How e-learning in sales training can enhance the tour operator-travel agency relationship

While Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have offered tour operators the possibility to reach tourists and prospects in a direct way, dis-intermediating such communication, they can also provide a suitable platform for involving travel agents and better preparing them to sell a specific destination through ad-hoc designed e-learning courses. The training service provided by tour operators to travel agencies can be seen as a way to strengthen the relationship between them. That is why tour operators have started to take advantage of these new kinds of technologies, but they still don’t know how to measure the benefits they gain. Findings show that elearning courses play an important role in the different strategies used by tour operators to engage travel agents. As a consequence of doing the course, the travel agent becomes more loyal to the tour operator who is providing the training and at the same time suggests the same courses to colleagues, trigging word of mouth. The purpose of this work is to investigate why and how this trigger works.