New Technologies and its Optimisation in Tourism Industry

Running head: TOURISM PLANNING ENVIRONMENT
Tourism Planning Environment
Name of the Student
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TOURISM PLANNING ENVIRONMENT
New Technologies and its Optimisation in Tourism Industry
Position statement
The tourism industry in Australia is growing to be one of the highest contributors to
the GDP of the country. Travellers Choice is one of the most renowned travel agencies in
Australia. This group of travel agency is the winner of the 2019 National Travel Industry
Award. This company has the best network of travel agents, and they hold the shares of this
company directly. Holiday plans and short time tours both are arranged by this company with
attractive packages. The tours are organised in America, Europe, Antarctica, Asia, Pacific
and Australia and New Zealand. Travellers choice aims to deliver the best experience to the
customer through value packages. The company has its agents working in all areas of
Australian urban and suburban localities. The consumers could have personal interactions
with these agents to have their trip sorted. The company believes that tours and holiday
destinations should be designed according to the personal preferences of the customers.
Travel needs of the customers are also fulfilled through giving flying and accommodation
options. This company has its partnerships with some reputed airlines and hotel chains.
Overall, this travel agency could be the one for all destination for the customers who want to
experience new dimensions in travelling.
Insertion of new technological interventions in the tourism industry would increase
the efficiency in every section. This is an age of technology and the internet. Customers are
showing their inclination towards individualised and time-saving experiences. The changing
trend of customers could only be mitigated if the travel agencies are developing their policies
for adopting technological changes. This report would discuss the importance of new
technological applications in tourism industry functions. The policies and plans for the

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optimisation of these technological interventions in the travel and tourism industry would be
suggested, and the scope would be evaluated.
Background context
Changing contexts of the customers as well as the customers in the tourism industry is
easily detectable. The business or organisation that is not technology-friendly might end up at
the point of various disadvantages. Technology, like any other business sector, is immensely
influencing the aspects of tourism. The issues that have catered the need for technological
incorporation in tourism are discussed below.
Change in customer trends
The first thing that has to be given significance is the changing attitude and demands
of the customers. People are more tech-savvy than ever with their small mobile devices and
computers. There is huge competition in the market, and this strengthens the bargaining
power of the customers. As opined by Navío-Marco, Ruiz-Gómez and Sevilla-Sevilla (2018),
they could easily compare and contrasts the deals and choose the best one for them. Every
part of a tour or holiday planning and execution could be done in an effective and time-saving
way through the internet.
The travel agencies that do not have technology in their operations suffered from
various issues. The types of travel planning have changed as the requirements have changed
with time (Liang et al. 2017). Some of the tourists are interested in entertainment while some
of them also visit countries for adventure and knowledge gaining. The budgets are varied, and
so are the preferences. It is becoming a challenge for the tourism industry to manage all the
big data manually, without the help of the internet or computer (Boes, Buhalis and Inversini
2015). Other than that it also increases company maintenance and manual labour costs. The
customers want advice from their tour managers before starting and deciding their tours.

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They want all the information at home within their hand-reach. It is only possible through
technology to address all their concerns and mitigate them. This industry needs to be always
connected and communicating with their customers to retain them.
Increasing Competition
Every sector in Australia is facing stiff market competition, and the tourism industry
tops the list. As this is a growing sector and the government is showing its interest to invest in
tourism, the number of travel agencies are increasing every day. In this challenging situation,
it is quite obvious that companies who provide ultimate service to the customers would
survive. According to Xiang and Fesenmaier (2017), one who is not aware of the market
trends and is unable to mitigate the requirements of the consumers would face problems in
managing the issues and challenges in the market. Technology enables companies to improve
the scopes and outcomes of services (Gretzel et al. 2016). The use of internet and websites
enhances the connection between the customer and the agencies. The more a travel planner
reaches the customers, the more the scope of his business success.
Technological innovations
People related to the travel industry are being immensely influenced by the
technological trends that the customers are following. As the preferences of customers are
changing with the time, companies in this industry are making the technology efficient for
coping with the situations. There are a number of technological interventions that are
affecting the context of tourism.
Things of internet
The innovation of the internet is the most revolutionary achievement of humankind.
The IoT or internet of things has increased the connectivity and circulation of data through
common daily used devices (Ujang et al. 2016). The role of IoT is only increasing with time.