Computing and Information Systems © University of Paisley 2006 25 An initial exploratory study into the use of ICT in tourism by developing economies as suppliers of hospitality and destination Dr Abel Usoro Not many industries that offer intangible goods are so dependent on information gathering, processing, storage and presentation as tourism is. Therefore any modern tourist business that pays inadequate attention to its use of ICT is likely to become uncompetitive. Although the level of ICT use in tourism differs from place to place, less developed economies can compete better by the use of technologies such as the internet and open source software. Yet, a systematic study of the use of ICT by the tourist industry in less developed economies is scanty or lacking in academic literature. Therefore there is inadequate knowledge of how developing countries can benefit from the potentials that ICT offer to the tourist industry. This paper attempts to fill this gap in knowledge by revealing from literature the potential contributions of ICT in the tourist industry and proposes that these contributions be used in a future study of less developed economies in their role as suppliers of hospitality and destination aspects of tourism. 1 INTRODUCTION Besides few industries like the oil, tourism is currently the greatest income generator. The exotic locations in developing countries makes tourism a potential instrument for assisting in the effort to bridge the gap between the developed and the developing worlds. The tourist industry has immensely benefited from and given benefits to the information technology industry. An example is the computer reservation system (CRS) or the global distribution system (GDS) which has been the first multi-organisational and global information system. The marriage between tourism and ICT is now firmly recognised by the new term “etourism”, the “e” standing for “electronic”. Some of the tools of ICT, such as the internet, reduce the entry barrier to the tourist industry and therefore can potentially bring developing economies at par with the developed counterparts. Players in the tourist trade are broadly classified into suppliers and consumers (cf Buhalis, 2003; Inkpen, 1994; Werthner and Klein, 1999). The comparatively low income levels in developing economies places them more on the suppliers’ category. Research into the extent of use of ICT tools for tourism in developing economies is scanty or non-existence; and therefore there is inadequate knowledge of how to fully benefit from the facilities offered by information systems. This study attempts to address this problem by proposing an examination of the application of etourism in less developed countries with particular emphasis to the supply part of the equation. 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Though commonly used, it is difficult to find an agreed definition for “tourism” and perhaps there is no practical benefit in agonizing over its precise meaning. Our intuition agrees with the definitions of both the Compact Oxford Dictionary and the Cambridge International English Dictionary which, respectively, define tourism as “the commercial organization and operation of holidays and visits to places of interest” and “the business of providing services such as transport, places to stay or entertainment for people who are on holiday”. Both dictionaries typify tourism with travelling and the provision of some holiday or pleasure. Other authorities extend the scope of these definitions. For example, the World Tourism Organisation defines tourism as “the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes.” (Gee, C Y and Fayos- Solá (eds), 1997, 5). Nonetheless, not all travel is tourism: for example daily commuting to work outside a particular city can hardly be classified as tourism. The World Tourism Organisation’s (1995, p 22) classification of travellers (see Figure 1) suggests that a travel has got to make the traveller a visitor (and an overnight one) before she can be regarded as a tourist. The definition also indicates not only pleasure, as some may be inclined to think, but that business and other factors such as health treatment or religious pilgrimages can motivate tourism. Perhaps the most inclusive view is that of Gee, C Y and Fayos-Solá (eds, 1997, p 9) who classify prehistory people who travelled to gather food and to avoid danger as the pioneers of tourism.