Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Integration by Teacher Educators in Israeli Colleges of Education: the Current State of Affairs, 2008-2009 (original) (raw)
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International Journal of Tourism Research, 2008
This paper provides a new perspective of the realities faced by small tourism enterprises in the developing world. Given the well-recognised value of the Internet in tourism, we sought to identify how entrepreneurs mitigate Internet adoption obstacles such as the inadequate and unreliable telecommunications infrastructure, the cost of the technology, and a lack of knowledge and skills that characterise developing nations. A qualitative study was performed on small tourism enterprises in rural and metropolitan areas of Malaysia and Ecuador. We found that entrepreneurs established ways to overcome obstacles, with some applying quite innovative solutions. This paper helps to understand the role of entrepreneurs in innovation adoption and improve knowledge of Internet appropriation among small tourism enterprises in developing nations. A number of transferable lessons are identified. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Internet Adoption In the Hotel Industry: A Multiple Case Study in Brazilian Hotels
Issues & trends of …, 2002
The Internet has altered the way in which many lodging companies handle business, both between customers and business-to-business exchanges. This article presents the opinion of the hotel managers in Natal (Brazil) on: what their perceptions, the benefits and the drawbacks of the Internet adoption at their properties. The survey consists of a multiple cases study that was applied in three different kinds of hotels: a small-size hotel, a mid-size hotel and a large-size hotel. The final conclusion was that these hotels have increasingly adopted the Internet as a way of gaining competitive edge at their properties.
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Information Technology & …, 2006
This article draws upon Diffusion of Innovations and Configurational theories to investigate how website features and email responses by 200 Swiss hotels reflect evolving Internet adoption. Complementary multivariate and artificial neural network (ANN) techniques support classifying the hotels into three clusters based on their website features. These clusters and the results of a structural equation model confirm that Internet adoption evolves from static to dynamic use, as organizations add website features and provide quality responses to customer emails. Practically, differences among these clusters suggest caution in adopting some website features. Academically, the study extends diffusion research and introduces metrics, particularly domain name age and quality email responses, for future research of organizational Internet adoption. Finally, the study illustrates how ANNs complement and help overcome limitations of multivariate techniques.
Internet Adoption in Gulf Cooperation Council’s Tourism Industry
New Media and Mass Communication, 2012
The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of internet applications and their effects in the tourism industry of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). As a platform for e-commerce, the internet remains a reliable tool for use in the tourism industry, a conception that continues to win increased acceptance among major players in the industry. Despite evidence of slow rates of internet adoption in the tourism sectors of some nations, the future of tourism seems heavily dependent on this technology. This exploration is conducted based on available theoretical models which have been used on the subject in other countries, with the findings forming the basis in asserting the future of the tourism industry in the GCC. Conservativeness was found to be a major setback to the sustained competitive exploitation of internet value in GCC's tourism industry.
The exploratory study presented in this paper uses institutional theory to draw attention to institutional isomorphism in the context of information technology adoption by tourism operators. Based on samples collected in Brazil and Australia, it describes and discusses patterns of technology adoption and use regarding email, Websites, social media and e-Commerce. The findings hint at increasing globalization of technology and the tourism industry, leading to very similar adoption results.
Technology adoption in hotels: Applying institutional theory to tourism
Tourism Review, 2020
Purpose-The research applies institutional theory to demonstrate if and how mimetic, coercive and normative pressures shape technology adoption in hotels and lead to institutional isomorphism. Design/methodology/approach-The study uses a qualitative approach involving interviews with managers representing 20 different hotels. A theory-driven thematic analysis was carried out with institutional theory concepts serving as guidance. The data analysis involved three phases: pre-analysis, exploration and finalizing of results. Nvivo software was used to assist with the coding. Findings-The results show signs of isomorphism on a large scale across several items related to technology adoption practices and uses of technological tools. For instance, hoteliers adopt similar standards, feel the need to mimic competition, and all strive to be well evaluated on sites such as TripAdvisor to achieve legitimacy in the marketplace. In contrast, coercive pressures from trade associations or other governing bodies seem to have little influence on technology adoption decisions. Instead, consumers are seen as powerful agents driving technology adoption in the industry. Regarding normative pressures, certification from third parties are perceived as more important sources of legitimization than recognition from government institutions or trade associations. Originality/value-This study contributes to the still limited literature on institutional theory in tourism and provides an alternative perspective to understanding technology adoption from a rational technology acceptance model point-of-view.
E-Tourism Developments: Technologies Adoption in the Albanian hospitality sector
International Scientific Conference "ARE WE READY? Challenges of the society facing digital transformation", 2023
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have completely changed the travel industry. E-tourism illustrates the digitalization of all value chains and processes in the travel, tourism, hospitality, and catering industries. In particular, the tourism and hospitality industries have benefited from information and communications technologies (ICTs), reengineering the sector to increase customer satisfaction, while simultaneously bridging suppliers, intermediaries, and end consumers. This study examines the relationship between information and communication technology and e-tourism development in the Albanian hospitality sector. In Albania, the hospitality sector is growing and is a key driver of the country's tourism industry. The study specifically looks at the rate of ICT diffusion in hospitality businesses. The dataset for this s tudy comes from a survey of hotels in Albania. The findings show that although the Albanian online hospitality market is still in its early stages of e-commerce deployment, it has a lot of potential for future e-tourism developments. Overall, the empirical findings show that the development of ICT and infrastructure has created enormous opportunities for expanding and bolstering Albanian hospitality sector. Utilizing technology has benefited hospitality businesses in a number of ways, including lower costs, increased revenues, simpler marketing research and database development, and customer retention. The importance of the study consists on the lack of any similar research that looks at e-tourism and technologies adoption in the Albanian hospitality sector. As a result, the findings of this study may serve as a starting point for other studies in the Albanian tourism sector.
ICTs and Internet adoption in China's tourism industry
International Journal of Information Management, 2003
The fast development of information communication technologies (ICTs) and the expansion of the Internet have changed industry structures around the world. New technologies have been adopted in the tourism industry in Europe and America for more than 30 years, and the trend is likely to continue into the future. China, as a fast-growing developing country in Asia, is gaining importance in the international tourism market for its historical and cultural attractiveness as a destination. It is also becoming a booming tourism source country as its population starts travelling overseas. This study examines how the ICT and Internet gradually change the tourism industry structure in China; how important such changes are, and to where such changes will lead China's tourism industry. This exploratory research is conducted based on information collected from several tourism organisations, such as airlines, hotels, tour operators, visitor attractions and the tourism authorities within China.
Issues and Opportunities of Internet Hotel Marketing in Developing Countries
ABSTRACT. Despite the continuously increasing number of published work on the use of the Internet in tourism and hospitality literature, little has been written specifically on issues faced by hoteliers in developing countries and how they could learn from other successful practices. Indeed, analyzing the well performing destinations would provide useful insights for hoteliers in less performing counterparts around the world so as to better exploit the advantages of Internet technologies within their own constraints. Using Northern Cyprus and Hong Kong as examples, this study attempts first to find out the typical issues and usage of Internet marketing in a less developed tourist destination—Northern Cyprus, and compare the Internet-related practices carried out by hotels in another well developed tourist destination—Hong Kong. A set of self administered questionnaires were mailed to members of major hotel associations in both locations. Results revealed that hoteliers in Hong Kong used the services of professionals in designing their websites and launched their websites before their Cypriot counterparts. A discussion of the findings, implications, and limitations are also given. KEYWORDS. Internet marketing, websites, developing countries, hotels, Hong Kong, Northern Cyprus