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Success in the tourism
industry depends to a large extent upon the availability
of information. Since tourism products
are typically bought prior to and at some
distance from their consumption, the quality of
their representation inevitably
influences the customer's decision.
Since information plays such a pivotal role in
the sale of tourism products, the information
revolution has affected the industry in
profound ways. It has permitted entirely new
players to capture a share of the global tourism
market, simply on the strength of their technical
knowhow. For example, E-mediaries such
as Travelocity and Expedia managed to capture a
share of the global tourism market before the
established names had adjusted to the New
Economy.
The term "New Economy" refers to the
use of the Internet as a medium for
business and customer relationships. The
World Wide Web enables businesses to publish
sites on a global network,
connecting them with their clients. It differs to
other forms of telecommunications, like
telephones, faxes, etc. in that it unites the
representation of a 'shop front' with the
functions normally carried out by staff and the
sales desk in the 'back rooms'. So, the customer
is able to check a vacancy, find out how much it
costs and then finally pay for it, entirely through
the web site.
There are many benefits to be gained from having
a website. One is that the electronic
distribution of promotional material saves
the cost of brochures. The cost of
printing, storing and distributing physical
promotional material represents a large part of
the old-style promotional budget. Transferring
this material to a website reduces these
costs considerably.
Although the cost of designing a web site is
about the same as for designing a brochure, the
electronic medium offers a number of advantages
over printed material. For example, the World
Wide Web reaches anybody with access to
the Internet, the information can be updated
regularly, and products can be booked
and paid for directly through the
website.
Another significant cost saving to be gained from
having a website is that direct contact with the
customer cuts out the agent. The
Internet helps to bring consumers into direct
contact with businesses and enables consumers to
do the work normally done by an agent. They can
find travel related information on the World Wide
Web and book services online. |
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