Online booking of collective accommodation establishments in Malta

Abstract

Tourism plays a major role in the economy of many small islands and one way how these islands can remain competitive in this industry is through price competitiveness. Online bookings have increased in popularity with travel consumers, and such bookings can nowadays take place through various channels. This paper studies online bookings of collective accommodation establishments on the small island state of Malta by comparing the prices offered through three different channels. A number of hypotheses are tested using data collected from a representative sample and some implications that this study has for major stakeholders in the tourism industry in Malta are discussed.