Information Systems Management for Travel & Tourism: A Report

This report examines the significant impact of technology on the tourism industry, focusing on the shift from traditional travel agents to online platforms and mobile applications. It analyzes the advancements made by IT firms, such as TravelTech and "Customise My Trip", which streamline processes like airport check-ins and hotel bookings. The report evaluates the benefits of technology integration, including increased consumer convenience, cost-effectiveness, and profit margins for businesses, while also addressing security concerns related to data storage in mobile apps. It highlights the advantages of mobile apps for booking destinations, flights, and hotels, and discusses the implications for various stakeholders, including consumers, IT firms, airlines, and travel agents. The report concludes with a discussion on the future of the tourism sector, emphasizing the need for continuous innovation and adaptation to meet evolving consumer demands.

INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT FOR TRAVEL &
TOURISM
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Executive Summary
This report would provide several insights regarding the integration of technology in the sector
of tourism. It emphasises on the changes made in the perspective of utilising applications and
websites rather than using travel agents of high streets. These applications make the most
utilisation of computers and cellular devices to check-in at airports and hotels, with the provision
of a key card that would open a tourist’s hotel room. The IT organisations are continuously
working to develop new ways that would make travel and tourism frictionless. However, the
Researchers of Bluebox have found that one out of every ten applications related to travelling
store information on cellular devices. This makes data such as passwords, the usernames, server
addresses, e-mail and numbers on credit cards vulnerable to be accessed by attackers. All of
these applications could be changed or altered in ways other than the intention of the developers.
Sensitive information needed to be consulted upon before including them in the development of
data. If this is done, choosing services for touring would be much more utilised by tourists with
the extensive integration of technology in tourism.
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Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................4
Critical analysis regarding changes from travel agents of high streets to the round the clock
online equivalent..............................................................................................................................4
Evaluation on the improvisations made by the technology on the conduction of business............6
Who benefits and who does not benefit...........................................................................................7
Benefits obtained by utilizing mobile apps.....................................................................................8
Security issues.................................................................................................................................9
Conclusion:....................................................................................................................................10
Reference List:...............................................................................................................................12
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Introduction:
The industry of tourism has been highly impacted by the revolution of technology. Both
enterprises and destinations of tourism in the UK have adopted innovative approaches to
improve their competitiveness. When demand is considered, the new, knowledgeable,
sophisticated and increasing demands of consumers have prompted the renowned IT firms to
develop applications and websites that would help the consumers, or in this case the tourists,
with booking of hotels and lodges in their destinations of choice. In addition, it would also help
them to select rooms of their choices at affordable prices that would help them to book in
advance.As a result, new appropriate management practices have emerged by taking the benefits
provided by the revolution of the IT industry and the process of entire business have been re-
engineered. The propelling of profits in the hospitality industry have enhanced the motivation of
the third party IT firms in UK that would help in the increase in profits and simultaneously
would help the consumers to receive the best services at a nominal rate as well. Not only the
hotel industry, the airlines organisation have also been benefitted with the increased usage of
these online applications. IT firms are collaborating with Airlines that has reduced the hassle of
tourists with a significant reduction of paperwork before boarding flights. This study would aim
to analyse the most significant developments IT and illustrate how the tourism industry have
been impacted by the evolution of these applications (Dedeke, 2016, p.545).
Critical analysis regarding changes from travel agents of high streets to the
round the clock online equivalent
Once an extremely demanded choice, it has been illustrated by a report that the Brits have been
planning their tourism holidays by utilising the resources available on the web. The new
advancements being made in technology implies that the predictions made by experts reveal that
the high street agencies of travelling would become extinct within five years. As per a report
provided by a search engine of travelling named KAYAK.co.uk, it has been stated that the norms
amongst the Brits have drastically modified over the past decade. According to the report, over
60% of the adults of UK have booked their destinations of tourism through a travel agent of high
streets over 10 years ago. However, this report states that the figure is only 19% at this point in
time.
According to Liu and Park (2015, p.142), this has been a result of the advancements made in the
booking of online holidays. This report states that around 80% of the citizens of the UK are
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booking their travelling destinations online. Over a decade ago, this figure was only found out to
be 35%. Several agents of travelling now have websites, which can be utilised to book hotels at a
reasonable rate without paying any commissions to travel brokers.
However, holidays are feasible to be booked via hotel and airline websites, along with search
engines for online booking.
Figure 1: Prediction of utilising travelling apps amongst Brits
(Source: Ponte et al. 2015, p.300)
This figures have resulted to be a warning signal to high street agents of travelling but this isn’t
totally surprising. With the feasibility of the web which is not only used for e-shopping, it is also
being extensively utilised by Brits to book their travelling destinations online rather than
resorting to high streets agent of travelling.
The information also depicts that computers and laptops are much more than cellular phones for
carrying out booking travelling destinations.
Referring to Standing et al. (2014, p.83), the conclusion of the report conducted by KAYAK
states that the travel agents of high street would not be existing anymore within the upcoming 5
years if new adaptive policies are not adopted by them in the time-being.
This report was drafted after the revelation of the latest online readymade holiday service
package. A new “Customise Your Own Trip” service that would be available on the web at
BA.com would allow consumers to develop a multiple holiday destination of their option with
total robustness to combine the flights coming and going out of various airports, booking of
several different hotels and selection of hiring of cars for any holiday part.
Due to the latest British Airways Website, “Customise Your Own Trip”service, tourists can build
a more descriptive itinerary now that would include the partnered airlines of British Airways.
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Evaluation on the improvisations made by the technology on the conduction of
business
As per Ayeh et al. (2013, p.133), there are several improvisations made by the UK IT firms that
have revolutionized the tourism business. Some of the applications and software that have helped
in the renovation of this business include applications like TravelTech and “Customise My Trip”.
These applications make the most utilisation of computers and cellular devices to check-in at
airports and hotels, with the provision of a key card that would open a tourist’s hotel room. The
IT organisations are continuously working to develop new ways that would make travel and
tourism frictionless. A wide diversity of issues are being addressed by these IT enterprises in the
UK, with several of these companies carrying out Research & Development to understand the
conditions of the tourism industry and make appropriate modifications to cater to the demands of
the tourists. In addition to software and applications, the potentials offered by cloud technology
is harnessed to its fullest. The objective behind the utilisation of cloud technology was to store
the information of a passport, such as personal details and biometrics of travelling, in the cloud.
It would enable travelling without having to carry any documents, significantly reducing the
need for carrying passport and theft of identity amongst other advantages.
Referring to Xiang et al. (2015, p.245), these technology driven companies are also innovating
smart-watches that would be able to execute several functions and would deliver the tourists with
news regarding weather, gate locations, favourite places to visit in a tourist spot, boarding passes
and reservation data in hotels.
In the UK, Samsung has collaborated with Heathrow Airways to design boarding passes that
could be utilised via a smartwatch and technology that are deemed as wearable.
The pass of boarding could also be accessed via an application with the provision of an
electronic bar that would scan the user to get through checkpoints in airports. Automatic updates
regarding location of gate and delaying of flights.
Who benefits and who does not benefit
The innovations being made in the fields of technology have boosted the demands of the tourism
sector in the UK. It has provided the consumers, or in this case, interested tourists with the
options of interesting packages with several criterions that would spark the interests of the Brits.
With the utilisation of the advancements in technology, tourists now can book their choice of
rooms in hotels in advance, select rooms and are provided with significant discounts by utilising
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the application or a website. According to Dedeke (2016, p.545), these applications also provide
an option to cancel a booking and deal at a nominal rate. Not only booking hotels, this
application also provides the consumers to book tickets in airlines, railways and buses, with the
option of cancellation and refunding.
Figure 2: Extent of integrating technology with tourism sector
(Source: Gretzel et al. 2015, p.175)
In addition to this, these innovations in technology have also bolstered the profits made by the
tourism industry of UK. This has been a result of collaborating with third party IT firms, which
decide to promote the services and facilities offered by the hotel, with the exchange of a part of
the profit garnered by the hotels. As a result, it can be said that it is a two-way street when it
comes to sharing of increased margin of profit. The propelling of profits in the hospitality
industry have enhanced the motivation of the third party IT firms in UK that would help in the
increase in profits and simultaneously would help the consumers to receive the best services at a
nominal rate as well. Not only the hotel industry, the airlines organisation have also been
benefitted with the increased usage of these online applications. IT firms are collaborating with
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Airlines that has reduced the hassle of tourists with a significant reduction of paperwork before
boarding flights. This has resulted in the increased usage of opting for flights rather than
selecting trains or buses as mediums to travel.
With the advancements being made in the booking of online holidays, the utilisation of travel
agent of high streets is reducing over time. As per a recent studies carried out by Gavalas et al.
(2014, p.322) on the tourists of UK, it has been illustrated that over 80% of the citizens of the
UK are booking their travelling destinations online. Over a decade ago, this figure was only
found out to be 30%. Several agents of travelling now have websites that can be utilised to book
hotels at a reasonable rate without paying any commissions to travel brokers. As a result, they
are the only ones who have been negatively impacted with integration of advanced technology
with the industry of tourism in UK.
Benefits obtained by utilizing mobile apps
According to Law et al. (2014, p.727), the tourism and travelling industry has emphatically
flourished over the last decade, because of the extended incorporation of technology with it. As
per the statistical digits, the revenue of UK tourism industry currently stands at a humongous
value of 120 million pounds, and it is expected that this value would enhance further to an
approximated value of 250 million pounds within the next 10 years. According to another
statistical data provided by the United Nations Organisation of World Tourism, it can be stated
that the arrivals of international tourist have reached the value of over 100 million in the UK.
This has been a result of extensive utilisation of technology, especially mobile applications and
websites in this revolution. It is predicted that over 85% Brits utilise online technology to book
tourist destinations and all the other associated requisites Wang et al. (2016, p.53).
These apps are generally utilised as all booking technologies can be easily carried out under a
single roof. This implies that a tourist can carry out everything in one application. This implies
that within a single application, a destination can be chosen, tickets can be booked to reach the
spot and reservation of hotels at reasonable tariff rates can be done. Excluding these facilities,
cab booking for sightseeing to visit the local tourist spots can be carried out. No switching of
apps need to be done to carry out the aforementioned functions. These apps also provide a
platform of offering most lucrative rebates. As per Dima et al. (2014, p.76), with the evolution of
the applications and gadgets of Smartphone, a cutthroat competition has evoked with travel apps
not being an exception from this. The amount of rebate or discount being offered by an
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application determines the number of downloads by the tourists. In addition to this, there are also
some applications, which allow a user to compare various prices regarding holiday reservation in
hotels. Along with this, there are also claims to provide unbeatable flight prices and other similar
constraints. It is significant to consider that the consumers in UK these days have become wise
choosers and discount offers are needed to be provided by these applications carefully.
According to Neuhofer et al. (2014, p.342), these applications are best in providing continuous
improved services and class customisation. These services could comprise of tour packages for
various reasons, whether the user decides to go on a corporate trip or just for leisure purposes. It
also includes packages of international tour and domestic tour. In addition to this, the agents of
travelling have turned out to be quite conscious on paying attention to particular priorities and
needs of the consumers. In the time of emergency, there are also some travelling apps, which
help tourists during adverse circumstances.
These applications can act as a potent tool of marketing. A large number of hotels can connect
with the consumers and the targeting of new ones is done. The buttons of social media are
employed for obtaining information to have an explicit idea where the consumers can be
interacted with and found out their demands regarding their next trip.
Security issues
As per the organisation of mobile security, the top 10 travel apps on lack suitable security.
Moreover, every analyse program comprise of critical flaws. The problems affect the software
and applications designed for renowned platforms for mobile that involve iOS and Android. As
per a report conducted by various travelling applications, applications like these are vulnerable to
several entry points for attackers to gain access to sensitive information by bypassing the security
approaches implemented in this application. According to the analysis, the Researchers of
Bluebox have found that one out of every ten applications related to travelling store information
on cellular devices. This makes data such as passwords, the usernames, server addresses, e-mail
and numbers on credit cards vulnerable to be accessed by attackers.
In addition to this, four of the iOS apps and Android apps, which comprised of code that could
provide functionality of administrators and can result in availing exclusive privileges that general
users should not be provided access with? The encryption that are developed by the application
developers can be effective when the devices are turned off, whereas when it is on and operating,
the data can be accessible by attackers. Attacks such as accessing information on credit cards ,
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upcoming plans of travelling, travel history, and other resembling information can be accessed,
as per the report presented by Bluebox.
No measures related to anti-tampering have been incorporated for iOS and Android applications
that would allow attackers to activate and functionality that could be restricted to gain total
control of the application programs. It would also help in modifying the application to
incorporate malicious coding or launching attacks on other applications. None of the applications
involves sufficient integrity of device protections.
It can be recommended by Bluebox that security teams could be advised to implement
encryption of data for all data of application, to erase coding that would not be needed for the
functionality of the program. This would involve the inclusion of “self-defending” abilities to
applications of mobile for ensuring the protection of data, and security is considered to be a
developmental aspect and process of updating from the scratch.
All of these applications could be changed or altered in ways other than the intention of the
developers. Sensitive information needed to be consulted upon before including them in the
development of data. Data needs to be protected at the level of application and security needs to
be incorporated into the process of development. Excluding it, the users who are the
conglomerates and consumers could suffer loss or damage of personal and professional
information.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, it can be said that implementation of third-party applications in the hospitality and
tourism industry have bolstered the profit margin on this industry. These apps are generally
being implemented as all booking technologies can be easily carried out under a single roof. This
implies that a tourist can carry out everything in one application. Every required functionality
can be carried out within a single application, a destination can be chosen, tickets can be booked
to reach the spot and reservation of hotels at reasonable tariff rates can be done. As a result,
choosing services for touring is becoming easier with the extensive integration of technology in
tourism.
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Reference List:
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media for travel planning. Tourism Management, 35, pp.132-143.
Dedeke, A.N., (2016). Travel web-site design: Information task-fit, service quality and purchase
intention. Tourism management, 54, pp.541-554.
Dima, I.C., Ţenescu, A. and Bosun, P., (2014). Informational stocks and e-logistics management
of a tourism company. International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences, 16(1), pp.75-85.
Gavalas, D., Konstantopoulos, C., Mastakas, K. and Pantziou, G., (2014). Mobile recommender
systems in tourism. Journal of network and computer applications, 39, pp.319-333.
Gretzel, U., Koo, C., Sigala, M. and Xiang, Z., (2015). Special issue on smart tourism:
convergence of information technologies, experiences, and theories. Electronic Markets, 25(3),
pp.175-177.
Law, R., Buhalis, D. and Cobanoglu, C., (2014). Progress on information and communication
technologies in hospitality and tourism. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality
Management, 26(5), pp.727-750.
Liu, Z. and Park, S., (2015). What makes a useful online review? Implication for travel product
websites. Tourism Management, 47, pp.140-151.
Neuhofer, B., Buhalis, D. and Ladkin, A., (2014). A typology of technology‐enhanced tourism
experiences. International Journal of Tourism Research, 16(4), pp.340-350.
Ponte, E.B., Carvajal-Trujillo, E. and Escobar-Rodríguez, T., (2015). Influence of trust and
perceived value on the intention to purchase travel online: Integrating the effects of assurance on
trust antecedents. Tourism Management, 47, pp.286-302.
Standing, C., Tang-Taye, J.P. and Boyer, M., (2014). The impact of the Internet in travel and
tourism: A research review 2001–2010. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 31(1), pp.82-
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Wang, D., Xiang, Z. and Fesenmaier, D.R., (2016). Smartphone use in everyday life and travel.
Journal of Travel Research, 55(1), pp.52-63.
Xiang, Z., Magnini, V.P. and Fesenmaier, D.R., (2015). Information technology and consumer
behavior in travel and tourism: Insights from travel planning using the internet. Journal of
Retailing and Consumer Services, 22, pp.244-249.
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