Information technology, as has been said so many times before, has revolutionized our world and has played an essential role. We seem to never get tired of saying this which keeps showing us how information technology has affected us ( positively) and how it has facilitated a great amount of processes.
IT has had a big impact on tourism because many reasons, the main ones being of course that many companies were able to have an online website oon the computer and be able to reach their customers over the internet which has not only facilitated the purchasing process for the customers but also the working process of the companies employees. Customers nowadays have a wider range of possibilities and choices to purchase their products from companies. Nowadays they can either go directly to the company, phone them, send them a letter and of course contact them and get information about them through the internet. Hundreds of years ago of course it was only possible to directly go to the company to get what you want.
So IT and basically all technologies that have developed have contributed and had an immense impact and it has especially changed the way we live. IT technologies have also facilitated the way we communicate. Some examples of how IT has facilitated the way we communicate include, emails, skype, facebook etc.
Sending emails has not just allowed us to communicate fast and efficiently with people but it has also saved us a big amount of costs that we have needed to spend on in the past ( sending letters and packages used to cost a lot of money). Skype has facilitated the communicational process in the same way with the difference being of course that it focuses more on verbal communication rather than written communication. Of course not all calls on skype are free, it generally depends on how you are calling, however skype has a very low fee rate to phone people and be able to talk with them. Overall we all know that IT has facilitated many processes and especially the touristic industry. Videos and pictures can now be shown simply on a companies website and many times these videos and pictures have a bg influence on whether the tourist decides to visit that tourism destination or not. Competition has emerged as to what companie is best at selling themselves to customers over the internet. This is one of the reasons why there are constantly new updates and why companies renew their websites.
Source:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Information,-Technology-and-Tourism&id=3292939
Montag, 17. Januar 2011
Sonntag, 5. Dezember 2010
Online videos for tourists
There is no doubt that the internet has made so many things possible easier that were definetely unthinkable in the past. But although people think that the internet has revolutionized our world, a lot of information found on the internet can be easily found in a library. However there is one very special feature which books cannot offer but the internet can offer and they are online videos.
Online videos have been made available for travellers. Places that offer online videos include Hotels, wellness facilities, restaurants, travel agencies, motels etc. These videos have many purposes, the main one ofcourse being to attract a customer to go and eat or make a holiday at that certain place. They have by all means taken a lot of doubts away from the customers. For example, before the online videos became available to the public, people just trusted the information and the pictures that they were given and as everybody knows, pictures and information can be false and therefore bad surprises happen when the customer gets to the destination. Of course in a lot cases it is not like that, but the high risk of trusting only pictures and information is there. So therefore these online videos allow tourists to actually observe (sometimes even observe LIVE) the place where they are going to stay, taking away most of the doubts that they could have had. Online videos have made tourists more convinced of going to a destination and these videos have now become available on a number of technologies ranging from cell phones to GPS´s,
Sources:
http://www.bytecaster.com/Articles/advantages_of_online_video.htm
Online videos have been made available for travellers. Places that offer online videos include Hotels, wellness facilities, restaurants, travel agencies, motels etc. These videos have many purposes, the main one ofcourse being to attract a customer to go and eat or make a holiday at that certain place. They have by all means taken a lot of doubts away from the customers. For example, before the online videos became available to the public, people just trusted the information and the pictures that they were given and as everybody knows, pictures and information can be false and therefore bad surprises happen when the customer gets to the destination. Of course in a lot cases it is not like that, but the high risk of trusting only pictures and information is there. So therefore these online videos allow tourists to actually observe (sometimes even observe LIVE) the place where they are going to stay, taking away most of the doubts that they could have had. Online videos have made tourists more convinced of going to a destination and these videos have now become available on a number of technologies ranging from cell phones to GPS´s,
Sources:
http://www.bytecaster.com/Articles/advantages_of_online_video.htm
Mittwoch, 24. November 2010
Blogging: advantages and disadvantages
A blog is a website where people can write any types of entries in the form of a diary or journal. They are not only a diary where people can post their entries but they also provide information about certain things such as food, history, facts and figures, instructions,etc. Normally a blog is made up of texts, pictures and sometimes even web links to other websites ( especially in referencing). The information however should not always be trusted because in a blog any person without knowledge about what he/she is writing is allowed to post an entry and this can lead to knowledge of false information especially if there is no referencing. Referencing is also not a must when posting an entry in a blog. All types of people are allowed to open a blog and companies take advantage of opening a blog so that they can get any comments from their customers. The comments section is a big advantage of making a blog because then companies have another information source on their feedback. However blogs are normally used for fun and not for professional purposes. Overall blogs do not necessarily provide trustworthy information, however normally a person looking to stay at a hotel will look up some blogs to see if anyone has stayed at that certain hotel and they will look for opinions and comments,etc. So for private information, searching blogs is very popular rather than visiting the hotel website because they will only provide you with positive comments. Another con about blogs is that the information is almost always not updated because there is no obligation to do so. So these are the pros and cons of blogs. Overall it can be said that they provide key information for people searching different opinions about certain places.
Sources:
http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/nt/2004/nt_2004_08_23_blogging.htm
Sources:
http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/nt/2004/nt_2004_08_23_blogging.htm
Mittwoch, 10. November 2010
Podcasting
The word podcast actually comes from the word mixture of broadcasting and I-Pod. A podcast is a row of digital media files that are often downloaded through web syndication. The delivery of podcasting differentiates it from other ways of accessing media files over the web such as direct downloading or streamed webcasting. Podcasting is a form of audio broadcasting over the internet.
Podcasting is used to distribute audio and video recordings of lectures, audio-conferences, and public lectures and events etc. Podcasts have many benefits especially for tourism organizations. Benefits include: reaching a new audience, bulding a relationship with your listeners, highlighting your authority, increase in advertising potential and respond to customer feedback. Podcast downloaders tend to be male, young and well educated. About half of the Podcasting audience is made up of people between the ages of 35 and 54, therefore they are the new audience to reach.
What is meant by ``highlighting your authority`` is that when you give useful information to people then they will most likely trust you and search for you whenever they want to know something.
People like to consume media in a variety of ways and a podcast can help you reach a new audience. Podcasts are also relatively easy to produce. A decent microphone and some audio editing software is all you really need to get your podcast started.
Sources:
http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/230/what-is-a-podcast/
http://socialmediatrader.com/what-are-the-benefits-of-podcasting/
Podcasting is used to distribute audio and video recordings of lectures, audio-conferences, and public lectures and events etc. Podcasts have many benefits especially for tourism organizations. Benefits include: reaching a new audience, bulding a relationship with your listeners, highlighting your authority, increase in advertising potential and respond to customer feedback. Podcast downloaders tend to be male, young and well educated. About half of the Podcasting audience is made up of people between the ages of 35 and 54, therefore they are the new audience to reach.
What is meant by ``highlighting your authority`` is that when you give useful information to people then they will most likely trust you and search for you whenever they want to know something.
People like to consume media in a variety of ways and a podcast can help you reach a new audience. Podcasts are also relatively easy to produce. A decent microphone and some audio editing software is all you really need to get your podcast started.
Sources:
http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/230/what-is-a-podcast/
http://socialmediatrader.com/what-are-the-benefits-of-podcasting/
Mittwoch, 3. November 2010
Latest Tourism Technologies: GPS
The rapid advances in Technology have by no doubt facilitated our lives in a number of ways. Technology has mst importantly been a breakthrough in the tourism sector because it has facilitated basically everything and has allowed for processes, that used to take up a lot of time, to make them happen rapidly and much more efficiently than ever before. And of course these technologies keep on improving as time goes by.
One of the major technologies that has contributed a lot to the tourists is the GPS. GPS stands for Global Positioning System. The way that this GPS works is through a Satelite. The GPS is based on a Global Navigation Satellite System. The main features and advantages that GPS´s have through these satellites are that they can provide you with information about locations and weather at any time and under any circumstances. If there is bad weather most mobile phones do not tend to work. However unless there is a complete collapse of the GPS satellite system it will always work and provide you with all the information that you need.
The GPS was specifically designed to be used by tourists. A GPS is very useful for a Tourist because it contains state of the art maps of locations and it is very difficult to get lost with a GPS. The GPS also offers an application called places of interest. So for example gas stations and supermarkets are already tagged in this application and all you need to do is click on it and it shows you how to get to the supermarket.
The GPS feature that distinguishes a GPS most from other small portable devices is the Multimedia feature that contains very clear photographs and descriptions of attractions.
Sources:
http://intech.com.gr/index.php?go=GPSTourist
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Positioning_System
One of the major technologies that has contributed a lot to the tourists is the GPS. GPS stands for Global Positioning System. The way that this GPS works is through a Satelite. The GPS is based on a Global Navigation Satellite System. The main features and advantages that GPS´s have through these satellites are that they can provide you with information about locations and weather at any time and under any circumstances. If there is bad weather most mobile phones do not tend to work. However unless there is a complete collapse of the GPS satellite system it will always work and provide you with all the information that you need.
The GPS was specifically designed to be used by tourists. A GPS is very useful for a Tourist because it contains state of the art maps of locations and it is very difficult to get lost with a GPS. The GPS also offers an application called places of interest. So for example gas stations and supermarkets are already tagged in this application and all you need to do is click on it and it shows you how to get to the supermarket.
The GPS feature that distinguishes a GPS most from other small portable devices is the Multimedia feature that contains very clear photographs and descriptions of attractions.
Sources:
http://intech.com.gr/index.php?go=GPSTourist
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Positioning_System
Freitag, 15. Oktober 2010
How has IT facilitated our World?
Todays world is depending a lot on information technology and in the future this dependence will be even bigger because information technology is becoming the easiest way to find information on almost everything one can imagine.
In 1965, a study was made by the U.S. Department of Commerce´s Bureau of Economic Analysis and this study showed that only 5% of the capital expenditures were spent on information technology. However as time went by, capital expenditures spent on technology kept rising dramatically. The same study was held in the late 1990s which showed that capital expenditures on IT had almost reached 50%.
About 20 years ago information technology was generally used by employees at a lower level rather than managers. However in the past few years this has changed. Managers and employees that are in a leading position nowadays appreciate the importance of information technology because they have realised that by using IT a lot of time can be saved and easiness is added to the job. Managers also use IT to digitalize their business models.
There is no doubt that information technology has facilitated an immense number of activities that many years ago used to take up an incredible amount of time, work and sacrifice. Before people used to send letters which could have taken days, weeks or even months depending on where you wanted to send to. But thanks to IT nowadays we are able to write emails and send them in an instant and receive them in an instant at basically no cost and no matter where you send them to. So three of the main things that IT has facilitated is definetely communication, connections and time reduction.
But this is not where it ends. IT has facilitated many processes but IT is also evolving every day. Many techonologies are developing that make it able to store more data on a computer and internet connections are also improving with the purpose of making the connection faster. The number of websites during the past 15 years has increased from 0 to 40 million, which shows how important and how widely IT is being used.
There are some major advantages that information technology offers but on the other hand these offered advantages are considered a threat to other businesses. For example nowadays it is possible to watch a movie or burn music for absolutely no cost over the internet, and this drastically affects that music and the film industry because they make their money by selling DVDs, CDs, Movie and concert tickets. People are looking for ways to save money everyday which IT has made possible but on the other hand IT has also made it possible for other businesses to go bankrupt. IT has also come into the hands of many terrorists who use this technology to plan their attacks but on the other hand information techonology has also provided and the police and secret services with many advantages to avoid these attacks.
In conclusion we can say that IT has revolutionized our world and will continue to do it as techonology advances. For example businesses purchase more than 100 million computers every year and mostly these computers replace older models wich means that IT continues to advance at a very rapid pace.
Sources:
In 1965, a study was made by the U.S. Department of Commerce´s Bureau of Economic Analysis and this study showed that only 5% of the capital expenditures were spent on information technology. However as time went by, capital expenditures spent on technology kept rising dramatically. The same study was held in the late 1990s which showed that capital expenditures on IT had almost reached 50%.
About 20 years ago information technology was generally used by employees at a lower level rather than managers. However in the past few years this has changed. Managers and employees that are in a leading position nowadays appreciate the importance of information technology because they have realised that by using IT a lot of time can be saved and easiness is added to the job. Managers also use IT to digitalize their business models.
There is no doubt that information technology has facilitated an immense number of activities that many years ago used to take up an incredible amount of time, work and sacrifice. Before people used to send letters which could have taken days, weeks or even months depending on where you wanted to send to. But thanks to IT nowadays we are able to write emails and send them in an instant and receive them in an instant at basically no cost and no matter where you send them to. So three of the main things that IT has facilitated is definetely communication, connections and time reduction.
But this is not where it ends. IT has facilitated many processes but IT is also evolving every day. Many techonologies are developing that make it able to store more data on a computer and internet connections are also improving with the purpose of making the connection faster. The number of websites during the past 15 years has increased from 0 to 40 million, which shows how important and how widely IT is being used.
There are some major advantages that information technology offers but on the other hand these offered advantages are considered a threat to other businesses. For example nowadays it is possible to watch a movie or burn music for absolutely no cost over the internet, and this drastically affects that music and the film industry because they make their money by selling DVDs, CDs, Movie and concert tickets. People are looking for ways to save money everyday which IT has made possible but on the other hand IT has also made it possible for other businesses to go bankrupt. IT has also come into the hands of many terrorists who use this technology to plan their attacks but on the other hand information techonology has also provided and the police and secret services with many advantages to avoid these attacks.
In conclusion we can say that IT has revolutionized our world and will continue to do it as techonology advances. For example businesses purchase more than 100 million computers every year and mostly these computers replace older models wich means that IT continues to advance at a very rapid pace.
Sources:
Carr, N. (2004). Does IT Matter? Information Technology and the Corrosion of Competitive Advantage: Harvard Business Press.
Freitag, 8. Oktober 2010
What is CRS and GDS?
There have been 3 stages of evolution the first reservation system was called an Airline Reservation system, the second a Computer Reservation System (CRS) and the third evolution is todays Global Distribution System (GDS).
A Computer Reservation System is a computerized system for saving and retrieving information when needed related to air travel. CRS were created and used by airlines and at a later point they were finally used in tourism intermediaries like travel agencies.
The best known global GDSs are Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, and Worldspan with Amadeus being the only one which is largely owned by European airlines. Together with Galileo, it is the leading system in the European market. Galileo, however, also has a strong position in the US market after it merged with an American system. Sabre and Worldspan have been developed in the US.
There is one downside of using GDS and it is the fact that it costs airlines money to go through a GDS process. Airlines complain that the prices are too high and therefore some poorer airlines have decided to post their best offers by using their own websites instead of the global distribution system so that they do not go bankrupt.
CRS and GDS seem to have the same functions but the major difference between these two systems is that CRS only provide information about airlines whereas by using GDS you can reserve a ticket, a room in a hotel and also a rental car. This is why they are called Global Distribution Systems because you can use GDS to reserve basically everything.
Sources:
http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/btn20040216144254916/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Distribution_System
A Computer Reservation System is a computerized system for saving and retrieving information when needed related to air travel. CRS were created and used by airlines and at a later point they were finally used in tourism intermediaries like travel agencies.
The best known global GDSs are Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, and Worldspan with Amadeus being the only one which is largely owned by European airlines. Together with Galileo, it is the leading system in the European market. Galileo, however, also has a strong position in the US market after it merged with an American system. Sabre and Worldspan have been developed in the US.
There is one downside of using GDS and it is the fact that it costs airlines money to go through a GDS process. Airlines complain that the prices are too high and therefore some poorer airlines have decided to post their best offers by using their own websites instead of the global distribution system so that they do not go bankrupt.
CRS and GDS seem to have the same functions but the major difference between these two systems is that CRS only provide information about airlines whereas by using GDS you can reserve a ticket, a room in a hotel and also a rental car. This is why they are called Global Distribution Systems because you can use GDS to reserve basically everything.
Sources:
http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/btn20040216144254916/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Distribution_System
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