Title:
Meeting The Online Challenge: The South African Travel Industry
Abstract: The once thriving international travel industry
is amongst the most affected by the economic and political conditions of
the world today. The steady build up of established competition and products
that are largely similar has placed tremendous pressure on suppliers in the
industry to continually cut costs and deliver more “value-added” products
and services to the customer. The introduction of e-commerce into the travel
industry, specifically in South Africa, has not been uncomplicated. Where
personal contact and undefined service is vital to a businesses success,
technology has been slow to take hold. Other factors such as South Africa’s
infrastructure, computer illiteracy and old fashioned ways are also major
contributors to the slow adoption of e-commerce in the travel industry. The
primary research objective of this study was to determine e-commerce readiness
of the South African travel industry with respect to travel suppliers and
consumers. This study concludes that the South African travel industry
is not e-ready, with the supply and demand lacking the ability and willingness
to integrate e-commerce systems into businesses.