Have the perceptions of the successful factors for travel websites changed over time? The case of consumers in Hong Kong

This research note reports on a study about online consumers ’ view on the successful factors for travel Web sites. Empirical evidence from a large scale domestic Omnibus survey conducted in 2007 revealed that 31.8 % of the interviewed Hong Kong residents had visited at least one travel Web site in the past 2 years and that 17.6 % of this group of respondents had also made online purchases on travel-related products. These results showed an increasing percentage of both online browsers and purchasers compared with a similar study conducted in 2000. More important, when comparing the views of online purchasers with online browsers, significant differences are found on their perceptions of “secure payment methods ” and “online booking and confirmation.