TRAVEL INTERMEDIARIES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

TRAVEL INTERMEDIARIES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

MODULE 2

WHAT IS ECOSYSTEM?

• •Ecosystem is a network of interactions among living organisms and between these organisms and their environment (Tansley, 1935).

  •A key feature of ecosystems is that organisms change and adapt in response to each other and the physical environment, resulting in the process of evolution.

  
  

• •A digital ecosystem consists of users, companies and governments who converge in the space of IT, telecommunications, and media and entertainment industries. Technology-mediated interaction.

  
  

• •A digital tourism ecosystem is composed of the interactions between living entities such as travelers, suppliers, intermediaries, governments and communities, and the nonliving technological environment of devices, connections, content and touch points

  
  

Digital Tourism Ecosystem

• Roles of entities and communities

  
  

• ¤Catalyzers- increase the survival chances of entities by supporting. Eg; governments, DMOs

  
  

• ¤Dictators – aim to own/control a large proportion of ecosystem. Examples some GD

  
  

• ¤Milkers – extract more value from the ecosystem than they contribute. Eg; OTA

  ¤Niche players –offer specialized services & niche skills distinguish them from the ecosystem. Eg: Tripadvisor

Digital Tourism Ecosystem

• Digital technological environment (four elements)

• ¤Devices- convergence of digital devices. Eg; SmartTV, smarphone

• ¤Connections- information moves between devices using various connection. Eg; broadband, wireless, WIFI

• ¤Content- different media deliver info about travel experience, from high documentaries to social media websites

  ¤Touch points- interfaces for entities to engage with each other with technology. Eg; face to face, telephone conversations

Digital Tourism Ecosystem

• Ecosystem functions

  ¤Inspiration - deliver info, pictures & videos that inform & inspire travelers, helps in decision making

  
  

• ¤Transaction –travel intermediaries, GDS, booking engines

  
  

• ¤Experience- various entities use technology to create experiences during the trip. Location-based services, mobile apps & on-site technology

  
  

• ¤Reflection- IT advances have allowed visitors to reflect on & share travel experiences with family & friends/friends using platform such as blogs, websites, social network

Digital Tourism Ecosystem

• Ecosystem health

  ¤Productivity – ecosystem ability to provide innovations that improve the efficiency of ecosystem functions. Eg; measure using the number of users

  
  

• ¤Resilience – ecosystem ability to withstand external shocks. Eg; Indicator = survivor rate

  
  

• ¤Diversity – ecosystem capacity to create new entities or niches

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Digital Tourism Ecosystem