Criteria in the Selection of Exchange Partners by Tour Operators and Local Service Suppliers: A Case Study of Exclusive Tours

Abstract

This study re-evaluates the criteria in the choice of exchange partners from the buyer’s and seller’s perspective within the context of inclusive tour production and reveals priorities to such criteria among the business actors, providing theoretical frameworks for a wider understanding of the criteria within a tourism context. The study is based on a study of cooperative relationships between European tour operators and Norwegian sub-suppliers. It deploys a qualitative research approach (personal interviews) inspired by grounded theory. The resultant data present critical three consideration embracing (1) market capacity (its ability to acquire customers), (2) purchase price and the attaching conditions and (3) confidence/reliability as criteria of selecting the exchange partners. Lastly nine future agendas are suggested in a bid to theory development.

Citation

Jensen, Ø. (2015), "Criteria in the Selection of Exchange Partners by Tour Operators and Local Service Suppliers: A Case Study of Exclusive Tours", Advances in Hospitality and Leisure (Advances in Hospitality and Leisure, Vol. 11), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 109-135. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1745-354220150000011007