INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND TOURISM INDUSTRY

Information and Communication Technology in tourism sector is of special significance. This is due to its special product behavior, various high tech information and communication technologies are in use in the tourism sector around the world. They are used for tourism product development, marketing, distribution and training of tourism sector personnel. These technologies are so indispensable in order to find out and satisfy the ever-changing demands for tourism products. Though there are many definitions for tourism, it could be simply defined as a “travel and stay of a non-resident”. In order to travel to a particular area there must be a reason. For example a person may travel for leisure, business, visiting friends and relatives, health, education etc. He/she chooses a destination for one or the other reason. Transport is necessary to travel and accommodation to stay at the destination. So, tourism as an industry has three major components: Attraction, Accommodation and Transport. In the developed world, today, all these components have reached at their zenith in satisfying their customers’ needs aided by modern technology. These components have also came a long way to offer a range of products which suit the needs of multitude tourists around the world, and are still working hard to cater to an ever changing test of them. Tourism is ranking the top ahead of all other categories of international trade. This is evident from the statistical information compiled from all over the world by WTO (World Tourism Organization). The number of international arrival shows an evolution from a mere 5 million in 2011 to 20 million in 2012.The trend shows a tremendous increase both in the number of tourists and income in the coming years.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND THE TOURISM INDUSTRY COMPONENTS

As indicated above the tourism industry is made up of three major components: namely,

(i) Transport sector, which includes air, water and surface transport,

(ii) Accommodation sector, all types of establishments that offer lodging to visitors

(Hotel, Motel, Guest houses, caravans etc.)

(iii) Attraction sector which comprises manmade and natural attractions which are developed to satisfy visitors educational, recreational, aesthetic needs etc.

TRANSPORT SECTOR

Transport provides the essential link between tourism origin linkage destination and it facilitates the movement of holidaymakers, business travelers, people visiting friends and relatives and those undertaking educational and health tourism. Before setting out on a journey of any kind, every traveler makes sure which Transport Company has a good safety record. To this effect, airplanes coaches and even taxis are equipped with good communication equipment. An Airplane flies with the help of modern information technology equipment which provides information ranging from weather, altitude and other information to the pilot to communication made during emergency by the pilot with other airplanes and air traffic control stations. In-flight entertainment is also a product of information technology, video games, video films are examples. In the case of buses/coaches and taxis, in many countries with developed tourism business, they are equipped with radio communication systems for various uses. For example, the driver or the tour guide updates the Tour Company headquarters about the progress of the tour throughout the touring period. This communication ensures the safety of tourists. Fast and easy information flow is of paramount importance to build confidence in the travelling public. In recent years, the confidence built due to the use of modern IT has been demonstrated by a tremendous increase in the number of travelers worldwide.

ACCOMMODATION SECTOR

In the accommodation sector also the contribution of information technology is prominent. Any individual or group wishing to travel to any part of the world now has an easy access to the accommodation service providers. A visitor can access an information about the kind of hotels at the destination, their ranges of product, the price and other relevant information without leaving his/her office or home. What one has to do is to ring up a travel agency and get the expert advice. This will help any visitor greatly as to where to stay during any kind of away from home. Here the information can be obtained aided by still or moving pictures in order to give an exact feature of an accommodation, facilities and services of ones choice. At a destination also visitors are at ease during their stay in every respect, in getting information about their business, family or other information back home. They are also at ease to relax with the videos and television entertainment programs, which nowadays are part and parcel of many accommodation units.

ATTRACTION SECTOR

In the case of attractions both manmade and natural attraction owners need to communicate or inform their customers and potential customers about their product. Information about the kind of attraction, where they are located and how to get there is of vital importance. The attraction owners particularly the national tourist offices discharge their duty of promoting their country’s tourist attractions using the information technology products. Information through promotional videos, Internet web Sites, television advertisements and travel documentaries are the main information dissemination tools. 

Travel Agencies and the role of information technology

One of the unique characteristics of tourism products is the need of the role played by the so-called travel agencies. These travel agencies are also known as, tour operators, conference organizers booking agents etc. They are so important because of the nature of the tourism product, perishables and intangibility. This means service products including tourism, cannot be stored for a litter sale, and cannot be inspected for their quality before purchase respectively. This entails a very big effort for marketing and distribution of these products. Tourism product supply is fragmented both geographically and as product component, coupled with their relatively low capital volume; individual components cannot afford to market and distribute their product for the dispersed potential and actual customers on their own. For instance, an airline company, which flies many destinations, can have a representative but cannot have so many offices or product distribution channels in all routes it serves. Or, in Addis Ababa itself for example, Ethiopian Airlines has few offices to distribute and market its product. However, one can also buy Ethiopian Airline ticket from many other travel agencies in the city. One can imagine if the airline can run these many say sixty offices on its own which are usually with high fixed costs. This makes the travel agents an indispensable partner both in efficiently distributing and marketing the product and substantially reducing the cost of operation for the airline. As these are working on commission basis, the cost of operation for the airline is relatively low. These travel agencies are performing this indispensable task of being intermediary by the use of computers and computer reservation systems (CRS).

CRS (Computer Reservation System)

The airline CRS systems were the pioneers of computer applications in the 1950s and are now virtually indispensable to airlines because they enable their revenue streams to be maximized by efficient inventory control (an inventory in this context refers to an airline’s stock of passenger seats that is available for sale). However, these days, hotel and car hiring companies by renting the service from the airline companies are also employed these systems. The technology works by using computers of special kind and leased telephone lines. The travel agent is connected on line to the central host computer system or CRS. The host computer is always a mainframe with massive database attached. The mainframe host polls each travel agent terminal every second or so, to see if it has any messages to send. In this system it is possible that airliners, Hotels and car rental companies can talk to the travel agent and vise versa. This system contributes to a great extent in increasing sales volume and giving precise information on the availability and selling the products efficiently ensuring substantial profit gain.

GDS (Global Distribution Systems)

GDSs are systems which distribute reservation and information services to sales outlets around the world. Unlike the CRSs used solely by an airline or hotel chain, GDS distribute more than one CRS to users who are usually travel agents. GDSs were formed from the airlines of several CRSs, each of which had its airline backer. Once formed, there was a period of some consolidation and shakeout, after which four main GDSs emerged. These are Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre and World Span. These worlds leading GDSs are switches or simply computers that are connected on the one side to many different supplier systems and on the other side to many end users. The end users of switch comprise travel agents with a single reservation system to support the sale of airline seats and related travel products such as hotel-and car hire, via a single computer terminal, usually a Personal Computer. All the GDSs are owned by a group of airline companies. Eleven carriers of different countries for example own Galileo and there are 500 participating airlines companies. GDSs require massive investment because they are extremely large computer systems that link several airlines and travel principals into a complex network of PCs, telecommunications and large main frame computers. It is not important here to go into the complex operation how these GDSs are working. However it is pertinent to say that GDS are the macro version of CRSs with a specialized and improved information technology for the distribution of Travel products.

Internet: Travel and Tourism

So far it has been dealt with an information technology where intermediaries, travel agents, tour operators etc. are an indispensable part in the distribution and marketing of travel and tourism products, and as an important point of sale or product outlets. Here I will discuss about an information technology where the producer and the consumer are directly communicating, by putting the indispensability of travel intermediaries in question. As I have said elsewhere in this article, the intangibility of the product where risk and uncertainty for the customer is higher, his need for reliable pre-purchase information is stronger. The potential customer’s decision risk and dependence on information is further increased because he cannot see, inspect compare or try out tourist services before deciding to use them. This is not met perfectly than through Internet, which is the latest product of information technology. This interactive information-supplying medium is user friendly and gives enormous information of all kind related to travel. Apart from supplying information on world leading and emerging tourist destination of all kind, it is now possible to book and buy holidays through Internet using plastic money. It gives information on all Airlines, Hotels and Car hire companies, which are in its database. Microsoft is a travel agent. Its Internet site branded Expedia is one of the most important examples of the new generation of travel intermediaries. Distribution of travel and tourism products using the Internet has a substantial cost reduction advantage for providers of tourism services. The cost incurred by suppliers in receiving a customer booking is the one, which is costly. So, Internet gives a practical aid both in supplying information and receiving bookings or selling tourism products on the principals’ behalf.

      Marketing tourism products on the Internet is also possible. This is done through the page of the company’s Internet site. Once the company got access to the Internet, it gets various opportunities. Of these, Electronic-mail (e-mail) is one. As a tourism product supplier, especially with business travel as a selected target market, it makes possible to communicate the person through his/her e-mail address wherever the client is. Unlike telephone communication, there is no need for the presence of the receiver of the message during message transmission. It also gives a typed copy of the message. E-mail communication medium is very cheap yet efficient and effective. On the other hand, marketing on the Internet has an advantage of being used by all company’s of all size as long as they can establish their Web Site on the Internet.

Conclusion

In this article, I have discussed many of the prominent mediums and uses of IT in the travel and tourism industry. As can be seen they have enormous contribution to tourism business word wide. It is also noted that, because of the special characteristics of tourism products, the use of IT is more pronounced in this industry. Tourism in today’s world is a very big economic and social activity, generating a large amount of income, employment and foreign currency and investment opportunities. Though, currently, the developed nations are getting the lion’s share of the benefit of tourism, there is a promising future for the developing nations also. The paramount use of IT in tourism business activity by itself does not mean anything, unless it advances the idea of human development. It should contribute to the over all development of a country. The contribution of tourism towards socio-economic development and environmental conservation is immense. Apart from satisfying the recreational, educational and other needs of tourists, tourism could be used as a community development vehicle aimed at local people at the destination area. At macro level tourism gives an alternative or additional foreign currency source which is very much scarce in developing countries. However, not the earning of income from tourism but its judicial distribution among the stakeholders is an issue where in many cases the income remains in the pockets of handful multinational tourism business companies and national tour operators. This should be avoided, and only then, that tourism can serve as a development vehicle to socio-economic and environmental development. The business developed due to the great contribution of IT should address this problem. If this idea is included as a tourism development objective in any country’s economic agenda, the development cannot be achieved without keeping pace with the development of Information Technology.