Abstract

The profound impact of the Internet and information and communication technologies (ICT)
has brought about several changes particularly in the area of online sales of travel and
tourism products/services. This has challenged the traditional role of travel agencies as they
seek urgent ways to re-invent their roles or face the threat of being disintermediated. This
study focuses on what traditional travel agencies need to do to succeed in this information
age by analyzing the functionalities of traditional travel agencies and the adaptive strategies
they need to adopt to stay competitive in the Malaysian travel and tourism (TT) industry. A
qualitative approach was employed for this purpose. Semi-structured interviews were
conducted with 20 participants comprising of top travel managers drawn from different travel
agencies in Malaysia. The findings identified some distinct changes in the perceptions of
travel agencies particularly with regards to their adaptive strategies and the business
environment. The study concludes that traditional travel agencies should focus more on
market specialization, reputation management, new distribution strategies and online
marketing