SUMMARY
Abstract: This study is designed to map out the market structure and private anticompetitive activities that have been thrown up by recent developments in the air transport and travel and tourism markets. It is structured as an attempt to marry together the two approaches that the author thinks are needed to address the issue adequately. On the one hand one has to be able to chart the macro-economy issues that direct and shape the nature of the air travel and tourism markets. On the other hand, one also has to be able to look at the way in which the consumer behaves in the market and how he takes decisions about travel. The author believes it is only through approaching the issue from both directions that one can really get a true view of the market. In this light the study is structured in four sections. Part I looks at the issue of how the consumer is reached and how the consumer takes decisions in travel markets. Of particular interest here is the focus on distribution mechanisms and the tour operator/travel agent relationship. Part II looks at the development of aviation alliances and the disjuncture between the national/regional nature of aviation regulation and the increasingly globalizing industry. Part III looks at the hotel sector and the matrix of issues that face players in the industry and at the relationship between the sector and the distribution mechanisms by which consumers access hotels. Part IV attempts some conclusions and recommendations for future work. [English only]
