Using Interactive Maps as Tourism Information Source – The Case of DESTOUR Valeria Tallinucci Anita Zehrer Harald Pechlaner Department of Tourism Management European Academy Bolzano/Italy valeria.tallinucci@eurac.edu Abstract Tourism is increasingly applying innovative technological solutions regarding communication with tourists. A project of the Industrial Section and the Office for Industrial Innovation of South Tyrol developed a Tourist Information Technology cluster within the Cluster Alpine Network (CAN) as South Tyrolean companies still possess idle potentials which could be pooled and improved within the framework of clusters and competence centers. CAN South Tyrol is to build an economic network which will offer small- and medium-sized companies especially in outlying areas the opportunity to co-operate with other companies in the region. One cluster was developed within the field of Information Technology and tourism: three start-up enterprises specialized in destination management system (DMS), geographical information systems (GIS) and 3D/360 grade picture animation, have integrated their competencies for creating an innovative product for the tourist sector called DESTOUR. DESTOUR is an interactive information, communication and distribution system for tourist destinations based on geographical maps integrating tourist information, such as accommodations and tourist services, and online booking. Key words: interactive maps, tourism information, destination management system, tourist information technology cluster, Cluster Alpine Network (CAN) project, DESTOUR 1 Introduction In the sector of tourism, information technologies are significant means for the application and diffusion of new products to support tourists and travelers in preparing their holidays and during their trips. As the mobile telecommunications market and electronic services on data networks are increasingly booming, the consumer market already exists as a basis for the maps-GIS and location-based technologies (Rainio, 2000). In particular “maps are of great value for tourists as they have the potential to represent large amounts of information about the area of interest within a single picture in a potentially easily comprehensible form” (Zipf, 2002: 331), furthermore pro-active recommendation of tourist attractions, e-booking and 3D pictures allow tourists to experience virtual tours. The objectives of this paper are on the one hand to describe IT clusters in tourism and the