New Distribution Capabilities in the Egyptian Travel Agents: Measuring the Technology Acceptance and Analyzing the Factors that Influencing the Usage

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Tourism studies department Higher Institute of Tourism and Hotels E.G.O.T.H Ismailia

2 East Port Said University of Technology

Abstract

The travel industry has undergone significant changes in recent years with the rise of a new concept for selling tickets and airline services. New Distribution Capabilities NDC is a technology platform powered by IATA and developed by airlines that enables travel agencies to access rich content and services directly from airlines. This research aims to measure the NDC usage acceptance in Egyptian travel agents comparing to GDS usage, by appointing Technology Acceptance Model TAM Theory as a base. TAM aspects are integrated with other constructs which is retrieved from the factors that affecting the GDS usage. According to this model, Egyptian travel agents agreed with that NDC is ease of use and do not have technical obstacles of training their staff on its implementations, however they still uncertain about the ability of NDC in all other factors compared with GDS system and they are not ready yet for the complete transmission from GDS into NDC. Then, the study employed Importance-Performance Analysis IPA, to analyze Egyptian travel agents’ perceived importance and operation of New Distribution Capabilities NDC. The IPA grids have illustrated that NDC has had a positive effect on travel agencies, providing them with more options, better pricing, improved customer experiences, and allows those who have the potential to be flight aggregator. However, NDC has also presented challenges for travel agencies, such as uncertainty about adoption to new concept and how good is as GDS as accurate and ease to use. Overall, the results suggest that NDC has the potential to enhance the operations of travel agencies but also requires careful consideration and planning.
 

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