The Role of Information and Communication Technologies in Transformation of Tourism Business and Markets
The Role of Information and Communication Technologies in Transformation of Tourism Business and Markets

Summary/Abstract: For structural reasons, tourism is an information-intensive sector. Tourism services are significantly featured by information, but essentially a physical service is almost always the final product that should be delivered to customers. The uniqueness of a tourism product is reflected in the fact that it is usually obtained as a mixture of products and services provided by different parties and different companies. The complexity of the tourism market and the specifics of a tourism product that contains the information component affect the organization of specific distribution channels for these products and the formation of information and value chains in which each participant adds significant value for the end user of these products. These characteristics of the tourism market and products put information and communication technology (ICT) in the foreground. Given that information and technological support to the tourism sector is very important, travel agencies, major airline companies, tour operators, and large hotel chains intensively use ICT in their business. This article primarily examines the role and impact of ICT on the significant changes that have taken place in the tourism sector and tourism business of companies.

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