E-Relationship for Web-Based Tourism Promotion: A Review of Literature

Is / It For Web-Based Tourism Promotion

It is commonplace for IS/IT to be used as a strategic player, even as the principle enabler, in business success. There is also a counter argument by researchers which asks whether investments on technology are sustainable. Bocij et al. (2003, p. 514) discussed this argument and concluded that there is no significant correlation between spending on IT and profitability. However it could also be argued that the underutilization of IS/IT may create a strategic vulnerability to the organization. The European e-business market watch reports, that the overall ICT utilization remains important for competitive advantage within the tourism sector (E-Business Watch, 2005, p 7). In contrast the success greatly depends on the approach being adopted, not only on the technology itself (Gretzel et al., 2000, p. 146). Therefore developing new strategies is more productive than solely investing on emerging technologies. Apart from the above discussion, another study suggest alignment of business and IS/IT strategies as a better means to improve organizational performance (Shin, 2001, p. 227). However, a thorough analysis of business needs and the existing IS/IT mix is essential to make a case for each IS/IT investment in the current climate of a global recession.