Tourism and IT: A Business Tool

Tourism and Information Technology

• Information Technology (IT) involves computers, storage, networking, and other physical devices.
• IT also includes the infrastructures and processes used to create, process, store, secure, and exchange electronic data.
• IT is a strategic tool for tourism products' identification, presentation, dissemination, and competitive advantage.

ICT as a Business Tool

• Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the Internet significantly transformed industries in the late 1990s.
• Computerized systems were rapidly developed, applied, and used across a broader range of business functions and activities.
• eBusiness uses digital tools for business functions and processes.
• Hardware includes physical equipment like computer monitors, tablets, and telephones.
• Software consists of pre-written instructions that control computer systems.
• Telecommunication sends signals over long distances, using technologies like radio and telephone.
• Netware is the equipment and software needed to support a network of computers and communication devices.
• Groupware includes communication tools such as email and videoconferencing.
• Humanware refers to the intellect required for technological development, programming, maintenance, and operation.
• Social media involves Internet-based applications built on Web 2.0 principles that allow content creation and exchange.

eTourism

• The travel business involves the continuous buying and selling of travel-related services that satisfy human wants.
• The travel industry is a service industry.
• Tourism provides services to tourists for travel, stay, and activities.
• Tourism is linked to economic and social factors like culture, hospitality, and attractions.
• eTourism digitizes processes and value chains in tourism, hospitality, and catering.
• eTourism revolutionizes business processes and relationships with stakeholders to determine an organization's competitiveness.
• Intranets reorganize internal processes, extranets create transactions with partners, and the Internet reaches all stakeholders.
• Intranets provide information to employees exclusively.
• Extranets are private networks accessible to external authorized parties.
• The Internet is a global network using common communication standards.
• Technology is fundamental for the tourism industry because information is vital.
• Tourism services are intangible and rely on representations.
• Timely information is key to meeting tourism demand.
• ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) are vital for tourism marketing, distribution, promotion, and coordination.

eTourism Demand

• Rapid growth and demand for personalized tourism products necessitate ICT use.
• Tourists increasingly demand higher quality and value.
• Travelers use the Internet to find prices and availability to communicate their needs to tourism suppliers.
• The Internet enables quick access to information and easy reservations, which improves service and tourist satisfaction.

Current Status of Travel E-Commerce

• E-commerce surged due to the COVID-19 pandemic and remained strong in 2021.
• Online sales increased even with fewer restrictions.
• Before the pandemic, 53% of internet users made online purchases, increasing to 60% post-pandemic across 66 countries.
• Developed countries had higher online shopping rates pre-pandemic.
• The global online travel market is projected to reach US$ 1,463.98 billion by 2027, up from US$ 800.72 billion in 2021.
• The travel industry has significantly digitized through travel e-commerce and review sites.
• Travel e-commerce websites sell flights, accommodations, and rental cars via travel company websites or OTAs.
• Travel review websites like Tripadvisor allow users to post reviews and generate revenue through advertisements.
• Booking from home and attractive deals shift consumers from traditional agencies to online options.
• Increased spending, government initiatives to promote tourism, Internet access, and credit card use drive the online travel market.
• Online growth is supported by platforms like Booking.com, TripAdvisor.com, and Skyscanner.com offering flight and hotel bookings.

Impact of COVID-19

• COVID-19 caused a sharp decrease in demand for the global online travel industry, especially in 2020.
• Border closures and airline shutdowns due to the pandemic encouraged people to stay home.
• The coronavirus pandemic caused a 72% decline in international tourist arrivals in 2020 and 71% in 2021 versus 2019.
• There was a 2.1 billion loss in international arrivals over two years.

Tourism Recovery

• Tourism professionals are optimistic about 2022, with expectations of returning to 2019 levels in 2023.
• International tourism rapidly recovered in January-March 2022 after the COVID-19 crisis.
• Europe led the rebound, with three times as many international tourist arrivals as in 2021.
• International arrivals increased 182% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022, with 117 million arrivals compared to 41 million in 2021.