Role of IT in Tourism

Information Technologies and Information Systems have also changed the structure of the tourism
industry with new players entering the value chain. The tourism industry consists of a large number of loosely interconnected travel entities that are dependent on one another. IT enabled tourism provides greater value when it helps in collecting and pre-processing information according to personal and situational needs of the travelers. IT suggests that travel companies are predisposed to comprehend correct directions for IT development and that its elements work together in complex tourism ecosystems. For instance, mobile apps connected with social network services as well as with traditional websites allow exchanges to be informed by socially generated information and for feedback to be instantaneous. Mobile applications for a specific destination are increasingly needed for consumer reviews and recommendations of restaurants, transportation information, and supporting the entire tourist life cycle and all business ecosystems. Twitter, facebook, and other social media applications, for example, are used by travel & heritage sites, airlines, and hotels to identify service quality issues and engage in immediate service recovery.

Ultimately, IT can enable better tourism ecosystem health, increasing the destinations’ competitive
advantage, and enabling travel companies and travelers to better exchange and share vital resources. Tourism and IT convergence is generally recognized as a critical step for creating, storing, and transferring information capital. This convergence is necessary for travel companies as it allows for the creation of valuable profit and healthy tourism business ecosystems. These smart tourism ecosystems become socio-technical networks, in which IT plays the role of an intelligent service platform that regulates the responses of tourism ecosystems to internal and external stimulation Destinations may soon discover that smart tourism ecosystems are indispensable.

Guest Editors:

Chulmo Koo, Kyung Hee University, South Korea, helmetgu@khu.ac.kr
Ulli Gretzel, University of Queensland, Australia, u.gretzel@business.uq.edu.au
William C. Hunter, Kyung Hee University, South Korea, hunter@khu.ac.kr
Namho Chung, Kyung Hee University, South Korea, nhchung@khu.ac.kr

Important Dates:

Submission Deadline: 1 June 2014
Place all articles to reviewers: 14 June 2014
Return of all reviews: 14 July 2014
Check 1st Decision: 21 July 2014
Resend to authors for revisions: 3 Aug 2014
Submission Deadline for revised version: 24 Aug 2014
Place all articles to reviewers (2nd round): 1 Sep 2014
2nd round reviews in: 22 Sep 2014
2nd Decision: 29 Sep 2014
Check 2nd Decision: 1 Oct 2014
Final Decision & Notification: 11 Oct 2014

Link : http://www.apjis.or.kr/common/sub/s.asp