PURCHASING TOURISM SERVICES THROUGH ONLINE TRAVEL AGENCY: DOES ELECTRONIC WORD-OF-MOUTH HAVE INFLUENCE? AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON BANGLADESHI TOURISTS

Abstract

Tourists nowadays are more dependent on online reviews to make different travel decisions. Electronic word of mouth has been playing a key role in influencing the purchase intention of tourists who travel through an online travel agency. In this context, the study aims to explore how electronic word-of-mouth determinants influence travellers' intention to purchase tourism services from online travel agencies in Bangladesh. Based on Social Exchange Theory information quantity, information quality, information credibility, and information usefulness of electronic word of mouth are identified as the four factors determining the purchase intentions toward buying services through an online travel agency. A total of 302 people participated and replied to the questionnaire, making up the sample. For the analysis, SPSS version 25 integrated with AMOS version 26 was employed. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesis. The analysis revealed that, except for information quantity, the three other independent variables that determine e-WOM - information quality, information credibility, and information usefulness significantly affect tourists' service purchasing intentions from OTAs. The current research findings provide meaningful, practical implications for online travel service providers, online service agents, and managers of different tourism platforms to develop and implement strategies to manage online reviews across different online platforms to generate better responses from travelers.

Keywords

• online travel agency
• social exchange theory
• purchase intention
• electronic word of mouth
• online tourism
• information quantity
• information quality
• information usefulness