Influence of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Tourism Sector: A Descriptive Approach (original) (raw)

An ICT Framework for Tourism Industry of Nepal: Prospect and Challenges

Journal of Internet Computing and Services(JICS) , 2016

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has revolutionized the world and has profound impact on the social and economic development of a country. Implementation, practice and accessibility of ICT is viewed as an integral part of any countries' strategy today. These new technologies are becoming popular due to their ability to produce, distribute and provide instant access to massive information in no time. ICT has pervaded almost every aspect of human endeavor that may include health, education, economics, governance, entertainment etc. Tourism is one such vital industry that find enormous application of ICT in its strategic and operational level, to promise long term benefits and enhance economic growth. Tourism industry in western world and some developed countries of Asia have applied ICT for more than 30 years, and have gained tremendous benefits. Nepal which is also growing as one of the favourite tourist destinations lacks proper implementation of ICT in this industry. In our study we examined how the ICT can play a vital role in developing the tourism industry of Nepal. This study is an exploratory research based on primary data collected from tourist visiting Nepal, supported by information from tour operators, government agencies, NGOs and INGOS. A framework is devised on the basis of data and information collected and finally, discussions elaborate on the prospect and challenges of implementation of ICT in tourism industry of Nepal. ☞ keyword : ICT, information access, internet, data center, tourism industry.

Analysis of ICT Infrastructure and Tourism Informational Needs: A Case Study of Nepal

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2021

Tourism finds enormous application of ICT in the development of strategic and operational goals. ICT promises long-term benefits and is a leading force in the tourism industry to enhance development and economic growth. The tourism industry in the western world and some developed countries of Asia have applied ICT for more than 30 years, and have gained tremendous benefits. Nepal which is also growing as one of the favorite tourist destinations lacks proper implementation of ICT in this sector. In our study, we examined how ICT can play a vital role in developing the tourism industry of Nepal. This study is exploratory research based on primary data collected from tourists visiting Nepal, supported by information from tour operators, government agencies, NGOs, and INGOs. A framework is devised based on data and information collected and finally, discussions elaborate on the informational needs, technological architecture, and challenges for the implementation of ICT in the tourism industry of Nepal.

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY AS A DRIVING FORCE OF CHANGES IN TOURISM

Modern technologies, primarily information and communication technology (ICT), have a leading role in determining the future direction and pace of the tourism industry development as well as the establishment of new relations in the tourism market between supply and demand sides. Influences of modern technologies on tourism development and its forms are numerous and strong. This is reflected not only through the reservation systems and distribution channels, which are among the first to use the opportunities of modern technology in tourism industry, but also through increasingly stronger presence of ICT in different aspects of the tourism industry and tourists' behavior. This paper focuses on the impacts of ICT on the formation of new relations and emergence of new phenomena in the tourism market, changes in the tourism industry as well as changes in the tourists' behavior and decision-making process. Networking is a word that will designate the development of tourism and tourist destinations in the coming period. Thus, in this paper, special emphasis will be put on interrelations of information, technology, tourism and people (tourists) in any place at any time.

Attitude of International Tourist towards ICT and Digital Services in Tourism Industry of Nepal

AISS '19: Proceedings of the International Conference on Advanced Information Science and System, 2019

Tourism is the second biggest industry of Nepal and it serves as the primary source of business and employment in the country. The ICT boom around the globe has a poor state in Nepal and the country lacks behind in digital service implementations. The global pressure has forced Nepalese tourism industry and Government organizations to implement ICT to overcome global competition and meet the rising demands. These implementations lack the study and empirical evidence of consumers (International Tourist) attitude and point of view, therefore, this work carries a great significance. The work explores the attitude of International tourist for perceived risk, perceived usefulness, and perceived case of use of ICT technologies for adoption in Nepalese context. We employ exploratory research methodology with descriptive statistics to investigate the subject under consideration. A sample size of 150 international tourists based on convenience sampling is taken as primary source of data, supplemented by secondary sources which consist of reports, projects, publications and closed group interview of tourism officials and business men. The study helps Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) and business houses of Nepal to devise plans and strategies for growth and implementations in ICT and Digital services. The study also fulfills the gap in the literature and serves as a knowledge base for tourism officials, business houses, policy makers, bankers, digital companies, tourism authorities and consumers.

The effects of the use of ICT by tourism enterprises

Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego. Service Management, 2015

Nowadays tourism economy is driven by information technology (IT) and telecommunications. All tourism oriented companies, such as tour operators, travel agencies, rental agencies, cruisers and hotels experience the growing impact of what is commonly known as information and communication technology (ICT). Tourism sector represents the information-intensive industry characterized by a significantly long value chain influenced, to a great extent, by information. Its creation, collection, storage, retrieval and transfer remain within the core activities of all tourism enterprises. Every single innovation in IT sector can potentially change the strategy followed by tourism companies in running a business. Such transformations are also imposed by tourists' behaviors which keep altering under the influence of information technology. The process of tourist services purchase is based on information collected through many different channels, e.g. travel agencies, brochures, the word-of-mouth, or web sides offered by tourist service suppliers, which are currently gaining much importance. Consumer decision making process in tourism sector is transformed into an online one, since direct service booking has become possible. Proper understanding of behaviors presented by those searching for travel information online, as well as using innovative information and communication technologies by tourists, remain essential for designing an effective ICT-based business model. Currently it seems to be the crucial challenge for the entire tourism sector. ICT is focused on designing the new scientific paradigm (by innovation, co-opetition, collaboration with customers) of tourism development based on modern e-technologies. The paper discusses the level of information and communication technologies application in the tourism sector. The study covers small and medium-size hotels (SMEs) and travel agencies which dominate the tourism industry worldwide. The article draws experience from the tourism industry in one of the most popular tourist destinations in Poland − Lower Silesia.

An initial exploratory study into the use of ICT in tourism by developing economies as suppliers of hospitality and destination

COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS, 2006

Not many industries that offer intangible goods are so dependent on information gathering, processing, storage and presentation as tourism is. Therefore any modern tourist business that pays inadequate attention to its use of ICT is likely to become uncompetitive. Although the level of ICT use in tourism differs from place to place, less developed economies can compete better by the use of technologies such as the internet and open source software. Yet, a systematic study of the use of ICT by the tourist industry in less developed economies is scanty or lacking in academic literature. Therefore there is inadequate knowledge of how developing countries can benefit from the potentials that ICT offer to the tourist industry. This paper attempts to fill this gap in knowledge by revealing from literature the potential contributions of ICT in the tourist industry and proposes that these contributions be used in a future study of less developed economies in their role as suppliers of hospitality and destination aspects of tourism.

Revisiting the Impact of ICT to the Tourism Development

IRPN: Innovation & International Management (Topic), 2015

Technological development and tourism is close connected since exponential growth is realized in both areas in last 50 years. Information and communication technology influence on global scale on tourism development, and tourism development change the business practice and development strategies. Three new systems has dramatically influence on tactical and strategic level of doing business, computer reservation systems, global distribution system and Internet. Technological changes are obvious in three directions: radical changes in existing industries, development of new industries, incentive of new market development and industries which are not in direct connection with new technologies. The aim of this paper is to point on new technologies development on tourism thru overview of previous research.

ICT and the future of tourist management

Journal of Tourism Futures, 2019

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to speculate how recent and emerging trends in information and communication technology (ICT) could change the way tourism businesses and organizations communicate with and manage their guests. Design/methodology/approach This paper applies elements of futures and design thinking to analyze current tourism management practices and identify critical touchpoints that link tourist decisions to management strategies. Findings Fictional travel stories were used to identify and analyze how technology might affect tourism through five touchpoints– choice, connection, co-creation, customization and compliance. These stories were analyzed to identify changing forces and suggest potential paradigm shifts that tourism managers need to consider. These included increasingly complex content, the importance of compatible connections, and the critical role of coordination and cooperation in future tourism systems. Originality/value While there have been numerous...

ICT (information and communications technologies) and tourism: an initial exploratory study of developing economies as suppliers of hospitality and …

2007

The current collaborative and rapid development in tourism and ICT makes it difficult to imagine that tourism existed before ICT. Tourism has not been passively benefiting from new developments in technology but tourism has also contributed to groundbreaking developments in ICT. Examples are the computer reservation system (CRS) and the global distribution system (GDS) which have been the first multiorganisational and global information systems. While many ICT tools exist for the tourist trade, their use varies from place to place for a number of reasons. This theoretical paper proposes an examination of the level of use of ICT tools for tourism in less developed economies who are in dire need of these tools (such as web tools) at least to compete in today's global market. The paper reveals from literature the potential contributions of ICT in the tourist industry and proposes that these contributions be used in a future study of less developed economies in their role as suppliers of hospitality and destination aspects of tourism.