E-Tourism: New Communication Challenges for the Travel Agencies in the UAE

Certainly, the development of electronic commerce is beneficial for both the producer and the consumer. However, the problem posed by the development of e-commerce generally resides in the fact that the development of Internet technology has profoundly modified the tourism distribution chain. In other words, the role of traditional distributors, tour operators and travel agencies, tends to weaken and will even be canceled out as long as they do not find a new niche or a new communication strategy both with its customers and with its economic partners. In this paper, our aim is to explore the new role of travel agencies and mainly the communication challenges they will be facing under the diffusion of the new information and communication technologies. In this direction, the methodology adopted in this paper will be around two main steps: first, an in-depth theoretical scan, with the aim of clarifying the field of research and explaining the bases of the various theories relating to the study in question. This is completed, in a second step, by in-depth interviews with UAE travel agencies, with the aim of explaining the state of play of travel agencies, and of gathering the opinions of experts in the field. In this regard, it reveals that the travel agencies in the UAE are aware of the challenges presented by the introduction of the e-commerce in their industry and especially in terms of communication strategy. By adjusting their strategic, relational, and organizational factors the travel agencies believe that they mastered enough their profession to avoid the risk of disintermediation involved by the diffusion of the e-commerce in the industry.