ABSTRACT
Over the last three decades, tour operators have emerged as key players in the international tourism arena. Together with the airline sector, these wholesalers of the travel industry are strategically placed as ‘gatekeepers’ exercising enormous influence over the geography of origin-destination tourist flows and, ultimately, the fortunes of individual destinations (S.Britton 1982; Burkart and Medlik 1981). Their competitive advantage derives from their pivotal position as coordinators responsible for packaging into single products the various elements serving the travel experience (i.e. flights, accommodation, tours, ground transfers), and selling these either through travel agents or directly to consumers at a single, discounted price (S.Britton 1991; Ioannides 1994; Middleton 1988; Urry 1990).
