditional travel agency dispersion model, forcing travel agencies to re-develop and reformulate competitive strategies to sustain growth (Zhou, Z. 2003).This is further evidenced by the recent merger of package holiday specialists MyTravel and Thomas Cook in 2007 (Taylor, I. 2007). It was reported that the merger was driven by business necessity in order to ensure survival in the competitive nature of the merchandise facilitated by the e-commerce business model (Taylor, I. 2007). Moreover, it was propounded that the merger is predicted to save 75million a year by 2009/10 through cuts in duplicated services and assets including staff, shops, aircraft, offices and IT systems, par ticularly in the UK (Taylor, I 2007). Whilst or so analysts reacted to the merger as a further nail in the coffin of the high street travel agent, the alternative question posed is whether this in item matters in the digital arena (Taylor, I. 2007).Moreover, it is arguable that the proliferation of the Internet and online growth could in fact have signalled a new tide against the recent trend of losings and closures within the industry. The focus of this analysis is to evaluate recent business analyst forecasts signalling the decline of the high street travel agency within the emerging online market as evidenced by the rapid growth of virtual travel agencies such as Expedia and lastminute.com (Evans, N., Campbell, D. & Stonehouse, G. 2003)Whilst, the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) figures indicate a prodigious reduction in high street travel agencies (www.abta.com), this analysis will evaluate whether such