The Factors Influencing Operators' Use Intention of Online Tourism Agencies
and the Function Mechanism of the Factors: Based on the Research
on rural small and micro tourism enterprises
Online tourism agencies serve as one of the effective ways for rural small and micro
tourism enterprises to connect with the market and increase sales performance. However, the existence
of the digital divide affects operators' attitudes towards and willingness to use the agencies. Based on
the theoretical framework of the technology acceptance model and with the combination of government
functions, this study views agency properties affecting the digital divide and government support which
are two key factors as external variables to build the structural equation model to explore the influence
factors and function mechanism of the intention of rural small and micro tourism enterprises to use
online tourism agencies. The findings of the study are as follows: government support is an important
external variable; the system quality, interactivity and information quality among agency properties have
different impacts on perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. Perceived ease of use is a key
factor of function mechanism for agency use intention. Perceived usefulness and use attitudes also have
impacts on the intention to use the agencies. The impact paths of males and females are different. The
study explained the impacts of the digital divide on the agency use intention of rural small and micro
tourism enterprises and the differences in impacts between male and females. The study put forward
that accurate supporting policies as well as user-friendly platform design and services are important
measures to bridge the digital divide and provide equal development opportunities for rural small and
micro tourism enterprises under the digitization trend.
The Factors Influencing Operators' Use Intention of Online Tourism Agencies
and the Function Mechanism of the Factors: Based on the Research
on rural small and micro tourism enterprises. Tourism Research. 2024, 16(1): 1-15