Factors affecting the attitude and intention of using information technology in providing internet reservation services in the hotel industry of Gilan province

Academic Thesis for Master Degree Degree: Business Management - Marketing Orientation

Abstract

Today, information technology has influenced all different areas of life and business environment and has caused transformation, acceleration and facilitation of affairs. This impact on the tourism industry as one of the most employment-generating industries in the world is also quite clear. One of the easiest ways to increase the number of domestic and foreign tourists is to identify and introduce tourist areas, facilities in the area, and available hotels through hotel reservation reference sites or directly through the hotels' own sites.  Internet booking has many advantages, including saving time, reducing costs, not depending on place and time, quick response to customer complaints, and providing innovative services for customers. Therefore, we will examine the role of the important factors of credibility, trust, compatibility, ease and perceived usefulness for customers in changing the attitude of customers towards online hotel booking and finally their intention to do this.    The statistical population of this research is the customers of all 4 and 5 star hotels in Gilan province. The non-probability sampling method is available with an unlimited population, which is obtained by placing the initial sampling (30 people) in the formula of the unlimited population, and the number of 321 people is obtained. The validity of the model has been verified through structural equation modeling and it has been confirmed based on the results of the path analysis of the variables of this research. The results of the statistical analysis of this research using structural equation modeling show that the attitude and perceived usefulness are the main factors influencing the intention to book online hotels, and the added variables of trust, credit and compatibility influence the intention to use online hotel booking through the attitude. Keywords: information technology, electronic tourism, credit, trust, compatibility. It seems absolutely necessary to use new methods of attracting and maintaining current customers and expanding their number in the next step. Today, with the use of the internet space and the emergence of electronic tourism [2], information technology [3] and communication [4] is considered one of the basic elements of tourism and has increased the efficiency of this industry. (Pour Faraj et al.; 1387: 47) Information technology has revolutionized the working methods in all organizations, especially in the tourism industry. According to Peppard's definition, information technology is the empowerment mechanisms that facilitate the processing and flow of information within an organization and between organizations, this information includes information that organizations produce, use or store. (Peppard; 1993:120) This phenomenon makes organizations able to coordinate their internal and inter-organizational activities at the regional or global level with greater strength.  Information technology and the tourism industry can be considered two factors that have played the greatest influence in the formation and creation of the global village, and perhaps it is because they have found an inseparable relationship with each other. Marketing, creation of distribution channels, cooperation and inter-organizational coordination have been among the most applications of information technology in the tourism industry. In recent years, information technology has had two-way effects on the tourism industry. On the one hand, the strong communication power through the Internet has provided the possibility of coordination, control, better operations and appropriate information, and has created opportunities for organizations that rely on electronic business, and on the other hand, it has created threats such as the creation of global markets, the possibility of losing market share, the entry of new competitors, the introduction of various substitute products, and the like for organizations that have delayed in using these technologies. (Atafar, Khazaei-Poul and Pour-Mustafa; 2013) During the last two decades, the use of the Internet in certain sectors of the service industry, including tourism, where cyber power is continuously increasing in popularity, has gained special importance. (Buhalis and Law; 2008:613) The importance of the Internet as a commercial channel for finding and providing tourist information has been recognized in previous studies. (Andreu et al.; 2010:782) This indicates that the advantages of using the Internet practically ignore it in the marketing of organizations.; 2010:782) This indicates that the advantages of using the Internet have practically made it impossible to ignore it in the marketing of tourism organizations. The key to the success of using the Internet in the tourism industry lies in the quick identification of customer needs and direct communication with consumers, providing them with comprehensive, personal and up-to-date information. (; 2003:32 Vich-i-Martorell) Therefore, appropriate modeling of the countries that already have a good ranking in this industry, both in terms of number and income, can shorten and optimize the path to success as much as possible. Of course, in these models, what is important is to pay attention to the country's internal conditions and current capabilities, and the adaptive performance should be such that these strategies do not have a destructive effect on the country's social, economic, and cultural cycles. The tourism industry, like other service fields, is witnessing an increase in competition and the presence of new competitors every day. The significant growth of tourism activities clearly indicates that tourism is one of the most important economic and social phenomena of the last century. In recent years, the arrival of private hotels with suitable infrastructures has made the competition very noticeable. In such a situation, where relatively the same services are provided in all hotels and any new service is quickly copied by competitors, creating special facilities and special relationships with customers that the hotels intend to attract or retain is an effective step for the survival of the organization and victory in the competition. (2012:1017 Bastic and Gojcic) Internet reservation [5] using web and Internet technology enables customers to carry out their tourist activities in a virtual environment [6]. The research conducted on the acceptance of online reservations by customers improves the understanding of customer opinions about the use of online reservations and shows how these opinions and ways of thinking affect customer behavior regarding the use of online reservations. Online booking has many advantages for customers: saving time, reducing costs, not depending on place and time, quick response to customer complaints and providing innovative services to customers are the characteristics of online booking. All these advantages have brought an increase in internet activities from customers and naturally, customers will also expect an increase in the quality of online reservation services. So that with the increase in the quality of Internet services of hotels, tourists welcome the Internet as a main mechanism for booking hotels and other travel arrangements. (Rex et al; 2011: 393)

In the current developed markets and in the existing competitive environment, various institutions and companies, including hotels, have come to the conclusion that existing customers are the basis. Successful retention of current customers reduces the need to search for new customers and its potential risk. Also, long-term communication with customers will reduce the cost of services due to their knowledge. In an era where customers have many choices, service providers must try to always remain in the customer's mind. Hotels respond to these challenges by using technological advances, in this way, they adopt a strategy that tries to satisfy customers by providing better services and products at a lower cost and in the same time, and in this way, the idea of ??online booking is widely used. (Atafar, Khazaei-Poul and Pour-Mustafa; 2013)

Therefore, the upcoming research seeks to identify the factors influencing the adoption of information technology in the tourism industry, especially regarding the issue of internet booking in the service sector and the hotel industry, and its main goal is to "investigate the effect of perceived usefulness and ease, credibility, trust, compatibility on the attitude and willingness to use internet hotel booking".

1-2 statement of the problem

Today, the tourism industry is considered as one of the most employment-generating industries in the world.  Tourism development is the first option in the development of any region, and its importance has become so important in the economic-social development of countries that economists have called it invisible export. (Shaw [7]; 2004) and mention it as the main pillar of sustainable development. (Amin Biddekhti, Zargar and Nazari; 2019) The tourism industry accounts for approximately 11% of the world's gross domestic product and creates employment for 220 million people and provides services to 700 million tourists worldwide (Salawati and Khani; 2012) and it is possible that this statistic in the year 2020 will double.