Affiliate Marketing in Travel and Tourism

This paper explores, through an analysis of the existing literature and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, the use of affiliate marketing within the travel and tourism industry. The study findings show that affiliate marketing is becoming a key strategic channel for distribution of travel and tourism product and that the discipline is maturing with the advent of affiliate networks and the increasing sophistication of both merchants and affiliates. The findings also show that are still several problematic aspects linked to this form of online distribution mainly in relation to issues of brand management and affiliate fraud.