Introduction"The advent of technological revolution has erased the traditional business models. The clouds of new competition are looming large over the economic sector. Many industries are going in for reconfigurations. As a result, the Internet and e-business are being considered as the most viable option for transforming industries" (BNet.com, 2007). The travel agency is no exception to this revolution. Most travelers would like to have total control over his or her travel arrangements and destination, and feel they are getting the most for their money. With this in mind, many resort destinations such as Beaches, Couples and Club Med have created web sites to transform from the traditional brick and mortar business and to allow consumers to do just that.
The supply chain in a "brick and mortar" environment traditionally, the supply chain for researching and booking travel to resorts such as Beaches, Couples and Club Med was to go through a local travel agency.
English: Supply and demand network Deutsch: Liefer...
Intel VP Jackie Sturm oversees supply chain
Slow Travel Agency, SustransThe travel agency would supply the customer with air and ground transportation, hotel accommodations and any other services requested by the customer. The travel agency would promote certain products and services and in most cases would receive a commission from the companies whose products or services were chosen by the customer (ASTA, n.d.). For example, Club Med may pay the travel agent a 10% commission on the total cost of the vacation package purchased by the customer. This at times made it difficult to know if the travel agent was recommending certain destination based solely on the commission he or she would receive or if it truly was the best vacation option for the customer.
Although using a travel agent required physically going to a travel agency's office to review catalogs and brochures it was more convenient for the customer. Not only did the customer...