Information Technology in the Tourism-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the use of Information Technology in the Tourism and Hospitality Industries. Answer: Introduction It is mandatory for tourism and hospitality industries to adopt new technologies to compete favorably with business rivals. The companies must design new distribution models to cope up with environmental changes. A sustainable information management system should ensure coordination of Information Technology, processes and managing information. Reports have it that in tourism and hospitality industries, information technology applies in three ways; guest services, management information and operational areas (Benckendorf, 2014). Application of Information Technology has given rise to new services including; interactive video texts and online brochures. The major impact of technology in the tourism and hospitality industries is in the distribution and marketing sectors. However, less attention is paid to areas that are human-intensive such as supplier-consumer and guest-host relationships. The main types of technologies applied in the tourism and hospitality industries include; mobile communication, the internet, computer and reservation systems. With advancement in technology, the tourism and hospitality companies can communicate with travelers through devices such as mobile phones and tablets. Different companies may opt for different forms of communications for example email, GPS tagging or text messages. According to Zeng (2014), through the internet, travelers are able to have a reconnaissance by visiting the companies websites where photos of location are availed which gives them of a clue of their plan destination. Computer systems are used by tourism and hospitality companies to connect their branches and allow easier communication between staff and customers. Through computer systems, the company can gather information about guest preferences and experience. The reservation systems which are mainly booking engines enable the travelers to make a price comparison and also reservations. Some of the available booking engines within the industry that are online include the Expedia and Orbitz. Neuhofer (2014) eludes that through booking engines, tourism and hospitality companies incur low costs by regulating their purchasing processes and call volume. A significant transformation in the tourism and travel industries is evident with improvement in information technology which incorporates sustainable offline and online services. Through Information Technology, some travel companies use e-commerce websites to help travelers in accessing information about the available reservation systems. According to Law (2014), the clients can choose their travel destination since the information available is of high quality and diversity. Mobile technologies have also been applied in the travel industries for access and booking of various options in travel is made easier for the clients using their mobile devices like tablets. In a nutshell, the synergy between the travel industry and information technology is necessary since the specific travel destination of a client is achieved and also travel services solution. Leung (2013) denotes that the purchase decision of customers intending to buy tourism commodities is determined by the nature of the companys website. To gain customers preference, the website must be easier to access. A successful website can be developed by first having a clear understanding of various perceptions by the customers. A comparison study showed that international tourists are more sophisticated than domestic tourists in their choice on what products to purchase (Xiang, 2015). The customers perception is based on; house-keeping, room-size, and front-desk services. A similar study showed that customers from China were more likely to rely on electronic word-of-mouth rather than hotel branding in online reservations. Modern advancements in Information Technology have made the internet preferable for tourists to research and plan for their travel. Take for instance the IPK which is an internet travel monitor based in Europe. A survey conducted on this monitor system showed those two years after its development, 26 percent of people had started using it. However, 74 percent of the population did not access the internet monitor system. According to Xiang (2015), the major internet travel sites are; E-booking and E-travel by destination. A survey showed that Germany registered the highest number of internet travel-bookings. France and Spain are the leading countries in E-travel concerning market share. On the other hand, USA leads in E-travel concerning destinations. Zeng (2014) asserts that online information search ranking is influenced by the foll owing factors; demographic, contextual and psychological. It is also crucial to consider the type of source information available for the tourist. The extent of available information is also a factor to consider. Conclusion In this paper, the efficacy of Information Technology in the tourism and hospitality industries is evident. Websites designed by companies help in marketing themselves. It is important for managers to consider issues relating to Information Technology and incorporate Information Technology in line with the achievement of set goals and overall mission of the business. References Benckendorff, P. J., Sheldon. P.J.,Tesenmaier D.R. (2014) Tourism informationtechnology.Cabi. Law.R., Buhalis, D., Cobanoglu, C. (2014).Progress of information and communication technologies in hospitality and tourism.International journals of Contemporary HospitalityManagement. Leung, D., Law. R., Van Hoof. H.,Buhalis. D. (2013). Social media in tourism and hospitality: A literature review. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing. Neuhofer, B., Buhalis. B., Ladkin, A. (2014). A typology of technology- enhanced tourism experiences. International Journal of Tourism Research. Xiang.Z., Wang.D., O Leary. J. T., Tesenmaier, D.R. (2015). Adapting to the internet: Trends in travellers use of the web for trip planning.Journal of Travel Research. Zeng, B., Gerritsen, R. (2014). What do we know about social media in tourism? A review.Tourism Management Perspectives.