IT for Business

Question: Write an essayabout the use of the information technology that is being used in the tourism industry. Answer: Introduction The definition of information technology and tourism is distinctly different from each other. On the one hand, tourism is something that is related to travel, which people take solely for taking leisure or even for business purpose at the same time. On the other hand information technology is related to computing, telecommunication, and it even include, pectoral, textual and even numerical information at the same time[1]. Thus, both the avenues are different yet they are merged, because technology is required for the growth and the development of the tourism industry. Human demands are ever changing demands and to meet these ever-changing demands it is important to merge tourism with technology. Need for IT The tourism industry depends upon three main important things and these are the Accommodation, Attraction, and Transport. Travel always takes place because of a reason, people travel to spend some leisurely time, or they travel to spend time with the friends or families[2]. They even travel for any kind business, educational and healthcare purpose, and to meet these purposes of the people the tourism industry has developed; and in the developed countries like Australia, it has reached its Zenith. The transport sector include, the air, waterways and the surface transport and today the booking of these transport is done from the website of tourism sector and thus the use of information technology become very prominent in this sector. The tourist guides even use the radio communication technology to conduct the tours in various ways. In the same way, the booking of hotel rooms also takes place through the website of the tourism business and there the use of the information technology is the most needed thing. The attraction part of the tourism is the most important part of tourism that helps the people, or rather the tourists to know about the synthetic and natural attraction of the country. It actually helps in promoting the tourism of the country and in todays world, the attraction or the promotion takes place mainly through website of the tourism business. For instance, the website of Aboriginal Tourism in Australia helps in knowing the special attraction of the country, and the places that the people could explore if they are planning a holiday in the country[3]. Even if the people are planning a business event in the country then too they could explore it and find it, as the website claims[4]. Importance of IT for survival According to the information that is being provided by the World Trade Organization (WTO), there will be an increase in travel in the next few years and by 2020, the per annum travel that would take place is equal to 15 billion. Thus, there will be an huge expansion of tourism industry, although, there will be competition and with the increase in globalization the competition would increase at the same time and at the same time the risk factors, related to it, would increase at the same time. Since tourism industry is not into selling any goods, rather it is into in a service that is intangible in nature. Thus, the information needs to be conveyed to the public in a proper manner and only if the information is conveyed properly; the tourism industry would have customers otherwise not. Thus, the use of information technology could actually increase the number of customers that are there in a tourism industry. Information technology is not only used to convey information rather it is u sed for other operations as well and thus it has become an inseparable part of the tourism industry and thus without the presence of the information technology it would be difficult for the company to survive in the market, because information technology is used for marketing as well[5]. Things required to apply IT in business The initial cost that is required includes the cost of installing the hardware and the software as well as the cost of providing training to the staffs of the organization. The software that are required to install in a tourism sector include the Java, .Net and the WebServices, and Wordpress is required for designing the website of the company[6]. The accounting software that would be included in the implementation process includes the ERP and the SAP software, installation. The support system of the tourism sector too requires certain software that will help them in their daily operations and the software that are required in this particular section include the PCL, PDF and AFP, which helps in batch separation, postal code classification and envelope marking. The estimated cost of implementing the information technology in the tourism sector could be approximately $7500. The planning that is required before implementing the information technology in the tourism sector include, the planning of the cost that is required for implementing the software and the hardware in the organization. Moreover, there are certain software like SAP, whose installation requires permission, and the planning process include those parts that would help in granting that permission[7]. After the permission is granted, the company could go for buying the software from the market. Apart from that, the tourism sector needs web designer for designing the website that would help them to attract customers and the tourists[8]. Therefore, either it is important to train the internal employees, or it can be done through hiring web designer externally. The planning process would include these things as well; that is whether the company would train the employees or will they hire people externally. The implementation of the information and technology requires providing proper training and development program to the people working in the organization. If the staffs working in the organizations are not provided with proper training and development program then that could affect the whole process. Thus, it is important to provide proper training and development program to the people working in the organization. The way Business Uses IT The tourists or rather the customers could use the information technology in various ways and among all the ways few of them are: The customers could access the website of the tourism industry and could have a look at various facts that are available on the website. The information, to which the customers could have an access include the general information like the weather of that particular place and the major tourist attractions that are there. Apart from this information, other facts like the time schedule of the train, or buses or the airlines are provided in the websites of the tourism company. There has been increase in the use of the Customer Reservation System and the Global Distribution System in the last few decades and with the increase of these two things the customers, usage of the internet too has increased a lot. The introduction of the information technology has affected the tourism business and its daily operation a lot. The way the staffs use the information technology is different from the way: The tourism company include the travel agents who makes all the bookings and the accommodations available for the customers thus they have to use the information technology or rather the software to make these bookings. In case of making transaction from the customers the staffs, working in the company has to use the ERP software and have to make those transaction. The making of the salary slip of the customers too, depend on the application of the software and the information technology and thus with the help of the technology it is being done easily without any problem. Advantages and Disadvantages of using IT in Business Advantages: The implementation of the information technology in the business has increased the customer satisfaction[9]. The increase in the customer satisfaction comes with the improvement that is there in the customer service department of the tourism sector. Thus, information technology has contributed largely to the development of the tourism industry and has contributed to the growth of the tourism industry at the same time. The gap that was previously there between the consumer expectation that was the ideal expectation and between the actual services that is delivered is reduced. Disadvantages: The cost of implementing the information technology is not that feasible because it include the cost of buying the software and the hardware and at the same time it include the cost of providing training to the employees as well[10]. The employees, who are unaware of the new technology, providing training to them, would be something that is costly. The implementation of the IT in the tourism industry would mean that the number of people who, were previously there in the industry would reduce since IT could do the task of ten people with the help of two people only. Thus, it will lead to the unemployment of many people working in the organization[11]. Risk of Using IT in Business The use of IT in the tourism business would definitely bring a threat or a risk for the employment sector in the tourism industry, since the implementation of the IT would lead to the job loss of many people[12]. It is true that the information technology could actually help the customers in more than one way but at the same time, it is also true that the information technology is actually responsible for security breaches. The travel agencies that are operating in different parts of the world as well as in Australia would face a threat because of the use of the information technology. The travel agencies carry out the work of booking the air or he railway o the bus tickets for the customers. The information technology and with the introduction of internet and Computer Reservation System, that work of the travel agencies are carried out directly by the customers thus, it is creating a risk and a threat on the existence of these agencies[13]. Maintaining and Monitoring IT in Business The tourism company should maintain as well as monitor the information technology in the business in the following way: The customer information should be protected and at the same time, the company should try to keep the details of the customers confidential[14]. The tourism company should monitor that those information, whose unauthorized accession could harm the customers, those information should be protected at the same time[15]. The company should maintain and monitor the information technology implemented in the company, to try to identify the possible threats and the hazards that could possibly come harm the sustainability of the company. Recommendation The company should make sure that the staffs in the organizations are well trained, therefore, when there is the implementation of the new technology in the organization there are no possibilities that they will lose their job. The company should try to reduce the unwanted costs those are there and this unwanted cost could help in implementing the information technology in the tourism company. The tourism company should also keep in mind that there is a regular monitoring of the information of the customers, and this will ensure that the customers information remain confidential and at the same time the customers are not harmed in any ways or the others. Conclusion The tourism company such as the Aboriginal Tourism in Australia is a booming industry and this industry provides tourism services to the people in and around the country. According to the report of WTO, the tourism industry would expand and along with it, there will be the expansion of these companies. The companies, should therefore, implement the information technology because it would help in improving the service quality of the organization. The service quality improvement would attract customers and at the same time, it would increase the customer satisfaction at the same time. It should also be kept in mind that the information technology is not without fault or flaws and to remove the fault and the flaws there should be a continuous monitoring of the new technology that is being implemented in the organization. References Anwar, M.A., Carmody, P., Surborg, B. and Corcoran, A., 2014, December. The diffusion and impacts of information and communication technology on tourism in the Western Cape, South Africa. InUrban Forum(Vol. 25, No. 4, pp. 531-545). Springer Netherlands. Australia, T. (2016).Aboriginal - Aboriginal Tourism - Tourism Australia. Tourism.australia.com. Benckendorff, P.J., Sheldon, P.J. and Fesenmaier, D.R., 2014.Tourism information technology. CABI. 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