The Future Outlook for Portuguese Travel Agents

A. George Assaf, Carlos Barros and Luiz Pinto Machado
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A. George Assaf: Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, 121 Presidents Drive, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
Luiz Pinto Machado: Escola Profissional de Hotelaria e Turismo, Travessa Dos Piornais, São Martinho, 9000-246 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

Tourism Economics, 2011, vol. 17, issue 2, 405-423

Abstract: This paper adopts a three-stage procedure to measure and test the productivity and efficiency standings of Portuguese travel agents during 2005–2007. In the first stage, the authors use a bootstrapped Malmquist index approach to obtain estimates of total productivity growth. In the second stage, they obtain year-by-year efficiency scores, using a bootstrapped DEA model. A bootstrapped truncated regression is then adopted in the third stage to identify the covariates that explain technical efficiency. Results from a sample of 25 agents indicate that, on average, Portuguese agents experienced an increase in productivity over the period of the study. On the efficiency side, however, most travel agents were found to be operating at a high degree of inefficiency. Differences in productivity and efficiency between individual travel agents appeared to be related to factors such as market share and management style. The results are discussed and policy implications are derived.

Keywords: productivity; Portuguese travel agents; two-stage Malmquist index (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:toueco:v:17:y:2011:i:2:p:405-423

DOI: 10.5367/te.2011.0034

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