Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism

DESCRIPTION:
Impact and benefits for the tourism industry from the implementation of information and communication technologies. Operational and strategic issues of IT. Current industry practices, use of internet technologies and e-commerce applications.

RATIONALE: 
Technological innovation imposes the need for the use of information and communication technologies as a means for achieving competitive advantage in the tourism industry. Information and communication technologies provide the platform for customer interaction and facilitate the acquisition of valuable information and business knowledge, thus becoming increasingly important in formulating the company’s strategy.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: 
As a result of taking this course the student should be able to:
1. Explain the content and framework of electronic commerce and compare the major types of transactions and models in tourism.
2. Compare and evaluate the information technology applications that are used in different sectors of the tourism industry.
3. Assess the wide scope and use of Web 2.0 Technologies, and ECommerce applications throughout the tourism industry.
4. Discuss the fundamental requirements for initiating an online business and apply them on the creation of a business site.

METHOD OF TEACHING AND LEARNING:
In congruence with the teaching and learning strategy of the college, the following tools are used:
- Lectures, class discussions, and review of cases taken from the real world and applicable to specific theoretical concepts.
- Individual project: Functional requirements/customized applicationbased website design/deployed website
- Office hours: Students are encouraged to make full use of the office hours of their instructor, where they can ask questions and go over lecture material.
- Use of the Blackboard Learning platform, where instructors post lecture notes, assignment instructions, timely announcements, as well as additional resources.