INFLUENCE ON DIGITAL MARKETING IN TRAVEL AGENCIES IN NORTH MACEDONIA

Abstract

In today's world, when information technology has reached its peak, and we are witnessing rapid technological change, marketing experts certainly have one of the most difficult tasks in achieving the company's goals. Digitalization is changing the way people live, work and travel, and has opened up new opportunities for tourism businesses to compete in global markets. Increased competitiveness in the global tourism market encourages tour operators to invest more in promotion, resources, knowledge and quality in order to achieve satisfactory growth. Therefore, it is extremely important to be in touch with the latest technological trends and to have the necessary knowledge to respond effectively to the challenges of global competition. Due to the unprecedented advances in digital technologies adopted for use in marketing tourism, their use in tourism is only expected to gain momentum. E-marketing can be understood as the application of interactive online computer systems and the principles of Internet marketing, so that sellers are electronically connected to consumers. The trends indicate the increasing use of digital marketing among tourists as well as tourism entities that primarily use it to gain competitive advantage and drive higher sales. Therefore, travel agencies have introduced digital technology at the center of their marketing activities. Through this work also analyzed the impact of Internet technology on the marketing activities of travel agencies in the Republic of Northern Macedonia. In this thesis, the theoretical part first explores the use of information and communication technologies in travel agencies and their impact on the development of digital marketing strategies. Then, various digital channels specific to travel agencies and ways to use them in marketing strategies are presented in detail. This paper highlights the important role of the increasing adoption of digital marketing tools, highlighting the growing and wide field of digital marketing tools that is thematically diverse. Tourism marketers need to make sure they understand the trends in the field of digital marketing and be able to adapt to change to stay competitive. Identifies a number of key policy considerations to foster digital technology uptake and use by tourismSMEs. The research confirmed the assumption that with each increase in e-marketing activities can be expected to increase the level of purchasing agency services. The results also showed that travel agencies with a higher level of use of e-marketing perceive a greater positive impact on business results. For this research, the following methods were used, in appropriate combinations, such as: the method of quantitative and qualitative analysis, the method of statistical data processing, the method of induction, the method of deduction, the instrument in the form of an electronic questionnaire and a semi-structured interview.