Tourism Information Technology

by P.J. Sheldon

This book examines the impact of information technologies on all sectors of tourism. Its aim is to analyze the interplay between these two large and rapidly growing phenomena and to describe in detail the applications of computer systems, telecommunications, and other aspects of IT to the transportation, travel intermediary, hospitality and entertainment sectors of tourism. Impacts of the technologies on firms, on the structure of the tourism industry and on the tourists themselves are investigated. Changes in the travel distribution system brought about by information technology and the Internet are part of this investigation. Many chapters conclude with a case example showing how IT can be innovatively used in the industry and the challenges encountered by firms as they utilize information technology.

The book will be appropriate reading for students of tourism in colleges and universities, and for students taking courses covering IT applications to service management in business schools. Travel industry managers and information professionals will also find the book of value as a reference and a guide for their own implementation of information systems.

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1997