Sarah DeAtleySarah DeAtleyLIS 560LIS 560

BE YOUR OWN TRAVEL AGENT:BE YOUR OWN TRAVEL AGENT: PLANNING A TRIP TO PUERTO PLANNING A TRIP TO PUERTO RICO FOR INDEPENDENT RICO FOR INDEPENDENT TRAVELERSTRAVELERS

Overview

An instructional session for

independent travelers who are

intending to visit Puerto Rico, or

other destinations. The primary skill

they will be trained on is the usage

of online resources like travel-

oriented search engines.

User Group: independent travelers

Flexibility in travel plans

Customize travel

plans to fit specific

travel needs Tend to go online to create vacation plans

Are usually experienced travelers.

Do not use travel agents

Do not take package vacations

No overall demographics

Do not plan details

Planning Behaviors

Pre-trip During trip

Airfare

Primary Destination

Accommodation

Date of trip

Main

Transportation

Routes

Attractions/Activities

Sub-destinations

Where to eat and shop

Accommodation

Why pre-trip?Most of the major

decisions in a package

vacation are handled by

travel agents

typically.

Independent travelers

need to be able to

successfully plan the

pre-trip aspects on

their own.

Objectives Increase knowledge of

travel resources

Increase

Ability to evaluate

and compare across

resources

Making a travel

arrangement using an

aggregator site or

airline site

Searching and

navigating

aggregator websites

Skill

Attention ActivityFuente de Leones (Fountain of Lions) in the 2nd largest city in Puerto Rico, Ponce.

The lion is the symbol of Ponce, and this fountain is noted for pushing water up into the middle instead of downward from the center.

Relevance Discussion

Who would take

advantage of a

roundtrip flight

(on sale!) from

Seattle to San

Juan for $350 in

early September?

Lecture and PPT presentation

What resources are

available

Where you can find

them

Who writes them

Travel Search Walkthrough

Class Activity: DIY searching

Step 1: Pick a destination

Step 2: Choose an online resource to use

Step 3: Search for airfare or

accommodations

Step 4: Email favorite results to

yourself

Evaluation and Worksheet

Bibliography1. Fatt, James Poon Teng. (1993). “Learning Styles in Training: Teaching Learners the Way to Learn.” Industrial and Commercial Training, 25(9), 17-23.

2. Boston, Carol. (2002). “The concept of formative assessment”. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 8(9).

3. McCarthy, Bernice. (1997). “A tale of four learners: 4MAT's learning styles.” Educational Leadership, 54(6), 46-52.

4. Small, Ruth . “Motivation in Instructional Design,” ERIC Digests EDO-IR-97-06 (1997).

5. Kenneth F. Hyde and Rob Lawson. “The Nature of Independent Travel.” Journal of Travel Research. 42: 13. 2003. 13-23.

6. Marilla D. Svinicki and Nancy M. Dixon. “The Kolb Model Modified for Classroom Activities.” College Teaching. 35: 4. 1987. 141-146.

7. Steffan Staub and Hans Werthner. “Intelligent Systems for Tourism.” IEEE Intelligent Systems. November/December 2002. 53-66.

8. Kyriaki Kaplanidou and Christine Vogt. “A Structural Analysis of Destination Travel Intentions as a Function of Web Site Features.” Journal of Travel Research. 45: 204. 2006. 204-216.