Implementing integrated supply chain help to alleviate stakeholder conflicts and enhance delivered service experience in the Chinese tourism sector for booking platforms

Abstract

The tourism industry has undergone major revolutionary changes in recent decades due to the rise of the internet, accelerating the shift from traditional offline travel agencies to online booking platforms that provides a centralised channel for making reservations of all tourism products and service online. The emergence of online booking platforms has attracted large volumes of tourism supply chain network members to collaborate and acts as the intermediary channel to connect tourists (customers) with local service providers. This study critically explores the complex relationships between an extensive group of Chinese tourism supply chain network members from the perspective of online booking platforms, identifying the stakeholder conflicts current existed in the Chinese tourism industry, its causes and the individual needs/ interests of different stakeholder groups. The current effectiveness of the Chinese tourism supply chain system is examined, recognising the need for designing and implementing an integrated supply chain system that helps to overcome current challenges in the lack of control over service delivery quality and to reduce stakeholder conflicts. This study identified the potential challenges in the implementation of an integrated supply chain system for online booking platforms in the Chinese tourism industry, incorporating these challenges into the development of practical solutions through designing the integrated supply chain system with focus on individual stakeholder needs, real time monitoring and control measures, synchronisation of customer information toward supply chain partners and to foster strategic decision making through the involvement of supply chain partners and shared information/ resources.