Purpose



– The purpose of this paper is to establish the progress of information and communication technology (ICT) based on a review of papers published in tourism and hospitality journals between 2009 and 2013. 




Design/methodology/approach



– Based on three major databases, 107 journal papers were retrieved and reviewed. The papers were grouped into two major categories, consumer and supplier, which generally comprise the key players in the industries. 




Findings



– A content analysis showed that hospitality and tourism industries use ICT in different functional units and for different applications. This, in turn, indicates their wide adoption in the industry. Industrial implications are discussed. 




Practical implications



– On the basis of the content analysis, industry practitioners can learn about up-to-date practices and decide how to take advantage of recent technological developments. 




Originality/value



– A major contribution of this paper is the comprehensive review of recently published papers in tourism and hospitality journals from the perspectives of consumer and supplier.

Progress on information and communication technologies in hospitality and tourism

Experiences constitute the essence of the tourism industry. While literature has recognised the recent impact of technology on experiences, its empirical exploration remains scarce. This study addresses the gap by empirically exploring five leading industry cases to generate a holistic understanding of technology enhanced tourism experiences. The main contribution of this paper lies in the development of a nine-field experience typology matrix based on the increasing intensity of cocreation and technology implementation. The final contribution of this study is the development of an experience hierarchy and discussing its relevance for experience enhancement in tourism research and practice.

A Typology of Technology‐Enhanced Tourism Experiences

This article presents the first narrative analysis of the areas of research that have developed within the destination marketing field since its commencement in 1973. Given the broad extent of the field, and the absence of any previous reviews in four decades, a key challenge is in providing a focus for such a disparate body of knowledge. The review is structured around one principal question: ‘To what extent is the Destination Marketing Organisation (DMO) responsible for the competitiveness of the destination’? In pursuit of this underlying question, we address a number of themes including nomenclature and the DMO, the evolution of the destination marketing literature, competitiveness as the DMO reason d’etre, and DMO effectiveness including issues of branding and positioning, and future research themes in the field.

Destination marketing organizations and destination marketing : a narrative analysis of the literature

http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/21118/1/Eprints%20-%20Pike%20and%20Page%20-%20DMO%20and%20destination%20marketing-1.pdf

Destination Marketing Organizations and destination marketing: a narrative analysis of the literature.

The notion of creating rich and memorable experiences for consumers constitutes a prevalent concept in the tourism industry. With the proliferation of destination choices and increasing competition, it has become critical for destinations to find innovative ways to differentiate their products and create experiences that provide distinct value for the tourist. However, currently two major paradigm shifts are drastically changing the nature of experiences, the understanding of which is crucial for destinations to create successful experiences in the future. Experiences are transforming as (a) consumers now play an active part in co-creating their own experiences and (b) technology is increasingly mediating experiences. Despite the amount of literature recognising the impact of technology on experiences, a holistic conceptualisation of this change is missing. This paper thus raises the need to conflate the two-fold paradigm shift and calls for new reflections on the creation of experiences. The aim is to explore technology as a source of innovation to co-create enhanced destination experiences. The paper contributes on three levels: by introducing and conceptualising a new experience creation paradigm entitled Technology Enhanced Destination Experiences, by proposing an extended destination experience co-creation space in the pre/during/post phases of travel and by discussing managerial implications of this development for the future creation and management of experiences in a destination context.

/pdf/conceptualising-technology-enhanced-destination-experiences-53e0tufrmx.pdf

Conceptualising technology enhanced destination experiences

Social media are gaining prominence as an element of destination marketing organisation (DMO) marketing strategy at a time when public sector cuts in their funding are requiring them to seek greater value in the way marketing budgets are spent. Social media offers DMOs with a tool to reach a global audience with limited resources. The aim of this study is to explore the usage of social media among the DMOs of the top 10 most visited countries by international tourists. The study uses content analysis and semi-structured interviews to examine the usage and impact of social media marketing strategies and identifies a framework of best practice for other national tourism organizations (NTOs) to learn from. The study argues that social media usage among top DMOs is still largely experimental and that strategies vary significantly.

/pdf/social-media-as-a-destination-marketing-tool-its-use-by-4hjelk8lf7.pdf

Stephanie Hays

Papers

Social media as a destination marketing tool: its use by national tourism organisations