TRAVELLERS ATTITUDE TOWARDS ONLINE PURCHASE OF TRAVEL PRODUCTS: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF ONLINE TRAVEL PORTALS

The exponential growth of the online purchases and a cyber war in the digital space among the service providers for grabbing the lion’s share in the online space requires an understanding of the effect of demographic features on the online purchase behaviour of the travellers. Such valuable information will help the service providers to understand and eventually segment their markets and implement effective marketing instruments. The empirical study was carried out amongst 450 travelers who booked their travel online through Online Travel Portals in Delhi National Capital Region out of which 400 questionnaires were found to be complete in all respects and can be used for data analysis. The data was collected from the departure lounge of Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. The study investigates the traveler`s attitude towards online purchase of travel products and investigates the factors influencing the online purchase of travel products by the travelers. The findings denote that income and age group influence the online purchase attitude of travellers. It also identifies whether a gap existed between expectation and satisfaction of online purchase of travel products using Online Travel Portals in Delhi National Capital Region. The largest positive gap (positive disconfirmation) came from reliability in financial transactions, pertinent information, flexible packages and location while completeness in terms of services, integration on social media, usefulness, accuracy, flexible payment, information quality had a negative gap (negative disconfirmation) between the higher level of importance and lower levels of satisfaction. No significant mean differences were observed between expectations and experiences of proficient Grievance redressal system and timeliness in refund