Predicting Travelers' Choice of Information Sources and Information Channels

Disintermediation is often portrayed as a choice between travel agents and the Internet. This simplification ignores the facts that many Web sites marketing travel services are run by travel agents and many businesses offering travel services online also offer these services through other channels. This article considers disintermediation from an information search perspective and explores the issue both as a choice between two information sources (travel agents vs. service providers) and as a choice between two information channels (face to face vs. the Internet). Using binomial logistical regression, sets of variables are identified that seem particularly relevant for predicting the outcome of these choices. Travel style, age, and nationality were found to be particularly good predictors of travelers' predisposition to search for information from a travel agent face to face rather than consulting a tourism service provider directly online.