<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE article PUBLIC "-//NLM//DTD JATS (Z39.96) Journal Publishing DTD v1.2 20190208//EN"
  "https://jats.nlm.nih.gov/publishing/1.2/JATS-journalpublishing1.dtd">
<article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"
         xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"
         article-type="research-article"
         dtd-version="1.2">

  <!-- ============================================================ FRONT -->
  <front>
    <journal-meta>
      <journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">IJLTEMAS</journal-id>
      <journal-title-group>
        <journal-title>International Journal of Latest Technology in Engineering, Management &amp; Applied Science (IJLTEMAS)</journal-title>
        <abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="publisher">IJLTEMAS</abbrev-journal-title>
      </journal-title-group>
      <issn pub-type="epub">2278-2540</issn>
      <publisher>
        <publisher-name>IJLTEMAS</publisher-name>
      </publisher>
    </journal-meta>

    <article-meta>
      <!-- IDs -->
      <article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">527</article-id>
            <article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.51583/IJLTEMAS.2026.151000008</article-id>
      
      <!-- Categories -->
            <article-categories>
        <subj-group subj-group-type="heading">
          <subject>Travel and Tourism Management</subject>
        </subj-group>
      </article-categories>
      
      <!-- Title -->
      <title-group>
        <article-title>A Study on Travel Agency Selection Factors and Demographic Influences among Outbound Tourists from Telangana State</article-title>
      </title-group>

      <!-- Authors -->
      <contrib-group>
                <contrib contrib-type="author">
                    <name>
            <surname>Naresh Jakkali</surname>
            <given-names>Mr</given-names>
          </name>
                              <aff>
            Research Scholar, Dept. of Business Management, UCC&amp;BM, Mahatma Gandhi University 508254                        <country>India</country>
                      </aff>
                    
        </contrib>
                <contrib contrib-type="author">
                    <name>
            <surname>Venkataramana Reddy Maram</surname>
            <given-names>Dr</given-names>
          </name>
                              <aff>
            Associate Professor, Dept. of Business Management, UCC&amp;BM, Mahatma Gandhi University 508254                        <country>India</country>
                      </aff>
                    
        </contrib>
              </contrib-group>

      <!-- Volume / Issue / Pages -->
            <volume>15</volume>
                  <issue>10</issue>
                        <fpage>82</fpage>
            <lpage>89</lpage>
            
      <!-- Dates -->
      <history>
                <date date-type="received">
          <day>11</day>
          <month>10</month>
          <year>2026</year>
        </date>
                        <date date-type="accepted">
          <day>16</day>
          <month>10</month>
          <year>2026</year>
        </date>
              </history>

            <pub-date pub-type="epub">
        <day>29</day>
        <month>10</month>
        <year>2026</year>
      </pub-date>
      
      <!-- DOI Self-URI -->
            <self-uri xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.51583/IJLTEMAS.2026.151000008"/>
      
      <!-- Keywords -->
            <kwd-group kwd-group-type="author">
                <kwd>Outbound Tourism</kwd>
                <kwd>Travel Agency Selection</kwd>
                <kwd>Relative Importance Index (RII) and Value for Money.</kwd>
              </kwd-group>
      
    </article-meta>
  </front>

  <!-- ============================================================ BODY (Abstract) -->
  <body>
        <sec>
      <title>Abstract</title>
      <p>Selecting an appropriate travel agency is most important for outbound tourists due to higher complexity, dependency and uncertainty in services like visa assistance, air ticketing, accommodation, foreign exchange and travel insurance when compared with domestic tourists. We can find a number of studies on travel agency selection in the international context, such as Singapore, Malaysia, China, Japan, Dubai, Sri Lanka, etc., but limited empirical studies were found in the Indian context, especially Telangana. This study is focused on finding out the important factors considered while selecting a travel agency in Telangana, and to study the influence of demographic variables on these factors. This study employed a quantitative, descriptive and analytical approach for conducting the study. 
The primary data were collected from a total of 90 respondents who travelled on tours from Telangana (Hyderabad and Nalgonda) and used the services of travel agencies. A structured questionnaire was designed with two sections, i.e., demographic variables and factors related to travel agency selection, on a Likert scale, and was used to collect the primary data. This study adopted the snowball sampling method for collecting primary data. The primary data were analysed with the help of SPSS. Here, Cronbach's alpha was used for the reliability of the scale; mean, standard deviation and Relative Importance Index (RII) were used for ranking the travel agency selection factors, and the Mann-Whitney U test &amp; Kruska-Wallis H test were used for demographic differences. The scale showed high reliability, i.e. Cronbach's alpha is 0.895. RII analysis showed factors like Years of Experience &amp; Past Performance, Discounts &amp; Offers, 24/7 Service Availability, Customised Services and Value for Money were found to be more important and Instalment-based payments, Advertisements and Accessibility were found least important. Demographic variables like gender, age and education have no significant difference on travel agency selection factors. The results suggest that the travel agencies should focus on economic benefits, credibility and continued support through a universal strategy rather than focusing on demographic segmentation.</p>
    </sec>
      </body>

  <!-- ============================================================ BACK (References) -->
    <back>
    <ref-list>
      <title>References</title>
            <ref id="ref1">
        <label>1</label>
        <mixed-citation>Hassanli, N., Brown, G., &amp; Tajzadeh-Namin, A. (2013). Tourist decision-making: selecting a travel agency in Iran. Anatolia, 24, 438 - 451. https://doi.org/10.1080/13032917.2013.805697.</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref2">
        <label>2</label>
        <mixed-citation>Heung, V. C. S., &amp; Zhu, P. (2005). Factors Affecting Choice of a Travel Agency for Domestic Tourism: The Case of Shanghai Residents in China. Journal of Travel &amp; Tourism Marketing, 19(4), 13–25. https://doi.org/10.1300/J073v19n04_02</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref3">
        <label>3</label>
        <mixed-citation>Hui, Tak &amp; Wan, David. (2005). Factors Affecting Consumers' Choice of a Travel Agency. Journal of Travel &amp; Tourism Marketing. 19. 1-12. 10.1300/J073v19n04_01.</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref4">
        <label>4</label>
        <mixed-citation>Heung, V. C. S., &amp; Chu, R. (2000). Important Factors Affecting Hong Kong Consumers’ Choice of a Travel Agency for All-Inclusive Package Tours. Journal of Travel Research, 39(1), 52-59.</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref5">
        <label>5</label>
        <mixed-citation>Katircioglu, S. , Unlucan, D. &amp; Dalci, I. (2010). Factors affecting university students’ choice of travel agencies: The case of North Cyprus. Asian Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, 4(1), 30-40.</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref6">
        <label>6</label>
        <mixed-citation>Ezeuduji, Ikechukwu. (2015). Choice of Intermediary for Leisure Travel Arrangements. Journal of Economics and Behavioral studies. 7. 65-78. 10.22610/jebs.v7i5(J).607.</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref7">
        <label>7</label>
        <mixed-citation>De Jager, K. (2015). Choosing between travel agencies and the internet. University of Johannesburg (South Africa).</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref8">
        <label>8</label>
        <mixed-citation>Eric Ng, Frances Cassidy, Les Brown, Exploring the Major Factors Influencing Consumer Selection of Travel Agencies in a Regional Setting, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management,Volume 13, Issue 1,2006.</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref9">
        <label>9</label>
        <mixed-citation>Kumar, J., Shreya, V. S. S., &amp; Konar, R. (2021). Exploring the factors influencing the selection of traditional travel agencies: a case of Banjarmasin, Indonesia. ASEAN Journal on Hospitality and Tourism, 19(2), 142-157.</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref10">
        <label>10</label>
        <mixed-citation>Pinto, I., &amp; Castro, C. (2019). Online travel agencies: factors influencing tourist purchase decision. Tourism &amp; Management Studies. https://doi.org/10.18089/tms.2019.150201.</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref11">
        <label>11</label>
        <mixed-citation>Arora, S. (2019). Customer Behaviour-Online Travel Industry in India. SocioEconomic Challenges. https://doi.org/10.21272/sec.3(1).90-98.2019.</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref12">
        <label>12</label>
        <mixed-citation>Mishra, A., &amp; Atulkar, S. (2025). Influencing Role of Key Determinants on Consumers' Preference towards Online Travel Agencies. Journal of Information Systems Engineering and Management. https://doi.org/10.52783/jisem.v10i55s.12686.</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref13">
        <label>13</label>
        <mixed-citation>Mazurek-Kusiak, A. (2020). Determinants of the Selection of Travel Agencies on Polish Tourist Services Market. E &amp; M Ekonomie A Management, 23, 156-166.</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref14">
        <label>14</label>
        <mixed-citation>https://doi.org/10.15240/tul/001/2020-1-011.</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref15">
        <label>15</label>
        <mixed-citation>Habibie, F., Gantina, D., Rasyid, Y., Adsena, Y., &amp; Pangkerego, E. (2025). Analysis of Factors Affecting Travelers' Decisions in Choosing Online Ticket and Flight Purchases. TRJ Tourism Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.30647/trj.v9i1.278.</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref16">
        <label>16</label>
        <mixed-citation>Rodríguez-Pallas, Á., Sarabia-Molina, M. Y., Sánchez-Fernández, M. D., &amp; Ramón-Cardona, J. (2024). Gender and Age in the Travel Choice by Spanish Travel Agency Consumers. Societies, 14(6), 90. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc14060090</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref17">
        <label>17</label>
        <mixed-citation>Ku, E. C. S., &amp; Fan, Y. W. (2009). THE DECISION MAKING IN SELECTING ONLINE TRAVEL AGENCIES: AN APPLICATION OF ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS. Journal of Travel &amp; Tourism Marketing, 26(5–6), 482–493. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548400903163020</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref18">
        <label>18</label>
        <mixed-citation>Anggraeni, T. D., Simanjuntak, M., &amp; Nurhayati, P. (2023). Determinan Factors of Decision to Choose an Online Travel Agent to Book a Place to Stay. Jurnal Doktor Manajemen.</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref19">
        <label>19</label>
        <mixed-citation>https://doi.org/10.22441/jdm.v6i1.17417</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref20">
        <label>20</label>
        <mixed-citation>Wąsowicz-Zaborek, E. (2022). Consumer choice determinants of online intermediary tourism platforms. International Journal of Management and Economics, 58(2), 161–178.</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref21">
        <label>21</label>
        <mixed-citation>https://doi.org/10.2478/ijme-2022-0013</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref22">
        <label>22</label>
        <mixed-citation>Mazurek-Kusiak, A. (2022). Model of Tourist Service Purchasing Decisions in Travel Agencies. Folia Turistica, 58, 9–33. https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0016.0328</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref23">
        <label>23</label>
        <mixed-citation>Hossain, K., Kumar, S., Shabbir, R., &amp; Redwanuzzaman, R. (2024). PURCHASING TOURISM SERVICES THROUGH ONLINE TRAVEL AGENCY: DOES ELECTRONIC WORD-OF-MOUTH HAVE INFLUENCE? AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON BANGLADESHI TOURISTS. GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites. https://doi.org/10.30892/gtg.542spl01-1252.</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
            <ref id="ref24">
        <label>24</label>
        <mixed-citation>Hong, E., Kim, W., &amp; Lee, B. (2019). The Effect of Selection Criteria of Travel Agency for Overseas Exhibition on Relationship Continuity. 51-75. https://doi.org/10.16938/ijtfs.2019.14.4.051.</mixed-citation>
      </ref>
          </ref-list>
  </back>
  
</article>
