Integration of travel agencies with transport providers

• We examine the integration between travel agencies and transport providers.
• Cooperation between travel agencies and rail carriers is expectedly low.
• Several travel agencies do not cooperate with water carriers at all.
• Cooperation between travel agencies and airlines is effective.
• Most often, travel agencies cooperate with bus operators.

The performance of the tourism supply chain depends on the efficiency of the members involved. A significant role in the performance of the tourism supply chain is played by travel agencies. The level of travel agencies' integration with transport service providers is an important indicator of a companies' performance, yet it has not been sufficiently examined so far. The purpose of this study is to analyse the level of integration between travel agencies and air carriers, rail carriers, water carriers, and bus operators. Based on the data obtained from Slovenian travel agencies included in the survey, the study indicates that travel agencies most often cooperate with bus operators, with which they achieve the highest level of integration, followed by air carriers, water carriers and, lastly, rail carriers recording a low level of integration with travel agencies.