1. PERCEPTIONS OF RETAILERS OF TRAVEL AND
TOURISM IN PUNE TOWARDS WEBSITE
MARKETING
Presented to TASMAC & University of Wales
On
08 MAY 2006
By
ABHAY SHIRKE
MBA (Marketing specialization)
TOTAL 20971 WORDS

2. ii
DECLARATION
This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not
being concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree
Signed…………………………………………………………………… (Candidate)
Date …08May06…………………………………………………………
STATEMENT 1
This dissertation is being submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of
…MBA…………………………………………………………………………………
Signed ……………………………………………………………………(Candidate)
Date …08May06…………………………………………………………..
STATEMENT 2
This dissertation is the result of my own independent work and investigation except
where otherwise stated. Other sources are acknowledged by footnotes giving explicit
references. A bibliography is appended.
Signed …………………………………………………………………… (Candidate)
Date …08May06……………………………………………………………..
STATEMENT 3
I hereby give consent for my dissertation if accepted to be available for photocopying
and for interlibrary loans after expiry of a bar on access approved by the University of
Wales on the special recommendation of the institution.
Signed …………………………………………………………………… (Candidate)
Date …08May06………………………………………………………………

3. iii
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The worldwide web has radically transformed the way markets function
especially in the information intensive travel and tourism industry.
A website has its pros and cons in a developing country like India. The paper
investigates retailers who want to put up a website (web inactive) and those who have
already put up a website whether they intend to increase the level of web participation
(web active) by the end of 2006. It also determines the retail web market trends, types
of prevalent websites, co-relationships amongst several marketing variables, retailers’
online habits or preferences, services offered, customer profiles and future
expectations.
The findings may serve as a cornerstone for a web designer unfamiliar with
the industry to capitalize market opportunities. It may also serve as a watchtower for
web-wholesalers, global distribution companies (GDS) and service providers to attune
their web marketing policies apart from giving retailers themselves a comprehensive
idea of what’s happening around them.
A total of 90 retailers were contacted via 2 questionnaires (for web active and
inactive) of closed end questions with a probe. A response rate of 53 % was achieved
with 24 of each category.
It was found that statistically web active retailers indeed want to step up their
websites but web inactive retailers are non-committal. Overall, retailers seemed
ignorant of various web facilities. A significant relationship existed between type of
website and volume of business while self-booking individual was the most likely end
user of websites.
The web designer is recommended to target web active retailers who are
outsourcing web development to third parties with a mindset to integrate offline and
online channels. At the same time, he should enlighten the retailer with the various
possibilities to maximize the utility of the website as an effective search, booking and
sales engine.
Keywords: E-marketing, retail, tourism.

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CONTENTS
List of Exhibits………………………………………………………………… 1
List of Tables……………………………………………………………….….. 2
Chapter I. INTRODUCTION
Background…………………………………………………………….. 5
Purpose of Study……………………………………………………….. 7
Objectives……………………………………………………… 7
Importance of Study……………………………………………………. 8
Statement of the Problem………………………………………………. 11
Assumptions…………………………………………………………… 11
Method of Inquiry……………………………………………………… 11
Limitations of the Study ……………………………………………….. 12
Definitions of Terms…………………………………………………… 13
Chapter II. LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction……………………………………………………………. 14
Website presence: Advantages and Disadvantages…………………….. 14
Market Structure……………………………………………………….. 17
Web Business Models………………………………………………….. 20
Stages of Web Marketing for Retailers…………………………………. 22
Web Marketing Issues…………………………………………………. 23
Putting up a site………………………………………………… 23
Differentiation…………………………………………………. 24
Branding……………………………………………………….. 25
Supply Chain…………………………………………………… 25
Fulfillment……………………………………………………… 25
Pricing………………………………………………………….. 26
Promotion………………………………………………………. 26
Legal……………………………………………………………. 28
Quality Evaluation……………………………………………………… 28
Web Research………………………………………………….. 29
Online Experiments…………………………………………….. 29
Performance Metrics…………………………………………… 29
Best Practices………………………………………………….. 34
Trends and Developments in the Online Tourism Market……………… 35
Effective Web Marketing Strategies…………………………………… 36
Prior Research Findings………………….…………………………….. 39
Chapter III. METHODOLOGY
Introduction…………………………………………………………… 42
Data required…………………………………………………………. 42
Location of Data………………………………………………………. 43
Method of Inquiry…………………………………………………….. 44
Collection of Data……………………………………………………… 45
Analysis to be performed on the Data…………………………………. 45
Type of Data…………………………………………………… 45
Data Editing…………………………………………………… 46
Coding………………………………………………………… 46

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Statistically adjusting the Data………………………………… 46
Strategy for Data Analysis…………………………………….. 47
Research Design………………………………………………. 47
Summary of the chapter………………………………………………… 47
Chapter IV. ANALYSIS
Introduction…………………………………………………………….. 48
Statistical Tests and Interpretation of Results…………………………. 48
Data Validation………………………………………………… 48
Frequency Distribution………………………………………… 49
Cross Tabulation………………………………………………. 82
Descriptive Statistics…………………………………………... 83
Custom Tables…………………………………………………. 85
Reliability Analysis of Scale Data…………………………….. 87
Cluster Analysis……………………………………………….. 90
Two step Cluster Analysis…………………………….. 90
Hierarchical Cluster Analysis………………………….. 94
OLAP Cubes…………………………………………………… 97
Curve Fit Model……………………………………………….. 100
Non-parametric tests…………………………………………… 102
Chi square test………………………………………… 102
Runs test………………………………………………. 104
KS test………………………………………………… 104
Summary of the chapter……………………………………………… 105
Chapter V. CONCLUSIONS…………………………………………………. 106
Chapter VI. RECOMMENDATIONS……………………………………….. 110
Suggestions for Further Research…………………………………….. 112
Bibliography…………………………………………………………………… 113
Appendices
1. Triggering news item…………………………………………….. 117
2. E-mail from IATA……………………………………………….. 118
3. Questionnaire for web-active retailers…………………………… 119
4. Questionnaire for web-inactive retailers………………………… . 128
5. Coding of data……………………………………………………. 137
6. Explanation of statistical tests……………………………………. 157
7. Data analysis of web inactive retailers…………………………… 163
8. List of retailers…………………………………………………….. 211

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Pocket materials: 1. Dissertation- PDF document
2. Business cards of targeted retailers
3. Tests of SPSS 14