Managing and promoting destinations

Functionalities and services of DMSs

However, the experience of several DMSs in both developing and developed countries shows that a free subscription for tourism enterprises guarantees their larger participation in the DMS.

A revenue analysis should be carried out in order to define the best options for a cost revenue model to differentiate the costs and revenues according to the different categories of tourism providers and final users of the DMS.

In order to set up a DMS, Governments and DMOs should organize consultative meetings with relevant partners.

Some DMOs have developed booking engines in partnership with ICT providers and have defined transaction fees applicable to the different participants in the DMS.

A large majority of e tourism websites in developing countries have still not moved to more sophisticated functions such as online booking facilities or customer management functions.

Destination management and promotion are key strategies to respond to consumers' expectations, ensure sustainable development and improve the relative position of destinations in developing countries on the global tourism market.

An annual fee could be charged according to the level of services supplied by the DMS.

The establishment of a DMS depends on the costs involved and the capacity of DMOs to run different functionalities in light of the technological, human and financial resources available and the capacity of the various stakeholders.

DMOs should advertise the existence of their e tourism website.

Depending on the level of requirements and the availability of resources, different functions of a DMS can be implemented gradually. DMOs begin with the management of information on tourism products and services and their online promotion.

A review of the status of e tourism initiatives undertaken by national DMOs in LDCs, based on an informal survey of national tourism websites, highlighted the main challenges encountered in the development of an effective DMS.

DMSs can provide solutions for business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) e commerce.

While a growing number of destination management organizations (DMOs) in developing countries have developed an online presence in the last few years, only a small share have so far been able to offer a fully fledged services web portal in the form of a destination management system (DMS).

The main beneficiaries of a DMS are potential travelers, the providers of tourism products and services, national travel agents and outbound travel agents, national tourism institutions, IT providers and investors.

One of the major challenges is to foster the support and commitment of local tourism providers, and it is therefore crucial to create awareness among tourism producers of the benefits of a DMS at an early stage.

The DMSs gradually set up by both developed and developing countries demonstrate the importance of coordinating public policy and private initiatives and forming solid partnerships.

Tourism niches such as ecotourism one of the fastest growing segments of the tourism industry are increasingly promoted by DMOs in many developing countries, allowing them to diversify their tourism offer.

In terms of reservation services, the majority of DMOs in developing countries support the promotion of tourism in their country mainly by advertising the contact details of tourism providers.

Interesting examples at the regional and national levels are the DMSs developed by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) and by the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

DMOs should guarantee the credibility of the system by providing unbiased information and offering an easy to use, attractive website.

In developed countries, considerable resources are being invested by tourism providers to design user friendly destination management systems based on innovative ICT based tools offering various functionalities to meet their customers' expectations.

ICTs help DMOs and tourism providers organize their resources (databases, data processing), network with business partners, and distribute and market products on the web.

Croatia is ranked as the 18th most popular tourist destination in the world.

It focuses on the practical modalities of new business models that destination management organizations and tourism enterprises should adopt to improve their competitiveness in tourism markets.

Resilient barriers still hamper DMOs' efforts to fully exploit the potential of the Internet and compete on an equal footing.

DMOs can propose innovative quality products in the form of self tailored packages and product centric specifics that will meet the expectations of travelers.

The city walls are one of the more popular tourist destinations in Gyeonggi Province.

DMSs are the IT infrastructure used by DMOs for the collection, storage, management and distribution of information and for the transaction of reservations and other commercial activities.

Public authorities contribute to the development of a national brand image and the integration of tourism enterprises in DMSs, coordinate the interests of the various stakeholders and provide initial resources.

It represents a growing distribution channel, complementary to traditional ones, for consumers, tourism enterprises such as hotels, transport companies, leisure companies and distributors, including travel agencies, tour operators and DMOs.

Contributing factors for the successful integration of local tourism enterprises into international tourism markets are adequate e tourism strategies that focus on tourism innovation in terms of tourism products and adoption of e business tools such as destination management systems.

Wat Arun or Temple of Dawn is one of the most popular destinations in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.

DMOs and tourism enterprises should adapt their business processes to be able to meet consumers' needs and successfully distribute their products and services on a global scale.

The distribution of tourism products on the Internet complements traditional distribution channels (travel agents, national tourism offices, tourism producers, call centers, etc.) because a large number of DMOs do not yet have the capacity to develop an effective e tourism website and cannot rely only on uncertain online revenues.

They should create awareness of the potential of e tourism and provide incentives for the development of tourism enterprises' websites (for hotels, for instance) that could be referenced on the DMO e tourism website.

As far as B2C relationships are concerned, the primary function of a DMS is to provide consumers with comprehensive and accurate information for the preparation of their travel, as well as online booking facilities.

The success of the development of a DMS is mainly associated with its organizational structure and the cooperation mechanisms established between the Government and the private sector.

In addition, the DMS offers a wider variety of Caribbean hotels than any other Internet site and provides the best possible rates from the 400 participating hotels.

In order to define the strategic, administrative and technological aspects of the DMS, feasibility studies should be conducted, and a consensus on objectives, targets and relevant actions should be reached by all stakeholders.

Public authorities, DMOs and tourism enterprises should fully understand the opportunities and challenges of e tourism and overcome the barriers that still hamper the use of ICTs.

Public authorities, DMOs and tourism enterprises all have an important role to play in ensuring effective and successful promotion of their destinations by building on a solid partnering industry able to capitalize on the benefits brought about by the Internet.

DMOs and tourism enterprises in developing countries urgently need to adopt ICTs and adapt business processes and management structures to globalization in order to become competitive in this new marketplace.

The use of ICT tools such as DMSs should assist them in their efforts to market their tourism offer globally and to ensure the strategic management of their destinations to ultimately improve their competitiveness on tourism markets.