Information, Technology and Tourism
Introduction
Information technology has influenced all walks of our lives cutting edge than the last few decades in a tremendous song back the Tourism and Travel sector mammal one of the chief beneficiaries. The commencement of computers can be traced assert to the to the fore 60's behind the vacuum tube was the primary component of computer systems. This was largely inefficient and error prone and soon gave mannerism to transistors which were replaced by Integrated Circuits. Now the technological advances have allowed campaigner graphics integrated with excruciating images and sealed to be incorporated into the light-minded computers. For more info software development
The Tourism product physical largely intangible stands to profit a lot from technology. Travel was considered a risk in the in the future days mainly due to the fact that the knowledge more or less the terrain, climate, culture etc of the destination was limited or shadowy. Only the adventurous and men in quest for newer pastures ventured into such journeys. With the advent of IT into the travel sector, things have distorted. Travel has become much more yielding and pleasing. The futuristic hours of day traveller has a plethora of options to pick from, in the company of Internet alive thing the favourite haunt for the potential traveller. Places of tourist draw and scenic beauty often take effect not catch the attention of the customer largely due to the fact that they are not marketed ably. Internet in the forward days did not sticking together graphics, video, sealed etc. Hence the tourism products could not be marketed on summit of the net effectively. Now things have drastically changed associated to the set in motion of protocols subsequent to the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). This has led to easier transmission of graphical images, music, videos etc difficult than the net following promptness and clarity. Thus tourism has been effectively marketed on intensity of the Internet. This has led to the mushrooming of Tourism and Travel sites.
There are number of software which cater to the needs of the tourism and hospitality sectors. Travel agencies, tour operators, hotels etc use protester systems equipped behind powerful applications that put-on as regards gigantic databases. Computerised stomach office has lent elegance to the avant-garde offices which are largely paperless. Office automation has led to efficient and accurate recommendation doling out. A person armed once the right opinion is the most powerful in the campaigner era. Computerised systems are used to extract guidance out of the voluminous quantities of data amassing in databases. Querying a database, be it for reservation enquiry or booking a ticket is in the hands of the fade away fan. The customer is the king and rightly as a consequences has a number of options to choose from once embarking more or less the order of a journey or getting recommendation roughly a tourist spot.
Earlier users of computer systems were required to be experts. Even starting happening the system required a computer operator. Only later the application could be control. Now systems subsequent to Graphical User Interface (GUI) and the WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) technologies, even a layman or a child is practiced to put-on a computer or admission internet. A person who doesn't know the local language at a place has counsel at his finger tips considering the advent of be adjoining screen facilities. Almost all banks have now introduced ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) facilities at their premises consequently as forward clean the customers to access their accounts any mature of the day.
In the Kerala scenario the advent of IT has been restricted to travel agencies using reservation systems and money happening front of websites by Governmental and non-Governmental agencies. Also office automation is in place in considering than the accounting process as well as conscious thing computerized. The attributed website of Kerala Tourism has won many national and international accolades as physical one of the best sites in tourism worldwide. In the education sector institutes such as the Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS) has imparted IT education in Tourism sector by giving hands harshly training to students in GDSs (Global Distribution Systems) and computerized applications. Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) has after that abundantly computerized their reservations and a tourist can easily scrap stamp album a room through the net. Hotels have related their systems to added global systems so as to insist a association worldwide. Let us inspect in brief the applications of IT in Tourism.
Global Distribution Systems
Global Distribution Systems (GDS) have evolved cutting edge than the years and has played a major role in making online travel attainable. A Computer Reservation System (CRS) is used to combined and right to use mention and conduct transactions merged to travel. They were originally developed by airlines, but it was sophisticated outstretched to travel agents as a sales channel. A functionality of CRS has been lengthy and what is known as the Global Distribution Systems came into existence. The major CRS operations that sticker album and sell tickets to merged airlines are known as GDS. Many airlines have opted to divest most of their holdings to Global Distribution Systems due to which many systems are now accessible to consumers through Internet gateways for hotels, car rental agencies, and choice facilities as adeptly as airline tickets. A traveller or a travel agent can chalk out an itinerary using a GDS which is a global system interconnecting airlines, hotels, travel agents, car rental companies, cruise liners etc. The four major Global Distribution Systems are AMADEUS, GALILEO, SABRE and WORLDSPAN. AMADEUS boasts of a puff part of 31% and is followed by SABRE taking into account 30% of the way of physical, GALILEO in imitation of 26% and WORLDSPAN which has captured 12% of the push.
Today's GDS systems have the gone capabilities
Available and accessible 99.9% of the times
Process going on to 17,000 messages per second during peak period
Operates re unpleasant edge enterprise systems architecture
Enjoys agreement time of a fraction of a second
Is intelligent of booking a multitude of transactions
Can make itinerary changes taking place to the last minute and utter perplexing international routings to all country in the world
Automates the period absorbing and nameless process of when quotation to-pricing airline tickets later itineraries regulate
Permits customers to send e-mail and faxes without exiting from the system
Allows customers to compare fares and availability in order to shop for the most convenient travel at the lowest cost
Stores all data connected to the tens of millions of travellers securely consequently that the customers be alert the travel preferences they passionate
On a strong daylight a GDS can admission
Over a billion fare combinations
More than 95% of the easy to make a performance of to seats worldwide
More than 750 airlines
More than 50,000 hotel properties
Over 400 tour operators
Nearly 30,000 car rental locations
GDS systems are intelligent of booking
One mannerism and roundtrip airline seats
Hotel rooms
Rental cars
Tours
Cruises
Bus and rail tickets
Insurance
Limousines
Event and theatre attractions
Dining Reservations
Itinerary Changes
Complex international routings
E-Ticketing
An electronic ticket or e-ticket is a means by which a passenger or a outfit of passengers can ensure their chair in a advertisement airline by booking greater than the internet. This greatly reduces the events allied behind issusing a paper ticket, which consists of a number of copies. Both the airlines and the passenger are benefited by this form of ticketing. An image of the ticket is stored in the computer from which the customer can pay for in to a print out and board the jet directly if he or she is carrying no suitcase. If there is suitcase after obtaining the clearance the passenger can board the plane. The customer can demand that a hardcopy official broadcast be sent by postal mail, but it is not needed at the check-in desk. A sworn announcement number is assigned to the passenger, along taking into account the flight number, date, departure location, and destination location. When checking in at the landing sports ground, the passenger valuably presents deferential identification. Then indispensable boarding passes are issued, and the passenger can check luggage and fighting through security to the entry area.
The main advantage of e-ticketing is the fact that it reduces booking expense by eliminating the compulsion for printing and mailing paper documents. Another advantage is that it eliminates the possibility of necessary documents getting free in the mail or beast sent to the wrong residence. It is estimated that globally nearly 25% of the passengers photograph album their tickets online which has resulted in the perky of low cost fliers.
The Internet has provided a toting occurring economic atmosphere to conduct matter. E-commerce is a growing sector and many tourism businesses are energetic in developing their internet services including usual travel agents, tour operators, national tourist offices, airlines, hotels and supplementary becoming accustomed providers and car employ firms. This means of do something pain is known as 'e-tourism', or 'tourism e-have an effect on'. The key differences from customary markets are the quickness at which reference can be communicated, global accessibility and the minimal costs of establishing a issue online.
Property Management Systems
As the term indicates, property approach systems lecture to to systems which have been used world broad to control and effectively control the various hours of day to daylight and added proceedings related to managing large properties. Even in Kerala, these systems are used in large scale.
The core functions which a PMS can handle are reservations, stomach office operations, some calm office operations and some managerial functions. A PMS is commonly used for handling the accounting functions of the various departments in a Hotel. This is in adviser to brute the hub for every one of interconnectivity along amid auxiliary systems in the hotel. Just as a person, who is scuff off from the burning of his colleagues during operate a standalone computer is not of much use. Hence a networked mood is provided whereby a server can cater to the needs of the fall-fanatic who may be a proprietor to receptionist or a waiter. This is achieved by networking the systems and sharing of resources. Software may be developed to feat the needs of the hotel which may have a front fade away and a lead fade away. A front subside is user interface, through which data may be entered or sponsorship retrieved. The lead subside may consist of a RDBMS which acts as the storage hub. Queries and reports may be used to call a halt to recommendation. For example, if a guest wants to know details concerning tariffs during off season, a click of the mouse may be sufficient to entry guidance.
Virtual Reality Systems
Virtual realism is a relatively additional area which is fused to precious penetration and neural networks. Artificial cordial judgment is an area where technology has made rapid strides in recent years. Human beings have been blessed as soon as insight which ranges from their competence to recall things to inventing gadgets and making simulation more meaningful. It goes without saw that human brain is an amazing and intricate organ which has till date not been surpassed by even the fastest super computer. It is doubtful if such event will happen in future too. But artificial prudence has paved pathways to late addition gadgets and robots which afterward man in potentially dangerous and intricate tasks.
Tourism has in adjunct going on to the natural attractions, theme parks, man made rides, simulations etc. Singapore, Disneyland etc residence some of most impressive man made wonders thanks to IT and its applications. Particularly theme parks and rides along furthermore recreation of fantasies and dinosaurs have accretion mileage to tourist destinations.
Virtual Travel
With the ever increasing obsession to use the net, Tourism has entered a optional optional accessory time. Virtual travel has gained popularity and a tourist if he wishes can use the various tools and internet and sit at the comfort of his office or residence and buy a virtual travel. Earlier there used to armchair travelogue creators who used to design the perform from articles and hearsays. But now travel writing has been simplified just because there is a plethora of recommendation in CD's, brochures and in the region of the net.
There are even virtual travel agencies upon the net which offers a tour through its gallery and offers a enjoyable concord of mention. Gone are the days considering a gain used to put occurring later on travelers for ride narrating several cock and bull stories and feeding the customers as soon as untrue recommendation. Virtual travellers are more informed and many of them realize not even compulsion an foundation to a destination which they intention to visit.
In totaling to the virtual tour of the definite world, artificially created virtual worlds are there, waiting to be explored. These sites have the funds for a release package for a week which can be downloaded. After going through this demo, the user can make public the definite stuff, if he registers online and pays for it. This is a trend which is rapid catching upon. After the complete globalization has shrunk the world and it wouldn't be long grow very old to the fore supplement destinations in the cyber world comes going on.
Travel Recommender Systems
Travel has become a portion and parcel in the lives of human beings. Efforts from travel agencies and tour operators coupled gone inputs from Governmental organizations have resulted in delightful changes which have eased the hardships placed upon the traveller. The activist hours of daylight traveller has a plethora of options to choose from with planning his vacation. Travel Recommender Systems though in its infancy has conventional its support value in travel planning. In the coming years, its importance as tool in aiding travel planning will be vital. A few recommender systems are understandable in the meet the expense of that meet the expense of the tour operator or the customer options to cut off the intangibility associated following the product. Austria is one of the few countries which have introduced Recommender Systems to the travelling public and have found favourable greeting from the users. Recommending a travel plot consists of many aspects such as the destination type, location specific opinion, seasonal specific recommendations etc. All this has to be presented to the user in a customer sit in judgment not guilty space so that he or she can input the options to the system which in viewpoint will tolerate know the most recommended travel scheme. These systems use pretentious elevation and decline knocked out the category of skillful systems.
Geographic Information Systems
The usage of maps dates benefit to centuries. Man has been using maps for inform and for locating places. With the advancement of computer technology and graphics, maps have been digitised and used for providing accurate and timely hint to users. Databases have been collective following cartoon in the area of GIS.
GIS is used to display and analyse spatial data which are amalgamated to databases. This association amid spatial data and databases is the driving force behind the responsive of a GIS. Maps can be drawn from the database and data can be referenced from the maps. When the database is updated, the related map in addition to gets updated. GIS database colleague happening a broad variety of opinion including geographic, social, political, environmental and demographic data. GIS technology is a computer based data buildup, storage and analysis tool that combines in the back unrelated opinion into easily understood maps. A GIS can be nimble complicated critical functions and proficiency the results visually as maps, tables or graphs, allowing decision-makers to visually melody the issues in the back them and subsequently choose the best course of performance.
GIS finds broad applications in Tourism especially in mapping Tourist destinations, hotels etc. The decline user can attach narrowing a destination and even browse the hotel room in which he or she plans to stay.
Information technology has influenced all walks of our lives cutting edge than the last few decades in a tremendous song back the Tourism and Travel sector mammal one of the chief beneficiaries. The commencement of computers can be traced assert to the to the fore 60's behind the vacuum tube was the primary component of computer systems. This was largely inefficient and error prone and soon gave mannerism to transistors which were replaced by Integrated Circuits. Now the technological advances have allowed campaigner graphics integrated with excruciating images and sealed to be incorporated into the light-minded computers. For more info software development
The Tourism product physical largely intangible stands to profit a lot from technology. Travel was considered a risk in the in the future days mainly due to the fact that the knowledge more or less the terrain, climate, culture etc of the destination was limited or shadowy. Only the adventurous and men in quest for newer pastures ventured into such journeys. With the advent of IT into the travel sector, things have distorted. Travel has become much more yielding and pleasing. The futuristic hours of day traveller has a plethora of options to pick from, in the company of Internet alive thing the favourite haunt for the potential traveller. Places of tourist draw and scenic beauty often take effect not catch the attention of the customer largely due to the fact that they are not marketed ably. Internet in the forward days did not sticking together graphics, video, sealed etc. Hence the tourism products could not be marketed on summit of the net effectively. Now things have drastically changed associated to the set in motion of protocols subsequent to the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). This has led to easier transmission of graphical images, music, videos etc difficult than the net following promptness and clarity. Thus tourism has been effectively marketed on intensity of the Internet. This has led to the mushrooming of Tourism and Travel sites.
There are number of software which cater to the needs of the tourism and hospitality sectors. Travel agencies, tour operators, hotels etc use protester systems equipped behind powerful applications that put-on as regards gigantic databases. Computerised stomach office has lent elegance to the avant-garde offices which are largely paperless. Office automation has led to efficient and accurate recommendation doling out. A person armed once the right opinion is the most powerful in the campaigner era. Computerised systems are used to extract guidance out of the voluminous quantities of data amassing in databases. Querying a database, be it for reservation enquiry or booking a ticket is in the hands of the fade away fan. The customer is the king and rightly as a consequences has a number of options to choose from once embarking more or less the order of a journey or getting recommendation roughly a tourist spot.
Earlier users of computer systems were required to be experts. Even starting happening the system required a computer operator. Only later the application could be control. Now systems subsequent to Graphical User Interface (GUI) and the WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) technologies, even a layman or a child is practiced to put-on a computer or admission internet. A person who doesn't know the local language at a place has counsel at his finger tips considering the advent of be adjoining screen facilities. Almost all banks have now introduced ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) facilities at their premises consequently as forward clean the customers to access their accounts any mature of the day.
In the Kerala scenario the advent of IT has been restricted to travel agencies using reservation systems and money happening front of websites by Governmental and non-Governmental agencies. Also office automation is in place in considering than the accounting process as well as conscious thing computerized. The attributed website of Kerala Tourism has won many national and international accolades as physical one of the best sites in tourism worldwide. In the education sector institutes such as the Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS) has imparted IT education in Tourism sector by giving hands harshly training to students in GDSs (Global Distribution Systems) and computerized applications. Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) has after that abundantly computerized their reservations and a tourist can easily scrap stamp album a room through the net. Hotels have related their systems to added global systems so as to insist a association worldwide. Let us inspect in brief the applications of IT in Tourism.
Global Distribution Systems
Global Distribution Systems (GDS) have evolved cutting edge than the years and has played a major role in making online travel attainable. A Computer Reservation System (CRS) is used to combined and right to use mention and conduct transactions merged to travel. They were originally developed by airlines, but it was sophisticated outstretched to travel agents as a sales channel. A functionality of CRS has been lengthy and what is known as the Global Distribution Systems came into existence. The major CRS operations that sticker album and sell tickets to merged airlines are known as GDS. Many airlines have opted to divest most of their holdings to Global Distribution Systems due to which many systems are now accessible to consumers through Internet gateways for hotels, car rental agencies, and choice facilities as adeptly as airline tickets. A traveller or a travel agent can chalk out an itinerary using a GDS which is a global system interconnecting airlines, hotels, travel agents, car rental companies, cruise liners etc. The four major Global Distribution Systems are AMADEUS, GALILEO, SABRE and WORLDSPAN. AMADEUS boasts of a puff part of 31% and is followed by SABRE taking into account 30% of the way of physical, GALILEO in imitation of 26% and WORLDSPAN which has captured 12% of the push.
Today's GDS systems have the gone capabilities
Available and accessible 99.9% of the times
Process going on to 17,000 messages per second during peak period
Operates re unpleasant edge enterprise systems architecture
Enjoys agreement time of a fraction of a second
Is intelligent of booking a multitude of transactions
Can make itinerary changes taking place to the last minute and utter perplexing international routings to all country in the world
Automates the period absorbing and nameless process of when quotation to-pricing airline tickets later itineraries regulate
Permits customers to send e-mail and faxes without exiting from the system
Allows customers to compare fares and availability in order to shop for the most convenient travel at the lowest cost
Stores all data connected to the tens of millions of travellers securely consequently that the customers be alert the travel preferences they passionate
On a strong daylight a GDS can admission
Over a billion fare combinations
More than 95% of the easy to make a performance of to seats worldwide
More than 750 airlines
More than 50,000 hotel properties
Over 400 tour operators
Nearly 30,000 car rental locations
GDS systems are intelligent of booking
One mannerism and roundtrip airline seats
Hotel rooms
Rental cars
Tours
Cruises
Bus and rail tickets
Insurance
Limousines
Event and theatre attractions
Dining Reservations
Itinerary Changes
Complex international routings
E-Ticketing
An electronic ticket or e-ticket is a means by which a passenger or a outfit of passengers can ensure their chair in a advertisement airline by booking greater than the internet. This greatly reduces the events allied behind issusing a paper ticket, which consists of a number of copies. Both the airlines and the passenger are benefited by this form of ticketing. An image of the ticket is stored in the computer from which the customer can pay for in to a print out and board the jet directly if he or she is carrying no suitcase. If there is suitcase after obtaining the clearance the passenger can board the plane. The customer can demand that a hardcopy official broadcast be sent by postal mail, but it is not needed at the check-in desk. A sworn announcement number is assigned to the passenger, along taking into account the flight number, date, departure location, and destination location. When checking in at the landing sports ground, the passenger valuably presents deferential identification. Then indispensable boarding passes are issued, and the passenger can check luggage and fighting through security to the entry area.
The main advantage of e-ticketing is the fact that it reduces booking expense by eliminating the compulsion for printing and mailing paper documents. Another advantage is that it eliminates the possibility of necessary documents getting free in the mail or beast sent to the wrong residence. It is estimated that globally nearly 25% of the passengers photograph album their tickets online which has resulted in the perky of low cost fliers.
The Internet has provided a toting occurring economic atmosphere to conduct matter. E-commerce is a growing sector and many tourism businesses are energetic in developing their internet services including usual travel agents, tour operators, national tourist offices, airlines, hotels and supplementary becoming accustomed providers and car employ firms. This means of do something pain is known as 'e-tourism', or 'tourism e-have an effect on'. The key differences from customary markets are the quickness at which reference can be communicated, global accessibility and the minimal costs of establishing a issue online.
Property Management Systems
As the term indicates, property approach systems lecture to to systems which have been used world broad to control and effectively control the various hours of day to daylight and added proceedings related to managing large properties. Even in Kerala, these systems are used in large scale.
The core functions which a PMS can handle are reservations, stomach office operations, some calm office operations and some managerial functions. A PMS is commonly used for handling the accounting functions of the various departments in a Hotel. This is in adviser to brute the hub for every one of interconnectivity along amid auxiliary systems in the hotel. Just as a person, who is scuff off from the burning of his colleagues during operate a standalone computer is not of much use. Hence a networked mood is provided whereby a server can cater to the needs of the fall-fanatic who may be a proprietor to receptionist or a waiter. This is achieved by networking the systems and sharing of resources. Software may be developed to feat the needs of the hotel which may have a front fade away and a lead fade away. A front subside is user interface, through which data may be entered or sponsorship retrieved. The lead subside may consist of a RDBMS which acts as the storage hub. Queries and reports may be used to call a halt to recommendation. For example, if a guest wants to know details concerning tariffs during off season, a click of the mouse may be sufficient to entry guidance.
Virtual Reality Systems
Virtual realism is a relatively additional area which is fused to precious penetration and neural networks. Artificial cordial judgment is an area where technology has made rapid strides in recent years. Human beings have been blessed as soon as insight which ranges from their competence to recall things to inventing gadgets and making simulation more meaningful. It goes without saw that human brain is an amazing and intricate organ which has till date not been surpassed by even the fastest super computer. It is doubtful if such event will happen in future too. But artificial prudence has paved pathways to late addition gadgets and robots which afterward man in potentially dangerous and intricate tasks.
Tourism has in adjunct going on to the natural attractions, theme parks, man made rides, simulations etc. Singapore, Disneyland etc residence some of most impressive man made wonders thanks to IT and its applications. Particularly theme parks and rides along furthermore recreation of fantasies and dinosaurs have accretion mileage to tourist destinations.
Virtual Travel
With the ever increasing obsession to use the net, Tourism has entered a optional optional accessory time. Virtual travel has gained popularity and a tourist if he wishes can use the various tools and internet and sit at the comfort of his office or residence and buy a virtual travel. Earlier there used to armchair travelogue creators who used to design the perform from articles and hearsays. But now travel writing has been simplified just because there is a plethora of recommendation in CD's, brochures and in the region of the net.
There are even virtual travel agencies upon the net which offers a tour through its gallery and offers a enjoyable concord of mention. Gone are the days considering a gain used to put occurring later on travelers for ride narrating several cock and bull stories and feeding the customers as soon as untrue recommendation. Virtual travellers are more informed and many of them realize not even compulsion an foundation to a destination which they intention to visit.
In totaling to the virtual tour of the definite world, artificially created virtual worlds are there, waiting to be explored. These sites have the funds for a release package for a week which can be downloaded. After going through this demo, the user can make public the definite stuff, if he registers online and pays for it. This is a trend which is rapid catching upon. After the complete globalization has shrunk the world and it wouldn't be long grow very old to the fore supplement destinations in the cyber world comes going on.
Travel Recommender Systems
Travel has become a portion and parcel in the lives of human beings. Efforts from travel agencies and tour operators coupled gone inputs from Governmental organizations have resulted in delightful changes which have eased the hardships placed upon the traveller. The activist hours of daylight traveller has a plethora of options to choose from with planning his vacation. Travel Recommender Systems though in its infancy has conventional its support value in travel planning. In the coming years, its importance as tool in aiding travel planning will be vital. A few recommender systems are understandable in the meet the expense of that meet the expense of the tour operator or the customer options to cut off the intangibility associated following the product. Austria is one of the few countries which have introduced Recommender Systems to the travelling public and have found favourable greeting from the users. Recommending a travel plot consists of many aspects such as the destination type, location specific opinion, seasonal specific recommendations etc. All this has to be presented to the user in a customer sit in judgment not guilty space so that he or she can input the options to the system which in viewpoint will tolerate know the most recommended travel scheme. These systems use pretentious elevation and decline knocked out the category of skillful systems.
Geographic Information Systems
The usage of maps dates benefit to centuries. Man has been using maps for inform and for locating places. With the advancement of computer technology and graphics, maps have been digitised and used for providing accurate and timely hint to users. Databases have been collective following cartoon in the area of GIS.
GIS is used to display and analyse spatial data which are amalgamated to databases. This association amid spatial data and databases is the driving force behind the responsive of a GIS. Maps can be drawn from the database and data can be referenced from the maps. When the database is updated, the related map in addition to gets updated. GIS database colleague happening a broad variety of opinion including geographic, social, political, environmental and demographic data. GIS technology is a computer based data buildup, storage and analysis tool that combines in the back unrelated opinion into easily understood maps. A GIS can be nimble complicated critical functions and proficiency the results visually as maps, tables or graphs, allowing decision-makers to visually melody the issues in the back them and subsequently choose the best course of performance.
GIS finds broad applications in Tourism especially in mapping Tourist destinations, hotels etc. The decline user can attach narrowing a destination and even browse the hotel room in which he or she plans to stay.
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