The reasons for this are related to the quantity and dissemination of information provided on the Internet and the wide public access, high levels of competition and the entry of new players with a lot of websites, supported by efficient transaction services. Clayton and Criscuolo (2002) claim that the technology accompanied by a modern information society , especially through the Internet , has caused four key changes in terms of the ways in which business operates today. These changes, which are applied widely in the tourism sector, are: 1. The ability to turn ideas into marketable innovations for a wide range of customers, with reduced costs in terms of searching process, as well as the costs of access to new markets 2. Increasing the speed for trading and promoting new product offerings via the Internet.
One of the advantages of internet is that it enables businesses to reach a worldwide customer population, so that customers can search, select, and purchase products and services from businesses around the world (Kailani & Kumar, 2011). Internet facilitated users to pay lower transaction costs and it provided an easy way of access on information and details. It also provides more alternatives and competitive prices about the products or services rather than traditional environment (Chun and Kim, 2005). All businesses need to communicate to the customers what they have to offer (Jobber and Lancaster, 2006). Internet is not only a space to promote the company and its products, but also an interactive communication tool to engage the customer, meet their needs and encourage them for repeat purchase (Constantinides, 2002).
Online social media have various forms and serve different purposes. Consumer-generated information is a mixture of fact and rumor, impression and experiences, sentiment and tidbits, etc.. The shift in distribution channels and the emergence of new media brought great changes, hence tourism marketers need to understand the technological dynamics so that they could better promote their businesses and destinations to online travelers. Also tourism businesses should improve their expertise, more financial investment and human
Increasing level of dependencies between local and global business processes, development of new technologies, higher competition between markets caused entrepreneurs of sales and delivery companies to look for new ways of decreasing costs and maximizing profits. The rapid evolution and adoption of the Internet as a logistic tool have introduced the idea of “Electronic Commerce” to market transactions. Changes like shorter time of order’s realization, global delivery, and new methods of payment possibilities happen with development of client needs and expectations. The Internet already has a great impact on how firms make business and logistical decisions. Nowadays everyone is in possession of electronic device by which is able to connect to
They play a much more active and engaging role in searching for information they need online with some agenda in mind, and that goal or agenda can persuade how an individual behave and response to online information and advertisements (Smith, 2002). With the rapid advancement and growth in the technology and computer industry, many companies are choosing the Internet as part of their advertising media mix. It has become essential for companies to do so in order to take advantage of the online technologies and thereby have competitive edge (Calisir, 2003). Marketers have been stressin on how the Internet has become a popular advertising platform because it possess greater flexibility in terms of time and space and control over the advertising materials. The investor can always trace the cost incurred in advertising on internet per customer.
The expansion of the usage of the Internet by organisations and people is one of the main contributors to the development of e-commerce in terms of e-shopping, electronic business and internet commerce. Studies have shown that by the middle of the 1990s internet based services had rapidly emerged in usage and coverage leading to their application and deployment in the creation of a new method of shopping. Thus online marketing has become vital to new e-commerce and traditional ‘offline’ companies in order to take advantage of these new technologies. However the essential ingredient of marketing and business generally is the satisfaction of customer’s needs hence a full understanding of consumer behaviour in terms of internet shopping is a critical success factor for any company making use of it as a form of doing
18. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR TOURISM MANAGERS Tourism managers from destination organizations should encourage frequent promotions and proper online advertisment focussing on tourists attractions of the destinations marketing. Constant innovations in the application of marketing strategies can be very influencial.The tourism organizations should evaluate the requirement of their stakeholders and respond swiftly and effectively in order to perform better than their competitors to maintain long term future prosperity.Tourism information needs on the internet is based on representation of pictures, graphics and images.This provides tangible image and experience to travellers.The use of videos or animated photos can have impact on potential tourists decision making process toward intention to visit and digital destinationsatisfaction
However, the Internet combines many of the features of existing media with new capabilities of interactivity and addressability; thus, it transforms not only the way individuals conduct their business with each other but also the very essence of what it means to be a human being in society (Barwise et al., 2006). Electronic Tourism (E-Tourism) is the application of ICT in the tourism industry,with E-tourism all processes and value chains in the tourism, travel, hospitality and catering industries were rereflected by digitization (Buhalis, 2003). At the strategic side, E-tourism applies ICT for maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of the tourism organization and it cover
Short summary of research problem: The advancement in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has influenced the development of the economy and has played a significant role in the growth of the tourism sector. With new developments such as Web 2.0 allowing dynamic web pages, user generated content and enhancements. The travellers and tourists are becoming more demanding and knowledgeable with the use the internet. Social media has made a huge impact in both the personal capacity and in the business arena. In the fast paced world we are living, technology has improved and evolved immensely.
The nature of this topic dictates the use of both the positive and negative views of social media in tourism. The use of social media in tourism provides evidence that it is essential in the promotional aspect of the industry, by providing insight in the field. In this research the audience will be informed of the different types of social media mediums that tourist and other tourism engagers uses to share their experiences. This study also aims to show how social media in tourism is geared to enhancing production in the business aspect of the tourism