Features of B2B Partner Loyalty Management in the Tourism Industry

The thesis is aimed to study the factors affecting the loyalty of B2B partners in the tourism industry. Nowadays there is a small number of studies, devoted to this problem, have been published. The purpose of the study is providing recommendations for the formation of loyalty of B2B partners in tourism industry based on the study of trends and features of development in contemporary conditions. Object of the research is loyalty of B2B partners of the department Latin America, Spain and Portugal of the tour operator “Intourist”. Subject of the research is loyalty management of B2B partners of the department Latin America, Spain and Portugal of the tour operator “Intourist”. Theoretical significance is to identify factors influencing on B2B partners loyalty to the tour operator and operational activities of the company. Practice significance is that the results of the research can be used by tour operators in forming relationships with B2B partners in order to improve competitive advantages in the tourism industry. In the thesis secondary data was analyzed – the level of interaction between the Department and B2B partners. Qualitative research was conducted with market experts to identify factors that affect the loyalty of B2B partners, and quantitative research – an online survey of B2B partners to test hypotheses using IBM SPSS Statistics about the nature of the influence of selected factors on emotional and behavioral loyalty. As a result of the thesis, the factors affecting emotional and behavioral loyalty were identified, marketing activities that contribute to the growth of bookings were identified, and recommendations were made to increase the loyalty of the Department's B2B partners.