تکنولوجيا المعلومات وتطبيقاتها بين شرکات السياحة وموردى الخدمات السياحية

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

faculty of tourism and hotels, Suez Canal University

Abstract

In the last few decades, Information Technology has deeply affected the way business is performed and the way that organizations compete. The tourism and travel industry is particularly affected by these developments. Therefore, this study aims to define information technology and its impacts on tourism industry; this is done through a theoretical study which identifies IT and its applications in the sector of tourism suppliers and the effect of using these applications on the work of travel agents, in particular the way that these agents distribute their products. A field study also has been conducted on a sample of travel agents (category A) in Cairo to examine the use of the IT applications in these agents. The general results of the study: 1. There is an attitude towards disinter mediating the role of travel agents, and this was done when airline companies and hotels began to use the internet as a substitute for the travel agents. 2. Most of the travel agencies use their sites on the internet only in announcing their services and activities and to show their programs. . 3. Although various IT applications represent a challenge for tourism companies, they also have many advantages. Recommendations: 1.Egyptian travel agencies have to make use of the internet which is considered an important marketing tool by making simple, attractive and exiting websites. 2. Tourism suppliers have to reconsider their underestimation of travel agents and their roles in tourism sector. 3- it's important to make an Egyptian information network in order to link all the travel agents in Egypt.