Conceptual Model of Travel Agencies’ Transformation in the Era of Rapid Changes in Tourist Behavior and Technology

Potovalne agencije so del globalno delujočega turističnega sistema. Tega v sedanjosti zaznamujejo pospešene spremembe predvsem zaradi hitrega razvoja tehnologije in demografskih sprememb. Potovalne agencije, predvsem tradicionalne, se zato soočajo s številnimi izzivi oziroma z novonastalimi situacijami (med drugim rastoča grožnja, da bodo izločene iz verige ustvarjanja vrednosti turističnega produkta, velika konkurenca v obliki avtomatizacije, kompleksne spremembe v vedenju odjemalcev/turistov), zaradi česar se morajo hitro prilagajati in posledično pogosto celo spreminjati svojo strukturo in svoje ključne kompetence. Strokovna javnost prepoznava prihodnost potovalnih agencij v razvoju ključnih kompetenc v več smereh, od katerih smo dve izbrali in smiselno povezali. Prva smer predlaga nadgradnjo potovalnih agencij v specializirane organizatorje potovanj, ki ponujajo lastne produkte. Vsebinsko se njihova ponudba navezuje na turistične destinacije, v katerih delujejo in tako dopolnjujejo ponudbo te destinacije (oz. ji dodajajo vrednost) ter postanejo aktivni del ustvarjanja celovitega produkta destinacije. To jim omogoča uporabo strategije osredotočanja na posebne interese ali niše, kar tesno povezujemo s kakovostjo ter z neponovljivostjo ponudbe destinacije. Govorimo torej o kompetencah, ki so tesno povezane s poznavanjem destinacije in z znanjem o njej ter posledično o vhodnih potovalnih agencijah. Na tem mestu smo zato uvedli pojem »specializirana vhodna potovalna agencija«. Druga sprememba nakazuje potrebo po sistematičnem razvoju kompetenc potovalne agencije na področju hitrega odzivanja na posebne želje odjemalcev pri kreiranju storitev, ki jih ni možno zlahka udejanjiti z uporabo obstoječih spletnih platform. Magistrsko delo predstavlja v teoretičnem delu konceptualni model transformacije potovalnih agencij v prihodnosti na podlagi omenjenih smeri razvoja ob upoštevanju spremenjenega vedenja odjemalcev/turistov in hitrih sprememb v tehnologiji. Empirični del predstavlja preverjanje konceptualnega modela v praksi slovenskih specializiranih vhodnih potovalnih agencij. Model smo glede na njegovo strukturo preverjali s treh vidikov: 1) z vidika potovalnih agencij, 2) z vidika destinacijskih organizacij in 3) z vidika odjemalcev. Na podlagi analize rezultatov smo oblikovali konkretne predloge, kako v praksi udejaniti konceptualni model transformacije slovenskih malih vhodnih potovalnih agencij. Hkrati smo oblikovali še priporočila za obstoječe in novo nastajajoče potovalne agencije v Sloveniji, ki razmišljajo o specializaciji in delovanju v okviru slovenskih turističnih destinacij.Travel agencies are part of the tourism system functioning globally. Nowadays this system is marked by rapid changes, especially due to fast technology development and demographic changes. Travel agencies, especially the traditional ones, therefore confront several challenges, as well as arising novel situations, which among others include the increasing threat of being eliminated from the value creating chain of tourism products, the high competition deriving from automation, and complex changes of customer/tourist behaviour. Due to all listed above, agencies have to be able to adapt quickly and, consequently, often even change their structure and key competences. Professionals believe that the future of travel agencies lies in the development of key competences in various directions. We have selected two of them and linked them logically. The first direction suggests an upgrade of travel agencies into specialized tour operators that offer their own products. The content of those products is related to the tourism destination they operate in. In this way, agencies complement (i.e. add value) the tourism destination’s offer, and become active creators of the comprehensive tourism destination product. It also allows them to use the strategy of focusing on special interest or niche tourism, which we closely associate with the quality and uniqueness of the tourism destination offer. Therefore, we speak about competences that are closely associated with the knowledge of- and about the destination, and in this context about the incoming travel agenciesat this point, we have introduced the term “specialized incoming travel agency”. The second direction indicates the need for systematic competence development of travel agencies, especially their abilities to create rapid responses to consumers’ special requests when creating services that cannot easily be performed by the currently available web platforms. The theoretical part of this master’s thesis introduces a proposal of a conceptual model of travel agencies’ transformation in the future, based on the mentioned development directions, and taking into account consumers’/tourists’ changed behaviour, as well as the rapid technology changes. The empirical part of the thesis tests the introduced conceptual model in the context of Slovene specialized incoming travel agencies. In accordance with its structure, we tested the model from three perspectives: 1) from the travel agency perspective, 2) from the tourism destination organizations’ perspective, and 3) from the consumer perspective. Based on results of the data analysis, we developed concrete proposals for introduction of the conceptual model into practice. We elaborated the proposals in order to ease the adaptation of Slovene small incoming travel agencies. Additionally, we put down recommendations for the existing and the emerging travel agencies in Slovenia that consider specialization of their offer and their active role within Slovene tourism destinations