The Multifaceted Motivations behind Online Travel Agency (OTA) Platform Usage in the AI Era

Abstract

This research paper investigates the motivating factors that drive users to use online travel agency (OTA) platforms in the era of artificial intelligence (AI). This study employed exploratory factor analysis to find the motivating factors of the travellers. The primary data was gathered from Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) platform users who have used the OTA platform in the period of the last twelve months for their travel-related bookings. This study reveals that factors such as the ease of use of OTAs, the ability to plan customized travel holidays, access to online travel reviews, availability of comprehensive travel information, and the best deals on holiday travel packages as key motivating factors for utilizing OTA platforms. This research provides valuable insights into the diverse motivations that drive users to engage with OTAs. The research findings are expected to assist OTAs in understanding customers' intentions to utilize their platforms and provide travellers with optimal travel experiences. This research furnishes insights into the OTA platform for the design of user-friendly interfaces, the enhancement of personalization options, the optimization of discount offers, the creation of marketing campaigns to attract new customers, and the retargeting of previous users, ultimately enhancing the overall customer experience and satisfaction within the online travel industry.