Travelers' E-Purchase Intent of Tourism Products and Services

Abstract

The potential of tourism e-commerce can be fully exploited if the online purchase behavior of travelers is well understood. This study tests a model predicting travelers' intent to purchase tourism products and services online using data collected from travelers to Mauritius. Results from the structural equation modeling analysis support seven of the eight proposed hypotheses. Findings suggest that travelers' perceived usefulness, trust, and perceived risks are determinants of attitude to e-purchasing, which in turn significantly influences e-purchase intent. Results also suggest that perceived ease of use exerts a significant influence on perceived usefulness and trust while the latter negatively influences perceived risks. The managerial implications of the findings for online tourism and hospitality vendors and the study's limitations are discussed. Some directions for future research are also presented.

Keywords:

• tourism e-commerce
• technology acceptance model
• trust
• risk
• e-purchase intent
• experiential products