Travel and tourism industry yet to exploit the Internet fully in India

The rapid growth of the travel sector in India, and increased usage of technology as a tool to facilitate online transaction, has led to a blending of technology with travel planning. Research across the globe indicates that modern travellers are looking for interactive facilities, high-quality travel services, varied information on products and appropriate information to assist them in decision making. The high degree of intangibility in the travel sector requires a clear understanding about the requirements of customers and integration of technology to address these needs. Like many other service industries, the travel and tourism industry has been significantly affected by the strides made in technology. Our research studies the experience of Indian customers satisfaction with using online travel websites. The study concludes that the Indian customer is influenced by the service convenience attributes of online travel firms. However, the consumers place less importance on the trust and security aspects in financial transactions, than on other service attributes of online travel websites. If the services offered by these websites are increased coupled with display of relevant information about destinations, the Indian customer would be encouraged to visit these websites and use them for vacation planning.