INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES IN TOURISM

Information technologies (ITs) prevail in all functions of strategic and operational management. As information is the lifeblood of tourism, ITs provide both opportunities and challenges for the industry. Despite the uncertainty experienced in the development of ITs in tourism, the ‘only constant will be change’. Increasingly, organizations and destinations, which need to compete will be forced to compute. Unless the current tourism industry improves its competitiveness, by utilizing the emerging ITs and innovative management methods, there is a danger for exogenous players to enter the marketplace, jeopardizing the position of the existing ones.