Functionalities and services of DMSs

DMOs begin with the management of information on tourism products and services and their online promotion.

The main beneficiaries of a DMS are potential travelers, the providers of tourism products and services, national travel agents and outbound travel agents, national tourism institutions, IT providers and investors.

Tourism services

Box No. 2

Tourism niches such as ecotourism one of the fastest growing segments of the tourism industry are increasingly promoted by DMOs in many developing countries, allowing them to diversify their tourism offer.

Tourism development Plans to provide all necessary tourism services

The use of ICT tools such as DMSs should assist them in their efforts to market their tourism offer globally and to ensure the strategic management of their destinations to ultimately improve their competitiveness on tourism markets.

An annual fee could be charged according to the level of services supplied by the DMS.

(c) Green Resource Directory techniques, products and services for improved environmental management in tourism facilities

In terms of reservation services, the majority of DMOs in developing countries support the promotion of tourism in their country mainly by advertising the contact details of tourism providers.

Tourism services comprise advice, information, sale of accommodation, transport, international tourism services and excursions entrance to parks and swimming pools individually or in groups.

However, new technology has allowed other non traditional providers of tourism services such as Microsoft, Google and Yahoo to enter the distribution market for tourism services and become providers of e tourism.

Contributing factors for the successful integration of local tourism enterprises into international tourism markets are adequate e tourism strategies that focus on tourism innovation in terms of tourism products and adoption of e business tools such as destination management systems.

Mr. Tuan Anh Le, Director of Tourism Information Technology Center, National Administration of Tourism, Viet Nam

By integrating these SMEs into their DMS, DMOs bring them into the new e business environment of the tourism industry and offer them the technological tools to conduct their operations online.

Managing and promoting destinations

DMOs should advertise the existence of their e tourism website.

Distribution of other services Audiovisual and tourism

Tourism style towns must be equipped with elements of style, tourism, service and the environment.

The Secretary of the Interior also drew attention to selected business opportunities in American Samoa, such as export oriented manufacturing (like the tuna processing industry) and professional services (management contracts, workforce management training and technology consulting services), tourism (diversified services, such as ecotourism and conference tourism), tax exemption incentives and international banking services.21 Currently, more Samoans live abroad than in American Samoa.

eTourism information technology for strategic tourism management. D. Buhalis, 2003.

Public authorities, DMOs and tourism enterprises should fully understand the opportunities and challenges of e tourism and overcome the barriers that still hamper the use of ICTs.

DMSs are the IT infrastructure used by DMOs for the collection, storage, management and distribution of information and for the transaction of reservations and other commercial activities.

DMOs need to have a comprehensive vision of existing and potential market segments, tourism evolution and prospects, consumers' tourism related Internet usage and tourism behaviour to be able to translate them into web based technologies, customer centered services and marketing campaigns.

Building effective DMSs supposes that DMOs integrate accurate information about all tourism resources, as well as a wide range of dynamic services in the form of personalized advice or brochures to respond to consumer expectations with regard to things to do or places to stay.

The economy of Gibraltar is largely dependent on tourism and the provision of financial services, such as banking, insurance, shipping and portfolio management.

Affirming the close relationship between the tourist sector and other service sectors, which affects the overall quality of tourism in Arab societies,

Sustainable consumption in tourism integrates sustainability issues in the selection of destinations and service providers and in the tourists' behaviour during their stay at the destination.

In order to set up a DMS, Governments and DMOs should organize consultative meetings with relevant partners.

Up to the end of the 1990s, face to face contact was required and tourism services were distributed mainly by tour operators and travel agents or directly by carriers transporters, fully integrated with global distribution systems (GDS).

(a) Providing substantive and secretariat services to the Commission, the Committee on Managing Globalization and the Subcommittee on Transport Infrastructure and Facilitation and Tourism, on issues relevant to transport and tourism development

The role of ICTs in developing tourism The innovation process in the tourism industry Managing and promoting destinations online E business challenges Concluding remarks.

Tourism services The distribution of tourism services relies on different distribution channels.

Regarding tourism in the autonomous regions, the Ministry of Tourism was preparing cultural and environment friendly tourism programmes, in which members of the communities were trained to run the projects, and advisory services were available for the launching of community based initiatives.

Experts fully recognized the need to develop capacities in three broad areas technological (web services, programming, semantic web), business skills (such as entrepreneurship) and tourism skills (including tourism marketing and cultural heritage management).

The setting up of joint public private sector arrangements, including tourist facilities and essential services to help promote tourism in the Territory.31

(a) Providing administrative and management direction including appropriate programme support services (covering human resources management, medical services, financial, security, procurement and travel related operations, facilities and buildings management, information technology and communications, conference, language and editorial services)

However, the experience of several DMSs in both developing and developed countries shows that a free subscription for tourism enterprises guarantees their larger participation in the DMS.

Accordingly, DMOs need to have a comprehensive vision of existing and potential market segments, tourism evolution and prospects, consumers' tourism related Internet usage and tourism behaviour to be able to translate them into web based technologies and adequate services (languages, presentation, content) and marketing campaigns.

Previously, these services were available only for business to business operations, mainly tour operators and travel agencies.

DMOs and tourism enterprises in developing countries urgently need to adopt ICTs and adapt business processes and management structures to globalization in order to become competitive in this new marketplace.

In order to ensure the long term sustainability of a DMS, DMOs should develop accurate business models according to local conditions.

Interesting examples at the regional and national levels are the DMSs developed by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) and by the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Reading, travelling and working with and for the disadvantaged in society.