Lugano (CH), December 2011 - The Faculty of Communication Sciences of the University of Lugano, Switzerland, has published the results of a survey entitled Travel eLearning Courses on Tourism Destinations: Travel Agents' Perceptions. It is based on the analysis of a global online survey conducted among travel agents in the spring of 2011.
The report explores the perceptions travel agents have of the eLearning training courses created ad-hoc for them by Destination Management Organizations (DMOs). The research examines 1004 travel-agent profiles worldwide. DMO representatives can see the course topics that attract the biggest interest from travel agents, can get hints on the drawbacks of existing platforms, and can be made aware of factors that actually make travel agents participate in eLearning experiences.
Results show that DMO eLearning is positively perceived by travel agents worldwide: they believe that this activity adds value to their overall knowledge about tourism destinations, helps them in selling activities, and gives them more confidence in serving clients.
The results of this study present main motivation factors that influence travel agents' willingness to subscribe to eLearning experiences
Findings suggest that DMOs should work closely with travel agents as they are still very important in promoting them. Furthermore, they need to find their way to the customers through specialization and training.
The importance of eLearning training in the tourism field is indicated by research results. eLearning platforms for travel agents may also add value to a destination's innovative communication and marketing concept, can strengthen the awareness of it among trade partners and potential tourists, and as a result might bring the destination to the top of benchmarking as an innovative eTourism destination.
