Technology Acceptance of the Lonely Planet Website: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

This study aims at examining the reasons that motivate travelers to use online travel websites for travel information search and reservations by adapting technology acceptance model (TAM). In particular it examines the site of an online travel guide (lonelyplanet.com). The results suggest that perceived usefulness determines behavioral intention to use the travel website. Perceived ease of use does not have a direct impact on behavioral intention; however, it influences perceived usefulness and behavioral intention indirectly. This study benefits practitioners in the preimplementation stage to overcome complaints that system characteristics are arbitrary or in the postimplementation stage to determine the kinds of changes that provide the most meaningful impacts.