KYULE MWANZIA DAVID

Citation:

Kyule MD. CAC 405 Tourism in the Internet Age. Nairobi; 2011.

Type of Work:

Lecture module for the Center for Open and Distance Learning (CODL), University of Nairobi.

Notes:

Lecture series: CTO 405 – Tourism in the Internet Age

UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

FACULTY OF ARTS

In collaboration with

CENTER FOR OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING

TOURISM PROGRAM

CTO 405 : Tourism in the Internet Age

WRITTEN BY: Mwanzia D. Kyule

REVIEWED BY : E. W. Wahome

EDITED BY :

Table of contents
GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE UNIT
GENERAL UNIT OBJECTIVES
1 Information and Communication Technologies
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Tourism and information
1.3 What is ICT?
1.4 Basic computing
1.5 How computers work
1.6 The arithmetic and logic unit (ALU)
1.7 Computer memory
1.8 Input/output (I/O)
1.9 Computer software
1.10 Computer multitasking
1.11 Computer networking and Internet
1.12 Mobile and location based services for tourists
1.13 Geographic information systems
1.14 Integrated circuits
1.15 Voice-over-IP (VoIP
1.16 Review Questions
1.17 Further reading

2 The Internet

2.1 Introduction
2.2 Internet services
2.3 Internet access
2.4 Remote access
2.5 Collaboration
2.6 File sharing
2.7 Streaming media
2.8 Voice telephony (VoIP)
2.9 Leisure
2.10 Marketing
2.11 How the Internet works
2.12 Internet Architecture
2.13 IP Addresses
2.14 Domains
2.15 Packet Switching
2.16 Review Questions
2.17 Further reading

3 The World Wide Web (WWW)
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Website Design
3.3 Website Hosting
3.4 Web statistics
3.5 Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
3.6 Search Engine Exposure
3.7 Search engine marketing
3.8 E-mail and viral marketing
3.9 Review Questions
3.10 Further reading

4 Role of Internet in Tourism

4.1 Introduction
4.2 The role of ICT and e-business in the tourism sector
4.3 Leveling the playing field
4.4 Development of Destination Management Systems (DMS)
4.5 Online Transactions
4.6 Online sales
4.7 Online reservations
4.8 Online Payments
4.9 E-communication
4.10 Customer Relationship Management
4.11 Customer self-service
4.12 Virtual tours
4.13 Basic challenges facing adoption of e-tourism
4.14 Review Questions
4.15 Further reading

5 The Internet and Tourism Industry in Kenya

5.1 Introduction
5.2 Kenya’s tourism enterprise
5.3 ICT in Kenya’s tourism
5.4 Challenges
5.5 Future
5.6 Review Questions
5.7 Further reading

6 e-Tourism

6.1 Introduction
6.2 What is e-Tourism?
6.3 The Development of e-Tourism
6.4 Current e-Tourism Trends and Implications
6.5 Dis-intermediation and re-intermediation
6.6 Market consolidation
6.7 Dynamic Packaging
6.8 Review Questions
6.9 Further reading

7 e – Commerce and Tourism

7.1 Introduction
7.2 Addressability
7.3 Interactivity
7.4 Flexibility
7.5 Accessibility
7.6 Benefits of e-commerce for tourism enterprises
7.7 Factors for successful e-commerce practices
7.8 Innovation strategies for e-commerce
7.9 Challenges
7.10 Demand Factors
7.11 Technological Factors
7.12 Cyber security
7.13 Censorship Chaotic structure
7.14 Organizational Factors
7.15 Governmental Factors
7.16 Standardization
7.17 Review Questions
7.18 Further reading

8 Marketing

8.1 Introduction
8.2 Nature of tourism products
8.3 Trends and challenges
8.4 Global Rankings
8.5 Review Questions
8.6 Further reading

9 Impacts

9.1 Intoduction
9.2 Policy Framework: general remarks
9.3 Challenges
9.4 Implications for enterprises
9.5 Implications for industry structure
9.6 Service Improvements
9.7 Cost Savings
9.8 Review Questions
9.9 Further reading

10 Transport

10.1 Introduction
10.2 Airline sector
10.3 ICT-related developments in the aviation industry
10.4 e-Ticketing
10.5 Bar-coded boarding passes
10.6 RFID for luggage handling
10.7 Review Questions
10.8 Further reading

11 Trends and challenges

11.1 Introduction
11.2 Global Rankings
11.3 Review Questions
11.4 Further reading

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
DNS Domain Name System
DSL Digital Subscriber Line
FTP File Transfer Protocol
HTTP Hyper Text Transfer Protocol
IP Internet protocol
IPv4 Internet Protocol version 4
IRC Internet Relay Chart
ISP Internet Service Provider
LAN Local Area Network
PC Personal Computer
TCP Transmission Control Protocol
URL Uniform Resource Locator
VoBB Voice over Broad Band
VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol
VPN Virtual Private Network
WAN Wide Area Network
Wi-Fi Wireless Fidelity ( IEEE 802.11)
WWW World Wide Web

GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE UNIT

I invite you to Course Unit CTO 405: Tourism in the Internet Age. The unit has been developed following guidelines and recommended writing style of the CENTRE FOR OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING (CODL), College of Education, University of Nairobi, for Bachelor of Arts External Degree students of Module III.

In the unit we shall examine the academic and theoretical foundations of Tourism as an Internet-based phenomenon: e-tourism via the World Wide Web; tourism as electronic commerce: the provision and distribution of tourism services in the information age, identifying the main "disablers" or obstacles to electronic commerce, establishing and growing a brand name and online identity as a tourism destination or service provider; overcoming marketing and technology obstacles for small-scale players in the global tourist industry; electronic customer service infrastructure in a globalizing framework: managing customer's access speed ,and the cost of customer support services; trust, security and privacy on the Internet: building a secure purchasing and billing environment; quantitative measurement of marketing reach on the Web: site usage tracking; developing-country tourism industry and generally global tourism trends in the wake of technological developments in the Internet arena

Recommended reading material include General Introductory books on Tourism and specific books on information technology, world wide web, internet, e-commerce and e- tourism. Students are encouraged to make extensive use of online and web based reference material.

The Unit is divided into eleven (11) lectures. The first lecture comprises a background to the technological infrastructure required for use of the Internet in tourism industry, such as computer hardware, and basic principles and tenets of modern computing. Lectures 2 to 4 focuses on the development of the Internet, structure of Websites, and the practical functions of the Internet in Tourism. Lecture 5 provides an overview of the extend of Internet technologies in Kenya’s tourism. Specific topics such as e-commerce and e-tourism are covered in Lectures 6 and 7, while lectures 8 and 9 focuses on application of Internet Technologies in the key tourism areas of marketing and tourism transport. Lecture 10 provide a preview of implications of internet technologies in small and medium sized tourism enterprises while chapter 11 previews trends and challenges of internet technologies.

Each of the above lectures begins with an introduction whose aim is to link the previous lecture with the one to be learned. Lecture objectives come next. Their purpose is to guide you to choose subject matter content. Also, in the lectures, you will find exercise or practice “activity” that you, the learner, is expected to perform. These kinds of “activity” are mostly sandwiched in the text. You will find boxed areas here referred to as “take note”. These are meant to remind you of information that is necessary to help you understand the subject matter in the text better. There are Lecture review questions at the end of each lecture whose purpose is to provide you with an opportunity to self-assess your competence in the particular lecture, and a list of recommended material for further reading.

I would like to encourage you to take personal notes as you read, write down questions on areas you do not understand for further investigation or discussion with your colleagues and your course instructor.

In addition to consulting the material list of further readings, I strongly suggest that you make additional readings on ICT, Internet technologies and Tourism in journals, periodicals, magazines, newspapers, and the Internet. Below is a list of reference material that I have selected for the purpose of providing background as well as application and practical examples of the topics and lessons covered in this learning module.