Travel technology

Travel technology is a term used to describe applications of Information Technology (IT), or Information and Communications Technology (ICT), in travel, tourism and hospitality industry. Travel technology may also be referred to as tourism technology or even hospitality automation.

Definition of Travel Technology

Since travel implies locomotion, travel technology was originally associated with the computer reservations system (CRS) of the airlines industry, but now is used more inclusively, incorporating the broader tourism sector as well as its subset the hospitality industry. While travel technology includes the computer reservations system, it also represents a much broader range of applications, in fact increasingly so. Travel technology includes virtual tourism in the form of virtual tour technologies. Travel technology may also be referred to as "e-travel" / "etravel" or "e-tourism" / "etourism" (eTourism), in reference to "electronic travel" or "electronic tourism".

In other contexts, the term "travel technology" can refer to technology intended for use by travelers, such as light-weight laptop computers with universal power supplies or satellite Internet connections. That is not the sense in which it is used here.

Applications of Travel Technology

Travel technology includes many processes such as dynamic packaging which provide useful new options for consumers. Today the tour guide can be a GPS tour guide, and the guidebook could be an audioguide, podguide or I-Tours, such as City audio guides. The biometric passport may also be included as travel technology in the broad sense.

History of Travel Technology

Certainly travel technology was born on the coat-tails of the airline industry's use of automation and their need to extend this out to the travel agency partners. It should be kept in mind that there was an online world before the advent of the world wide web in the form of private and commercial online services, via packet switched network using X.25. Travel technology played a significant role in the so-called dot-com boom and bust, circa 1997-2001.

"See also": History of the Internet , History of the World Wide Web, Journey Planner

See also

* Open Travel Alliance
* Sabre (computer system)
* Amadeus IT Group
* Galileo (computer system)
* Worldspan
* Electronic ticket
* Online hotel reservations
* List of global distribution systems
* Scandinavian Multi Access Reservations for Travel Agents
* Travel search
* Passenger Information System
* ITA Software
* Travel 2.0
* In-flight entertainment
* Hotel Technology Next Generation
* Magxia Integration Dynamic Packaging
* AJENTS
* BOOKIT
* Transmodel
* Journey Planner
* XX/1

References

* (2008) Egger, R., Buhalis, D. "eTourism Casestudies: Marketing and Management Issues in Tourism" Butterworth Heinemann/Elsevier
* (2006) Fesenmaier, D. R., Werthner, H, Wober K. W. "Destination Recommendation Systems: Behavioural Foundations and Applications". London: CABI.
* (2005) Egger, R. "Grundlagen des eTourism" Aachen: Sharker
* (2005) Tesone, Dana V. "Hospitality Information Systems and E-Commerce". New York: Wiley.
* (2004) Zhou, Z. "E-Commerce and Information Technology in Hospitality and Tourism". Canada: Thomson.
* (2003) Buhalis, D. "eTourism: information technology for strategic tourism management". England: Prentice Hall.
* (2003) Maurer, E. "Internet for the Retail Travel Industry". New York: Delmar Learning.
* (1997) Sheldon, P. "Tourism Information Technology". New York: CAB International.

External links

* [http://www.ifitt.org/ International Federation for IT and Travel & Tourism (IFITT)]
* [http://www.ifitt.org/enter/ Annual IFITT ENTER conference]
* [http://itt.ec3.at/ Information Technology & Tourism journal]
* [http://www.tti.org/ Travel Technology Initiative (TTI)]
* [http://www.tim.hawaii.edu/Document%20Library%20%20Listserv/about_trinet.aspx TRINET - Tourism Research Information Network]
* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications Transportation Communications Newsletter]
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