PREFERENCES IN TRAVEL BOOKING: MARKET DYNAMICS BETWEEN ONLINE TRAVEL PORTALS AND THE DIY APPROACH IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT

Abstract The digital travel space in India has also been growing rapidly with the rise of OTAs as well as a more formidable DIY segment․ Despite MakeMyTrip, Yatra and Clear trip accounting for the majority of digital travel intermediation, an important segment of Indian travelers continue to create their itineraries based on the airline's website, hotel's website, or websites specific to the destination of choice․ Such a situation is not seen in developed western travel markets․ While several studies have documented the industry's growth, little is known about the determinants of booking channels in emerging markets such as India․ To address this gap, we apply the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), perceived value theory, and disintermediation literature to develop and empirically test a dual-path concept model of OTA versus DIY booking preference․ Data were collected from 420 Indian travelers across metropolitan and Tier-II cities․ Structural regression analysis found that perceived convenience and trust are meaningful predictors of the preference for OTAs, while price sensitivity, customization preferences, and travel experience are meaningful predictors of the preference for DIY travelers․ The results indicate generational fragmentation, hybrid information processing, and the persistence of price rationality among digitally mature consumers․ The study contributes to platform competition theory, digital tourism research and digital consumer behavior in emerging markets․ Managerial implications for hybrid platform architecture, building trust, AI-based personalization features, and pricing models for the Indian socio-economic context are discussed․