Tourism Concept

Tourism and travel are two terms that are used by separately or in unison to describe three
concepts:
- a sector of the economy or an industry
- the movement of people
- a broad system of interacting relationships of people, their need to travel outside their
communities and services that attempt to respond to these needs by supplying products (Page
Conell 2006).
Accordingly, within the published literature on tourism, the terms tourism and travel are
often intertwined and used in different contexts to mean similar things.
To make the distinction between these terms clear one can say that all tourism involves
some type of travel, but not all travel involves tourism (Page, Conell 2006).
When defining tourism, researchers often talk about a technical definition of tourism and a more
abstract conceptualization of tourism. The concept of tourism refers to the broad framework that
identifies tourisms unique characteristics and distinguishes it from similar phenomenon.
According to Page and Conell (2006) a researchers interpretation of the concept tourism is often
influenced by their social science perspective (e.g. geographical, economical, sociological or
political approach). What services provided to tourists have in common is that almost all have to
be delivered at the time and place where they are produced (Urry 2002). Therefore the social
interaction between the tourist and the tourism service provider such as the waiter or tour guide
etc is a part of the product being purchased.
The quality of this social interaction affects the experience of the service. If the interaction is
unsatisfactory then what is purchased is in fact a different service product than expected (Urry
2002).

Concepts Of Tourism
Some common concepts of tourism are as follows:
1. Tourism as a social system
Although tourism is an individual human experience, it is usually shared with other people. A
tourist is a person from other culture. S/he does not belong to visiting society. They come in
contact with local people and social institutions. The socialization process may be short, informal
to intense interpersonal interaction. Friendship may be formed or conflicts may be created. This
approach tries to study tourism from social perspectives.
2. Tourism as geographical phenomena
Tourism is studied as a relation between two places, origin to destination in this concept of
tourism. Travel from the origin to a destination is an inherent and distinctive characteristics of
tourism. For participation in tourism, a person must travel certain distance from normal place of
residence. Tourism management is to link two places.
3. Tourism as a resource
Many communities, local governments and even central government prefer to define tourism as a
resource. The most common saying is that ' a tourist brings money'. Their tourism management is
related to revenue management. Local bodies and communities are interested in adding tourism
into their system, because of its potentiality to bring money from other regions with minimal
effort and environmental impact. Tourism can also be a positive force for the preservation of
local sites, traditional skill and cultural activities.
4. Tourism as a business
This is the most popular approach among the businessmen and to the people who work in the
tourism industry. Under this, tourism is related to business. This approach assumes that tourism
is related to improve business efficiency, marketing and improving manpower.

5. Tourism as an industry
This approach of tourism believes that tourism is not just several businesses but is an industry. It
is a group of several related businesses: transportation, accommodation, food service, attractions
and events and many retail activities.
Tourism - Definition
Tourism is a collection of activities, services and industries that delivers a travel experience,
including transportation, accommodations, eating and drinking establishments, retail shops,
entertainment businesses, activity facilities and other hospitality services provided for
individuals or groups traveling away from home. The World Tourism Organization (WTO)
claims that tourism is currently the worlds largest industry with annual revenues of over $3
trillion dollars. Tourism provides over six million jobs in the United States, making it the
country's largest employer.
Definition of Tourism
Mathieson and Wall (1982) created a good working definition of tourism as "the temporary
movement of people to destinations outside their normal places of work and residence, the
activities undertaken during their stay in those destinations, and the facilities created to cater to
their needs."
According to Macintosh and Goeldner (1986) tourism is "the sum of the phenomena and
relationships arising from the interaction of tourists, business suppliers, host governments and
host communities in the process of attracting and hosting these tourists and other visitors."
"Tourism is a collection of activities, services and industries which deliver a travel experience
comprising transportation, accommodation, eating and drinking establishments, retail shops,
entertainment businesses and othe hospitality services provided for individuals or groups
traveling
away
from
home"
"The sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the interaction of tourists, business
suppliers, host goverments and host communities in the process of attracting and hostin these
tourists and other visitors"
UNWTO Definition of Tourism
In order to prevent the disaccords to define "Tourism", UNWTO defined it as indicated below;
"Tourism comprises the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their usual
environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes."
TOURISM DEFINED: "T - totality of duly organized service systems required by tourists, with
O - objective to experience and enjoy, the U - uniqueness of an undisturbed environment, in a R resting place complimented with activities, where I - income is generated from infrastructure,
and S - sustained services rendered by persons, M -motivated to nurture and preserve the natural
resources, in order to pamper people of today and the future". To read further and learn more
please visit this link: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141203080204-109977700-what-is-

exactly-the-meaning-of-tourism?trk=pulse-det-nav_art

Essential Requirements for Tourism

A. Time, as the hours for leisure increase so does the opportunity for travel. Changes in
work days or hours, school calendars will affect how and when people can travel. The
overall travel pattern has moved from a two week vacation to 6-8 three or four day minivacations per year.
B. Money, the majority of travel requires discretionary income. Discretionary income is
money left over after all monetary obligations (food, rent and taxes) have been paid.
C. Mobility, is the access to transportation (car, bus, plane, train or ship) and the hours
required to get to their destination.
D. Motivation, is the reason people travel. Motivations may include seeking novelty,
education, meet new people, adventure or stress reduction.

Dimensions of Tourism
All tourism activities are related to one or more of the following dimensions of tourism.

Attractions:
Are the primary motivation for traveling. They may be a primary destination such as Disney
World or secondary destination which are interesting places to visit on the way to your primary
destination. Most tourist traveling from the east to go to Las Vegas will stopover at the Grand
Canyon national Park on the way. Attractions usually focus on natural resources, culture,
ethnicity or entertainment.
Natural Resources:
Natural resources are the combination of physical features (Yosemite National Park,
California), the climate (Vail, Colorado), and the natural beauty of the area (Acadia National
Park, Maine). The challenge to managing natural resources based tourism is to preserve the
natural resource from the impact of the tourist's.
Culture:
A way of life which is observed through a peoples religion, history, government and
traditions.
Ethnicity:
To visit family and friends.
Entertainment:
Tourism developments of all sizes from Disney World, Universal Studios, Las Vegas to local
community Special Events and Festivals such as the Bloomsday Road Race in Spokane,
Washington.
X-treme Tourism:
Tourism based on high adventure activities (See Whirlwind Tourism)

Facilities: When tourists arrive at attractions they require facilities to provide services.
Lodging:
Represent a variety of services from campgrounds, RV parks, motels and five star resorts.
Food & Beverage:

Not only provide basic sustenance for tourists but an important factor in the overall tourism
experience.
Support Services:
Usually are represented by small retail businesses providing souvenirs and personal services.
Shopping is an integral part of the travel experience. Tourists seek unique and novel items
which represent the area and cultures they visit.
Infrastructure:
The basic services on which all tourism depends. These systems include water and sewer
systems, communication networks, medical facilities, electricity, police and fire protection and
roads.

Transportation
Time and Money: This is the critical component to tourism, the ability to get from Point A to
Point B and back, or to Point C, D, E.... The variables of Time, how long it takes to get to a
specific destination, and Money, how much it costs to get to your destination. Tourism
developments are dependent on the ease of access and types of transportation available.

Hospitality
Hospitality: The community's attitude which permeates every tourism location that makes the
tourist feel welcome and safe. It is the result of the interaction between the tourist and the
local population.

Importance of Tourism
National Economy:
It directly helps in developing the economy of the country as the tourists spend money
while staying, coming and visiting a country.
National Integration:
It helps in development of peace, oneness and unity among the people of a nation.
Environmental Awareness:
People become aware on environmental neatness, protection and peace in order to
develop tourism.
Employment Opportunities
Tourism industry is also one of the influential sectors. It generates employment
opportunities. It provides employment to unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled
manpower. Guide, load man etc are the personal or labour required in Tourism
industry.
Sources of public as well as private income
Tourism is the source of income for both public also well as private sector government
charges tax, sales tax, service tax etc. which is known as government revenue is the
income of public. And handicraft, arts etc are the things that attract tourist and most of
them buy them and the seller makers some profit which is called private income.
Cultural Exchange
Tourism facilities cultural exchange tourist carry over various cultural concepts of
other countries where they visit. Local people can learn their language, art, skill,
culture etc and vice versa.
Publicity of nation
Tourism helps to publicize the country in different parts in the world. It helps to
publicize art, skills tradition, cultural beauty and hospitality of a country to the world.

Type of Tourist:
Excurionist:
Persons traveling for pleasure in a period less than 24 hours (Macintosh and Goeldner, 1986).
Foreign Tourist: Any person visiting a country, other than that in which he/she usually resides,
for a period of at least 24 hours (Committee of Statistical Experts of the League of Nations,
1937).
Travel:
The act of moving outside one's home community for business or pleasure but not for
commuting or traveling to or from school (Macintosh and Goeldner, 1986).
Visitor:
Any person visiting a country other than that in which he/she has his/her usual place of
residence, for any reason other than following an occupation remunerated from within the
country visited (United Nations Conference on International Travel and Tourism, 1963).

Important Types of Tourism

1. Domestic Tourism:
It is also known as internal as well as national tourism. However, in ancient India, it as known as
Deshatan. As in earlier period of human civilisation the people were free to move any place
without prior information, restrictions and other formalities.
Obviously, the modes of travel were different as compared to todays. Generally, Domestic
tourism means the movement of people outside their normal domicile to other areas within the
boundaries of the nation.
In fact, they find it easy to do so because there was neither currency nor language or document
problems. Domestic Tourism does not involve any balance of payment implications; however it
may be a substitute for international tourism and therefore results in saving of foreign currency.
Thus, a domestic tourist may be defined as a person who travels within the boundaries of his/her
country to a destination other than his/her usual residence and stays at commercial
accommodations, with relatives, friends, and uses sightseeing or enjoyment facilities for a
duration of not less than 24 hours or one night and not more than 6 months at a time, and the
purpose lies within pilgrimage, pleasure, business, health and study etc.
2. International Tourism:

Today, tourism has been recognised as an industry worldwide. Every nation irrespective of its
size and structure is inclined to develop international tourism. As it have multifarious advantages
to the national economy in terms of foreign exchange earnings, balance of payments
international understanding and intra-regional and inter-regional development.
International Tourism involves the movement of people among different countries in the world.
In other words, when people travel to a nation other than their own country in which they
normally live and which has its separate identity in terms of political, economic and social set up.
International movement of people requires various types of legal and financial formalities to be
met before departing from his/her country. In international tourism, the country of origin (tourist
generating country) and the country of destination (tourist receiving or the host country) are
different.
Practically, international tourism has two types i.e. Inbound tourism and Outbound tourism.
Inbound Tourism means when the foreign tourists are received by a country. This type of tourism
has direct impact on the economy of host country, in terms of employment generation, foreign
exchange earnings, balance of payments, destination development and infrastructure
development.
Outbound tourism may be defined as when the people of a country visit the other countries for
various purposes such as, leisure, business, education, pilgrimage, political conferences and
conventions etc. In fact, inbound international tourism brings travel receipts while outbound
tourism implies travel cost.
3. Intra-Regional and Inter-Regional Tourism:
Practically, international tourism is known as intra-regional tourism, because the tourist traffic
flows to and from countries within the same region of the globe, forms an important component
of international tourism.
It is relatively more significant in developed regions (Europe, America) as compared to
developing region (Africa, South Asia). However, the significance of intra-regional tourism is
likely to vary between different regions and from one country to another.
Both inter-regional and intra-regional tourism increases the seasonality of regions and the
development process within the regions. It has direct impact on the development of social,
political and economic environment in the less developed regions.
Furthermore, inter-regional tourism concentrates on integrated development and equitable
distribution of income.

Domestic and International Tourism the two aspects of tourism coined on geographical and
other bases like citizenship, travel documents and currency involved certainly have much in
common and so may be considered essentially the same activity having the same sphere.
But, in depth, there is something more important that distinguishes Domestic tourism from
International Tourism. The difference is reflected in the magnitude and intensity of the impact on
the economy, the socio-cultural values, and the environmental equations in the country of
destination.
4. Mass Tourism:
Mass tourism is the product of 20th century for developing countries. The concept of mass
Tourism emerged with the introduction of paid holidays, development of transportation,
communication and information technology.
Mass tourism is primarily a quantitative notion and refers to participation of very large numbers
of people in tourism activities. It is an agent of profound economic and cultural changes.
And, economies of tourism industry have played an important part in the emergence of Mass
Tourism. Technically, growth of mass tourism has been facilitated by travel revolution and by the
growth of international understanding and relations among nations.
However, mass tourism adversely affects the image of the tourist destination, as in some cases,
carrying capacity of the destination may ill-afford mass tourism.
5.
Outbound
Tourism
Outbound tourism is what you may be most familiar with. It involves the people going from
British Columbia to other provinces, territories or countries. For example, going to Hawaii for a
holiday is considered outbound tourism.
6.
Inbound
Tourism
The tourists coming to BC from other places are called inbound tourists. BC competes in a
global market to attract tourists from the United States, Japan, Germany and many other
countries. The industry also implements marketing campaigns aimed at attracting travellers from
other parts of Canada, as well as from within British Columbia.

The different forms of tourists in tourism industry

How will you define a tourist? Tourist can be defined as a person, who makes a tour
away from home for leisure, business or other purposes for more than one day but less
than a year. Based on their various needs and reasons for traveling, tourists are
classified in the following categories:
Forms of Tourism in India

All types of tourism in India have registered phenomenal growth in the last decade ever since the
Indian government decided to boost revenues from the tourism sector by projecting India as the
ultimate tourist spot.
The reason why India has been doing well in all types of tourism in India is that India has always
been known for its hospitality, uniqueness, and charm attributes that have been attracting
foreign travelers to India in hordes. The Indian government, in order to boost tourism of various
kinds in India, has set up the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. This ministry recently launched a
campaign called Incredible India! in order to encourage different types of tourism in India.
The result was that in 2004, foreign tourists spent around US$ 15.4 billion during their trips to
India. Being a country with tremendous diversity, India has a lot to offer in terms of tourism and
related activities. The diversity that India is famous for, ensures that there is something to do for
all tourists in India, no matter what their interests.
Incentive tourists:
Incentives tourists are those few lucky individuals, who get a holiday package as a
reward from his company, for good work or achieving targets, set by the company.
Incentive tourists draw inspiration from such tours to work harder, improve work
relations and focus on team bonding. A salesman who is awarded with a nice holiday
package for accomplishing the target sales is a perfect example of incentive tourist.
Health or medical tourist:
Those who seek special medical treatment, which is only possible away from home,
make trips to other places and are called Health or medical tourist. Some of these
tourists avail medical assistance in other countries, for they may be expensive in their
own country. Many health or medical tourists also make trips simply to stay for few
days in healthier climate. Hoards of medical tourist fly to South Africa from oversee
countries to undergo plastic surgery.
Tourists from all over the world have been thronging India to avail themselves of cost-effective
but superior quality healthcare in terms of surgical procedures and general medical attention.
There are several medical institutes in the country that cater to foreign patients and impart topquality healthcare at a fraction of what it would have cost in developed nations such as USA and
UK. It is expected that medical tourism in India will hold a value around US$ 2 billion by 2012.
The city of Chennai attracts around 45% of medical tourists from foreign countries.
Business tourist:
Tourist traveling with relation to business is known as business tourist. Business
tourism is part of the business world. Most of the cities feature conference centers that
cater to the needs of business tourists. A proper example of a business tourist is a
salesman, who makes trips to different places to attend trade shows, to display and
promote his own products also.
Education tourists:

Tourists traveling to a particular place in another town, city or country for further
study in order to improve his or her educational qualification are termed as education
tourist. There are also group of people, who travel to attend workshops to upgrade
skills. A clinic nurse, who makes trip to another province to attend a particular
workshop, qualifying individual about infectious diseases is an example of an
educational tourist.
Adventure tourists:
Adventure tourists look for some unusual or bizarre experience. They seek
adventurous activities that may be dangerous, such as rock climbing, river rafting,
skydiving, shark cave diving and bungee jumping.
As a kind of tourism in India, adventure tourism has recently grown in India. This involves
exploration of remote areas and exotic locales and engaging in various activities. For adventure
tourism in India, tourists prefer to go for trekking to places like Ladakh, Sikkim, and Himalaya.
Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir are popular for the skiing facilities they offer.
Whitewater rafting is also catching on in India and tourists flock to places such as Uttranchal,
Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh for this adrenalin-packed activity.
Cultural tourist:
These types of tourists travel to experience the essence of assorted cultures, such as
San rock art, or cultural festivals such as the National Art Festival in Grahams town,
or the International Jazz Festival in Cape Town. Cultural tourists also prefer to
witness the World Heritage Sites of the traveled country.
India is known for its rich cultural heritage and an element of mysticism, which is why tourists
come to India to experience it for themselves. The various fairs and festivals that tourists can
visit in India are the Pushkar fair, Taj Mahotsav, and Suraj Kund mela.
The types of tourism in India have grown and this has boosted the Indian economy. That it
continues to grow efforts must be taken by the Indian government, so that the tourism sector can
contribute
more
substantially
to
the
nations
GDP.

Eco-tourists:
Nature loving tourists, who love to go green like traveling to Bonita Gardens in
Bloemfontein South Africa or similar destinations are called eco-tourists. They travel
throughout the world in search of destinations not affected by pollution or much
human intervention.
Among the types of tourism in India, ecotourism have grown recently. Ecotourism entails the
sustainable preservation of a naturally endowed area or region. This is becoming more and more
significant for the ecological development of all regions that have tourist value. For ecotourism
in India, tourists can go to places such as Kaziranga National Park, Gir National Park, and Kanha
National Park.

Leisure tourist:
These tourists want to rejuvenate and revitalize with comfort, while enjoying a break
from mundane routine of life. Examples of this type of tourism are cruising while
vacationing or simple relaxing on a beach.
Religious tourist:
Religious
number of
India, and
pilgrimage

tourist travel to sites of religious significance. World is dotted with a

religious locations like Hajj in Mecca, Jerusalem in Israel, Varanasi in
the Vatican in Rome. During Easter, a huge conglomeration of Christian
takes place in Zion City.

India is famous for its temples and that is the reason that among the different kinds of tourism in
India, pilgrimage tourism is increasing most rapidly. The various places for tourists to visit in
India for pilgrimage are Vaishno Devi, Golden temple, Char Dham, and Mathura Vrindavan.
Sport and recreation tourist:
These sorts of tourists either take active part in or just watch sports events. Some of
such popular sport events are the Soccer World Cup, Wimbledon Tennis
Championship, Comrades Marathon, and Fisher River Canoe Marathon.
Backpacking or youth tourist: This group of tourist is of young age and they travel
with minimum luggage and on a limited budget. But they are very passionate and love
excitements and adventures, while traveling. They generally have no specific travel
schedules and tend to travel independently.
Special Interest Tourist (STI):
They nurture particular passion in different things like bird watching, nature, fishing
during the Sardine Run, food and wine or attending the Cape Town Book Fair.

Wildlife tourism
India has a rich forest cover which has some beautiful and exotic species of wildlife some of
which that are even endangered and very rare. This has boosted wildlife tourism in India. The
places where a foreign tourist can go for wildlife tourism in India are the Sariska Wildlife
Sanctuary, Keoladeo Ghana National Park, and Corbett National Park.

Senior Tourism:
According to most publications, senior citizen tourist is a retired person over the age of 60 years
old who are still active and have money and time to travel. Western population is getting older

and older, so that the importance of these seniors is growing and is a booming market. Therefore,
the tourist industry focuses on these travellers for their winter campaigns, when sun and beach
tourism is over. Other authors, such as Chris Ryan (1995), consider senior citizens from the age
of 55 years old, when some people are pre-retired. But most of these people do not consider
themselves as senior or elderly until their 70th birthday rolls around. Senior citizens are active in
many ways and stay busy most of their time. They travel in more ways than previous
generations.

Ethnic Tourism
Ethnic tourism is "travel motivated by search for the first hand, authentic and sometimes intimate
contact with people whose ethnic and /or cultural background is different from the tourists".
Ethnic tourists are driven by the desire to see something different where curiosity is the ultimate
factor. The travelers choose to experience first hand the practices of another culture, and may
involve performances, presentations and attractions portraying or presented by indigenous
communities. In a broader perspective, it includes cultural, heritage, anthropological, tribal,
village and similar forms of tourism. Ethnic tourism, if properly planned and managed, can be
promoted as sustainable form of tourism and can be utilized as a tool for the preservation and
conservation of culture and heritage as well as poverty alleviation. India, rich with its cultural
diversity, grand heritage and inimitable history, is a world famous cultural tourism destination.
The focal point of India's attractiveness as a destination is it's diverse ethnicity.
Ethnic tourism is when travellers choose to experience first hand the practices of another
culture, and may involve performances, presentations and attractions portraying or presented by
small, often isolated Indigenous communities. Examples of communities that attract tourists for
this reason include the Amish communities of the United States, the First Nation societies of
Canada and North America, the Maori of New Zealand, Australias Aboriginal communities, the
Bushmen of South Africa and the Ibo tribes of Indonesia.

VFR Tourism
VFR is an abbreviation for visiting friends and relatives. The purpose behind travelling is to meet
friends and relatives. Beside this base activity, the tourist can also enjoy the other tourism
facilities of the area visited.
In India, this form of tourism is areal booster for domestic tourism as a large segment of society
travels every day for the sake of visiting friends and relatives.
This form of tourism is of high importance when it comes to transportation but on the other hand
accommodation sector is not benefited with this activity as a person travelling for VFR enjoys
the staying facility to the respective friends and relatives. But the other recreational activities
may be performed by the tourist that offers him/her range of tourist attraction in the city/place.

Tourist Destination

A tourist destination is basically a travel destination that attracts large numbers of travelers, or
tourists. Travelers may visit these destinations to see historical sites, natural wonders, or
buildings. Some tourist attractions also have activities, such as rides or games, or unusual
novelties. Souvenirs are often sold at these destinations, and many of these areas rely on the
income generated by the travelers that visit.
Tourist destinations can be defined by their geographical location, scope for tourism activity and
different characteristics of their sites.

Tourist Destination

Tourist Destination

Natural Interest Area

Wildlife Surrounding

Heritage Culture Areas

Art Galleries
Pilgrim Centres
National Parks
Wildlife Sanctuaries
dventure Sports
Mountain and HillsBeaches

Mountain TrekkingSeaAreaSide Resorts

Snow Sporting
River Side Resorts

Water Sports

Para Gliding Area

Tourism and travel-related services

Tourism and travel-related services includes services provided by hotels and restaurants
(including catering), travel agencies and tour operator services, tourist guide services and other
related services.
One of the most crucial aspects of international tourism is the cross-border movement of
consumers. This permits even unskilled workers in remote areas to become services exporters
for instance, by selling craft items, performing in cultural shows, or working in a tourism lodge.

General tourism Trends

Current developments and forecasts

International tourist arrivals grew by 5% in 2013 to 1.087 billion

In 2013, international tourism generated US$ 1.4 trillion in export earnings
UNWTO forecasts a growth in international tourist arrivals of between 4% and 4.5% in
2014

International tourism in 2013 - key trends and outlook

International tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) grew by 5% worldwide in 2013, reaching a
record 1087 million arrivals, after topping the 1 billion mark in 2012.
Asia and the Pacific recorded the strongest growth with a 6% increase in arrivals, followed by
Europe and Africa (both +5%).
In the Americas, international arrivals grew by 3%, while in the Middle East they were flat.
International tourism receipts reached US$ 1159 billion worldwide in 2013, up from US$ 1078
billion in 2012.
With a 5% increase in real terms, the growth in international tourism receipts equalled the
growth in arrivals.
China has consolidated its position as the number one tourism source market in the world,
spending US$ 129 billion on international tourism.
Forecasts prepared by UNWTO in January 2014 point to growth of 4% to 4.5% in
international tourist arrivals in 2014 above The Tourism Towards 2030 long-term forecast of
3.3% a year.
By UNWTO region, prospects for 2014 are strongest for Asia and the Pacific (5% to 6%),
followed
by
Africa
(4%
to
6%).

E Commerce and Online Communication in Tourism

Online Tourism has been defined as a new form of travel product distribution where a
supplier/service provider offers products/services mainly through the medium of Internet to a

group of customers, irrespective of their physical location (Singh 2003). Online tourism equips a
tourist, tour operator or travel agent for convenient exchanges using electronic medium. User
groups globally are finding online technologies supportive indecision making for availing
tourism products and services. Even in its introductory stage, Tourism Industry has largely been
benefited by online tourism in certain countries. The domain of online tourism has gained
significant strength with the arrival of internet. Ina short span of time, Internet has proved its
worth successfully in taping tourism opportunities utilizing modern communication technology.
It has led to electronic marketing popularly known as e-marketing or internet marketing. Online
tourism is one such natural outcome of online marketing that boomed in last two decades. The
concept has gained much attention among modern business organizations. Savvy organizations
are observing their every move while marketing services to their customers and are combining
traditional business acumen with new technology for forging stronger ties with customers. These
organizations have started using online marketing tactics for five main reasons that can be
expressed with 5 Ss viz. sell, serve, speak, save and sizzle (Smith and Chaffey 2001). These 5Ss
equip tourism organizations in increasing sales, adding value, getting closer to customers by
creating a dialogue, saving costs, and extending the brand respectively. It has been found that a
strong network of online technologies helps in developing an environment of spontaneity and
convenience. Customized websites, value-added services, focused marketing, easy-to-use selfservice tools, and sophisticated contact-center solutions attempt to provide higher userawareness, accessibility and autonomy. This further provides several ways to build loyalty.
Companies that develop a well-conceived strategy for boosting customer loyalty through
technological advancements can achieve
8impressive outputs resulting primarily in reduced customer turnover, cultivated(high-margin)
customers, and long-term relationships all set to benefit the bottom line(Samuel 2003). In
addition, internet marketing also embraces information management, public relations, customer
service, and sales under the broader umbrella of e-commerce. Online Tourism has caused several
changes in the tourism industry out of which the main impact has been on the interrelation
between service providers and traditional intermediaries (Antoioli & Baggio, 2002). It has
offered Tourists, across the globe, a tool to express their needs, to seek details on destinations,
facilities, availabilities, prices, geography, and climate information for diverse tourism products
and services. More over, it has given an upper hand to travel agents while looking for
information or details about tourists, market trends, service providers, destinations, facilities,
availabilities, prices, tour packages and also in maintaining direct contacts with their partners.
With its virtue, it has become increasingly convenient for tourism offices to search for industry
trends, size and nature of tourism flows, policies, and plans for the developmental concerns.
Unarguably, online tourism has successfully emerged as a platform that enables direct bookings,
electronic payments, Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Consumer(B2C) trading
among product marketers, travel agents, resellers and customers. Internet and related
developments have been quite instrumental in growth of online tourism and online economy. For
securing better propositions, emerging technology has always given big leaps to tech savvy
organizations from time to time. Its contribution in Computerized Reservation System (CRS) of
70s, Global Distribution Systems (GDS) of the 80s and the most flexible internet and intranet
based systems of the present days is highly significant (E Business Watch March 2005). Internet
enabled portals launched by various government as well as private organizations have offered a
wide range of tourism products and services, viz. airlines, hotels, restaurants, adventure tours,
activity centres, concerts, festivities, shopping and many more assortments of services. More
advanced technologies and developments, e.g., Interactive Digital Television(IDTV), Mobile
Networks and Intranets have helped modern organisations in carving new interfaces on consumer
services in tourism industry. With the increasing popularity of GPRS (General Packet Radio
Services) and GIS (Geographic Information Systems), the efficiency and effectiveness of tourism
processes has significantly increased. With these

9capabilities, tourism is going to incorporate advancer dimensions such as M-commerce(Mobile

commerce stands for electronic commerce made through mobile devices) and L-commerce
(Location-commerce is the practice of using technologies which provide location information
such as GPS for business purposes). The diffusion of these technological advancements has,
however, not been similar geographically or nationally.