Importance Of Information And Communication Technologies In Tourism Industry

Impact of ICT on Tourism in Developing Countries

Discuss About The Journal Management Contemporary Hospitality.

The evolving relation between communication and information technology and tourism in current times has brought about a great deal of change in the tourism industry. The introduction of new technologies in the market have changed the whole process of the services provided in the tourism sector, its management and marketing and its development as well. Information and Communication Technologies also known as ICTs have the major part in the efficiency and the effectiveness of the tourism industry (Law, Buhalis&Cobanoglu, 2014). Therefore, there are many changes that have been brought about in the tourism business due to the innovative developments in the information and communication technologies. Information and communication technologies have introduced several new technologies onto the market such as wireless internet, various applications for the smartphones and others which have made the lives of people easier and hence also helped in the progressing of the tourism business (Leung et al., 2013). With the evolvement in different technologies along with television, digital radios and cameras, the market is becoming a competitive place to be. Hence, it is important that proper measure is taken by tourism industries to keep their position intact in the competitive market and to bring about changes in its operations and make it more user-friendly and easy to function. In this context, the purpose of this essay is to identify the importance of information and telecommunication technologies on tourism in developing countries.

ICTs have altered the tourism industry and have developed many threats and opportunities for the industry in the process. ICTs are a powerful tool which if used properly can bring many advantages for the tourism industry in developing countries and can promote and strengthen the operations and the strategies of the tourism industry. It can be derived that countries which do not have proper information and communication technologies would not be able to get a proper foothold in the competitive market and not able to match the growth that the tourism sector will get in the future (Bethapudi, 2013). This is because information and communication technologies are slowly becoming dominant in the recent times in societies which are also becoming technology and information driven with time.Information and communication technologies have helped to reshape the tourism industry and provide various opportunities for different sub sectors of the industry like accommodation, travel agencies, restaurants and tour operators in a global aspect (Aramendia-Muneta&Ollo-Lopez, 2013). The proper functioning and operation of these subsectors is mandatory for a whole industry to operate and flourish properly.

Importance of ICT for Tourism Industry in Developing Countries

One of the major contributions of information and communication technology to the tourism industry in the developing countries have the improvement of productivity in the market, the market share, performance of the business, improvement in the competitive advantage and the reduction of operation costs (Xiang &Tussyadiah, 2014).Tourism has been one of the major earners for foreign exchange and a strong earning industry for various countries across the world. This industry is one such which connects and links other industries of the economy. Tourism is a very powerful carriage which can be used for the advancement and the development of the socio-economic aspect of a country, and this make business to engage more people in this industry and create more scope for employment.The changes that have been brought about by the information and communication technologies have made a drastic change in how the tourism and the hospitality sectors have produced, marketed and delivered their products into the market (Mihalic&Buhalis, 2013). These changes have helped in the proper functioning of the industry and in making it more competitive and strategic in its operational activities.

On the other hand, the continuous disputes that have occurred between the innovative technologies and the tourism industry have made it important for some crucial changes to be made in the industry itself as a whole (Bizirgianni&Dionysopoulou, 2013). The whole face of the tourism has changed since the integration of information and communication technology into the market such as the use of internet. Internet and the online presence of the industry have made it very easier for the industry to function and perform and hence internet have become a very important communication tool for the tourism sector in developing countries. The resources that are available in the Internet have helped the industry in deriving quality information about the occurring in the market and to provide proper services to a pool of clients in a more personalized way (Webster &Ivanov, 2014). Therefore, it is seen that through the emergence of information and communication technology in the market, it has become a very crucial and influential part of the tourism sector mainly for developing countries.

It can be said that the emergence of information and communication technologies into the tourism market has many possibilities, however, there are many limitations to its use as well which can be a cause for its decline. The present system of ICT and the Internet is a highly fragmented sources of information collection. The information that is needed can only be derived through proper navigation which can very well be time consuming and hence misleading in the process (Ashari, Heidari&Parvaresh, 2014). There should be specific search engines that should be designed for the tourism industry, and different facilities that could be browsed on different topics. Moreover, there are many developing countries which have not yet realized the full potential of the use of ICT in the tourism industry. The drawback of this is that the industry as a whole would not be able to function equally if the potential of ICT is not realized by everyone.

Limitations and Challenges of Using ICT in Tourism Industry

Information and communication has changed the environment of the tourism industry in developing countries. It has become one of the most important tools for the capabilities of an organization so that they pursue to be in a position from where they could compete equally with the other competitors in the global economy as well as in a digitalized economy (Neuhofer, Buhalis&Ladkin, 2014).A connection between tourism and ICT would not have been possible if ICT would not have given organizations new ways for managing and for retrieving proper information. The use of ICT in the tourism sector have increased with time because of the efficiency and the enhancement of the new and innovative technology. Hence, it has become a valuable business strategy as well as tool which is used efficiently in the travel industry (Egger, 2013). However, proper up to date knowledge is required if the industry wants to make full use of the latest innovations and the technological trends that emerge with time.

It can be concluded that ICT is a valuable tool that is important for the betterment and the development of the tourism industry in developing countries. The new and innovative technologies help the travel industry to function in new and innovative ways which are customer friendly and can help to expand the industry with its new ways. This innovative strategy if used properly would help the industry to grow and provide lots of employment opportunities would be able to expand quickly and drastically. However, there are certain limitations to that of ICT which should be rectified so that the industry can realize the full potential technology and the advantages that come with it. There have been several researches which has been done to understand the connection between tourism and ICT and there have been several positive results which show the great impact that ICT has on tourism industry of the developing countries

References:

Aramendia-Muneta, M. E., &Ollo-Lopez, A. (2013). ICT Impact on tourism industry. International Journal of Management Cases, 15(2), 87-98.

Ashari, H. A., Heidari, M., &Parvaresh, S. (2014). Improving SMTEs’ business performance through strategic use of information communication technology: ICT and tourism challenges and opportunities. International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, 4(3), 1-20.

Bethapudi, A. (2013). The role of ICT in tourism industry. Journal of Applied Economics and Business, 1(4), 67-79.

Egger, R. (2013). The impact of near field communication on tourism. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 4(2), 119-133.

Law, R., Buhalis, D., &Cobanoglu, C. (2014). Progress on information and communication technologies in hospitality and tourism. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 26(5), 727-750.

Leung, D., Law, R., Van Hoof, H., &Buhalis, D. (2013). Social media in tourism and hospitality: A literature review. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 30(1-2), 3-22.

Mihalic, T., &Buhalis, D. (2013). ICT as a new competitive advantage factor-Case of small transitional hotel sector. Economic and Business Review for Central and South-Eastern Europe, 15(1), 33.

Neuhofer, B., Buhalis, D., &Ladkin, A. (2014). A typology of technology?enhanced tourism experiences. International Journal of Tourism Research, 16(4), 340-350.

Webster, C., &Ivanov, S. (2014). Transforming competitiveness into economic benefits: Does tourism stimulate economic growth in more competitive destinations?. Tourism Management, 40, 137-140.

Xiang, Z., &Tussyadiah, I. (2014, January). Information and communication technologies in tourism 2014. In eProceedings of the ENTER 2014 PhD Workshop, Springer International Publishing: Cham (pp. 1-146).