Tourism industry must view adoption of information technology as a long-term project
The sustainable use of evolving technology requires a close assessment of a company’s needs, the capabilities of its employees and their interaction with new systems
Information technology has become a part of people’s everyday lives and its adoption in business is almost taken for granted these days.
However, instead of treating technology adoption as a one-off, managers and decision makers must acquire better knowledge of the progressive and accumulative affects of such technology. This will let them make a better informed decision on what – and how – technology can be best geared for their business.
Because of the volatility of the tourism industry, decisions on technology by organisations tend to be fairly short term, focusing on solving problems in the present moment. Managers in this sector might thus face much greater challenges than peers in other industries, in their attempts to adopt information technology for realising long-term strategies.
Literature proves technological development, business innovation and travellers’ lifestyle changes are three powerful engines mobilising tourism and hospitality organisations to adopt information technology. For over 20 years, an information technology infrastructure that enables communication at a global scale, highly efficient but low-cost data processing and heavy personal use of technology have profoundly affected the tourism industry.
However, in the past decade, such technology has also brought forth rapidly escalating competition and the breakdown of conventional value chains. Online travel agencies, sharing economy platforms such as Airbnb, the transformation of customer relationship management by smartphones and big data analytics, etc are just some examples.
Ongoing changes in the macro social environment and micro business contexts have, therefore, made digital transformation a must for every tourism organisation.