An establishment (as an inn) offering lodging and breakfast.
Published in Chapter:
Internet Diffusion in the Hospitality Industry
Anatália Saraiva Martins Ramos (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil)
Copyright: © 2009
|Pages: 5
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60566-026-4.ch347
Abstract
Tourism is the most important industry in the world in terms of the numbers of employees and its effect on the social and economical development of a region or country. Holjevac (2003) believes that, by the year 2050, tourism will by far be the largest industry worldwide, with 2 billion tourists and US$24 billion in domestic and international receipts. Moreover, the major tourist destinations will be India, China, Indonesia, and Brazil. The use of information technologies for basic functions— conferences, business meetings in distant places, training, designed routes and airlines, reservations and tickets purchased through computer systems, tourist shops, restaurants—is becoming usual in tourism. All these services have led tourist companies to adopt more updated methods in order to increase competition. Consumers, who are already becoming familiar with new technologies, demand more flexible, interactive, and specialized products and services, bringing new management techniques from the intelligent use of IT used to accomplish tour company business processes (Buhalis, 2000). The hotels depend progressively on the resources of new information technology to follow and update the tools which allow an efficient development of activities in each section of the company, leading to better results for its management (Mendes-Filho & Ramos, 2003a). To Phillips and Moutinho (1998), information technology (IT) is one of the critical factors of success in the hotel industry. According to studies and data, the use of technological tools will allow a bigger competitiveness for hotels (Cline, 1999). Technology will be the catalyst of change, a source of growing connectivity and one of the most important factors in distinguishing success among hotel companies. Few issues have greater importance to the business of hospitality than the technological decisions that will be made in the coming years (Buhalis, 2000; Mendes-Filho & Ramos, 2004; Olsen & Connoly, 2000). The hotel industry is one of the most important kinds of Web commerce. The data shows that all major companies linked to the tourism industry (hotels, agencies, air companies, and rentals) possess some kind of e-commerce activity through the Web (O’Connor, 1999; Scottish Executive, 2000; Werthner & Klein, 1999).