We are living in a world where all facets of life are governed by technology. The importance of technology in every area of operation cannot be underestimated in the competitive environment that is there in the modern world, state of the art technology is a factor that gives people in any kind of a business or industry a competitive advantage. Any business that has not adopted technology must be living in the past and must be way off the mark because it is missing all the benefits that technology affords. The tourism industry is one of the most expansive industries in the world there are many other industries that operate under it. The magnitude of the industry calls for an efficient system that would be able to handle all the operations and the requirements of the industry without compromising quality and the efficiency in the industry. That is why the tourism industry must and should make maximum utilization of the current modern technology for it to remain vibrant (Buhalis, 23).
Tourism and the hospitality industry were among the first industries that adopted the use of technology especially information technology. In fact, in the contemporary world there is an area referred to as tourism technology. Tourism technology refers to all the managerial and social cultural activities that add value to the tourism and the hospitality industry. It also encompasses the technological and economic advancements in the industry. The term technology here refers to the scientific achievements, IT and other engineering related things in the tourism and the hospitality industry (Buhalis, 26). This technology helps in the designing, production, management and promotion of the various elements of the tourism industry. Entertainment technology and even creative technology are also integral part of tourism and hospitality industry.
Technology has also lead to the improvement of health tourism. Health tourism refers to the movement of people internationally to seek medical and health care. It also refers to the movement of the health care providers to different areas of the globe to give their services. These travelers go from one country to the other in search of specialized medical procedures like surgeries, replacement of joints, cardiac surgery, cosmetic and dental surgeries. Other specialized health cares services may make people to move from one country to the other include psychiatry and convalescent medical care (Buhalis, 27). This means that a country that has invented in this kind of medical technology is bound to attract a high level of medical tourists who travel in search of medical services. There are more that 50 countries that have medical tourism as an industry and this tourism has been boosted by the technological input that they have put into the field of medicine.
IT in tourism and hospitality industry
IT is the conventional method of using the computers to communicate in a way that helps one to get information through research. It is the most appropriate mode of communication. The advent of IT has helped the tourism and the hospitality industry in very many ways. In the olden days, when one wanted to visit a place, he or she would first walk or drive to the nearest tourism agency to seek for information. At the agency, one had to go through volumes of literature and brochures and the success was not immediate. This is an exercise that would take days, but with the advent of information technology, one can get all the necessary information at the click of a mouse stress free, at your own convenience and comfort (Buhalis, 23).
This is because most destinations and hospitality services are listed on the websites together with their offers and rates meaning that the prospective tourist will find it easy to budget. Booking of hospitality services can be done online at ones convenience and comfort and with the advent of mobile phone money transfer services, the bookings can be made through the mobile phone. This means that IT, apart from easing the work of the prospective tourists it has also opened up the tourism industry giving it new possibilities that are without boundaries. Some of the tourist attraction site that was unknown in many places in the world has been exposed by the internet revolution. The traditional print based marketing by the players in the tourism and hospitality industry was limited by the physical boundaries meaning that it was very hard for a hotel in Barbados to market itself in Vanuatu but with IT, which transcends most of these restrictive borders, a facility can do its marketing online and be accessed by people from all corners of the world. The tourism and hospitality industry thrives on the foundations of exchange of information and this is one of the elements that have been afforded by the information technology (Buhalis, 23).
There are a wide range of opportunities that are discovered via the communication and information technology every day. This is because, on the web, it is possible for players in the industry to access many other people offering the same services and they are able to learn from each other. They are also able to gain access to other players that offer complimentary services meaning that they get opportunities to form partnerships that will create a competitive industry. For example, a tour firm can form partnership with a certain hotel where the tour firm will be the one giving transportation services to the tourists residing on the hotel or a particular tourist attraction site can partner with a certain hotel or even tour firm. The formation of these partnerships would be very hard without information technology but because of the way it has opened up the industry, it is easy for players to meet online and form competitive business partnerships. A company can also gain by advertising its services on the website of another that offers complimentary services. For example, the Hilton hotels can advertise itself on the website of the emirates airlines and vice versa which opens up possibilities for the two players in the industry. Social networking sites like facebook, twitter, hi 5 and tagged are other major avenues where players in the tourism and hospitality industry have been reaping dividends because of their popularity with the potential clients. Advertising on these networking sites has exposed the world of tourism a great deal.
Another way in which the advent of information technology has been beneficial to the tourism and the hospitality industry is in the area of management and internal organization of the various sectors in the industry. In the traditional sense, management and organization was bogged down by the manual procedures that were very taxing, slow and inconveniencing. All aspects of management and organization were done manually ranging from booking of tourists into the hotel rooms to surveillance and inventory. However, with the advent of technology the management and organizational processes in the tourism and hospitality industry have been made more efficient, cost effective and convenient. The internet can allow the tourists to be booked into hotel rooms when they are still in their home countries meaning that they do not have to be inconvenienced in the waiting rooms waiting to be booked manually (Werthner, 45).
The tourists can make food orders when they are in attraction sites far away from the hotel online such that they will only come to take their already prepared orders when they come back. The increased efficiency in the services given to the tourists through the use of technology has promoted the growth of the industry in very many ways. Technology also enhances the speed at which information is stored, retrieved distributed and processed and reduces the cost of handling information as opposed to modern days where documents had to be stored in manual files and big cabinets. Today, information that could fill more than three cabinets can now be stored in a small flash disc or memory card in a way that creates a lot of flexibility and convenience. This increases reliability which in turn enhances the efficiency of the service to the tourists. Technology can be used in brand positioning. Positioning is an impact created in the minds of a certain market that affects the way the potential consumers view that market (Werner, 49). A player in the tourism and the hospitality industry can position a brand using powerful and catchy advertising. A hotel can run an advertising campaign especially at the peak of the season in order to raise the awareness of the consumers. Even Tour companies usually keep advertising their services in a catchy manner in order to remain relevant in the minds of the consumers.
The Hilton hotels have been able to position themselves over the years through their sponsorship of various social events that help them to improve their identity in the eyes of their consumers. The current generation of consumers in the tourism industry has more expectations than the past generation which means that for the industry to be able to serve them appropriately, it must be able to embrace technology wholesome (Werthner,57). Technology is not just information technology. There are other forms of technology that are being used in the tourism industry to enhance the services that are given to the increasingly conscious customers. The world of tourism been greatly benefited by the advancements in technology and the potential that technology can deliver to the tourists is very magnanimous. The advancement in the photography technology through digitalization and computerization has opened new world of fantasies to the tourists. Video recording technology that has greatly advanced is also another area of technology that has been opened for the tourists. Gone are the days when tourists would take days to have a view of the photos they have taken in the attraction site, with the current levels of technology, every thing is instant. With the current trend in the information technology, tourism can be undertaken at any time and people do not have to wait until when they take an off. This is because, with technology, some works can be done from any part of the world meaning that business doesnt have to come to a standstill just because one has gone for a holiday somewhere. Managers can monitor what is happening in their workplaces when they are hundreds of miles away and others can still assign tasks when they are in different continents.
RFID technology is being increasingly applied to provide a strong advantage in the hotels amid increased competition. Even tour operators are also adopting the technology. Technologies that are related to RFID are also permeating customer care services in the tourism and the hospitality industry, management of information, design of hotels thus creating alternatives to products and services that already exist. The use of RFID tags will enhance customization of services to consumers en mass. Hotel and leisure operators can also use the RFID tags to target preferential markets or to create customer loyalty reward schemes. The use of RFID technology has really helped in the management of records and inventories thus minimizing costs that would have been incurred through pilferage or carelessness in the handling of various equipment. The security of the tourists when in the hotels or on the road is now maintained using state of the art surveillance equipments and tracking services that were not there some decades ago. Other important technologies that can be installed in hotels include the Voip telephony and digital solutions and security features that use the signage. In tourism especially the in the countries in East Asia there are technological programs set purposely to improve the experience of the tourists who visits the countries (Zhou, 135). The objective is to provide seamless experience that is personalized thus enhancing competitiveness and the service given to customers. The goal is for visitors to enjoy personalized and seamless experience and for the companies in the sector to be closely linked by technology, sharing data and information seamlessly. One of the key programs that can be used is the digital concierge where each visitor owns his or her own concierge that his personalized and can help them to access information from anywhere. A visitor can have access to any tourism related products and services using their mobile phones and all the other digital systems.
Case studies of application of technology in the Hospitality industry
With the technological advancement in the world and proliferation of mobile systems in the global market the Sheraton hotel in Saudi Arabia has become the first international hotel to use the power of mobile telephony that uses the quick response code as a marketing tool. The code is not a new tool in the market but the Sheraton is the first to use its new and unique features to help in the streamlining of the marketing campaign making it much easier for the quests to make interactive communication whether off line or online (Bruce, 39). The hotel has also launched a technology room where customer feedback will be gotten. The of the function of the room is to integrate latest technological developments in the entertainment industry, and the communication industry to give the customers a seamless experience during their stay in the hotel. there are also high tech mobile enabled features in the guest rooms together with other types of communicative and entertainment technologies and the aim of putting all these is to improve the service that the hotel gives by letting the guests interact with technology at every level.
The Sheraton hotels was one of the earliest adopters of the window 7 touch screen technology by installing the new HP touch smart computers in its workstation links that are everywhere in the recreational spaces of the Sheraton hotel. These spaces are avenues where most of their clients spend most of their time when they are within the vicinity of the hotel and to satisfy their clients to the fullest, the hotel has been making sure that all the communicative, interactive and entertainment technology is up to date. The Hilton hotel also has what it calls the technology room. This room in ever hotel has a wide array of communicative and entertainment gadgets that are high end and modern. There are larges LCD screens, home theaters systems with the best surround features to provide maximum entertainment to the clients.
In the hotel rooms, the beds of the Hilton hotel are the most unique because technology has replaced the old school mattress with the VSS sleep systems (Bruce,98). This is a system that adjusts itself to the contours of the body giving an enhanced sleep experience. This creates maximum comfort for the guest by reducing the distractions that would be caused by the conventional mattress. The bathrooms in the hotel rooms have a touch of technological design with modern lighting features, ornate glass tiles, state of the art whirl pool tubs and very many other features afforded by the current technology. There are many other technological innovations that are evident in the Hilton hotels that has for years helped in elevating the experience of the guests by giving them a world class service that they cannot find in many other hotels (Bruce,57). It seems that many players in the hospitality industry have realized that technology is one of the most viable ways of satisfying the needs of their customers and giving them seamless experience. That is why they are pumping millions of dollars into the acquisition of the state of the art technology whether in design, communication or entertainment.All in all there are there are a wide range of opportunities that are discovered via the communication and information technology every day. The many gains that the hospitality and tourism has could not have been realized without the input of technology.
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