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.

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.

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.

Part C discusses key elements of national and regional e tourism strategies and policies put in place by developed and developing countries (including online marketing and new tourism products), as well as cooperation processes in the tourism industry.

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.

Next to a highly developed industry, international tourism is the most important part of the national economy.

Eco tourism, cultural and natural heritage tourism, health and medical tourism and adventure tourism are some of the tourism niches that are increasingly marketed by destinations and tourism enterprises in developing countries.

According to the Statistical Report on Tourism in Laos 2008 by the Lao National Tourism Administration, the number of tourists has increased from approximately 18,600 to 102,000 between 2001 and 2008.

Cultural heritage tourism (or just heritage tourism or diaspora tourism) is a branch of tourism oriented towards the cultural heritage of the location where tourism is occurring.

In line with these observations, Greece's former Minister of Tourism Aris Spiliotopoulos announced the opening of a Greek National Tourism Organization office in Shanghai by the end of 2010, and GNTO currently operates two tourism offices in China, one in Shanghai and one in Beijing.

Tourism in Spain is a major contributor to the national economic life contributing with 6.4 of Spain's GDP.

The move towards business tourism transformed the capital into a national hub for this segment of the tourist industry.

Governments should integrate sustainable tourism development in national poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSPs), as recommended in the Declaration on Tourism and the Millennium Development Goals, adopted on the eve of the 2005 World Summit.

(d) Strengthening national and regional capabilities in further developing the tourism sector, sustainable tourism in particular, by strengthening the capacities of both human resources and institutions and promoting regional cooperation, especially networking of training institutions

Tourism

Tourism

Understanding the opportunities brought about by ICTs in the tourism industry, and implementing effective e business solutions has become a priority for public authorities and tourism providers at national, regional and community levels in many developing countries.

Government response to the sustainability of tourism is often stronger at a regional or local level than at a national level.

Tourism, which has been the engine of our national economic growth for the past three decades, has suffered a sharp decline.

Tourism services

Tourism statistics

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.

National reports prepared in accordance with the requirements of the separate multilateral environmental agreements, provide Parties with opportunities to report on relevant tourism issues, and could therefore provide a means for monitoring the need for addressing further tourism issues.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, the decentralization of tourism marketing activities to the provincial tourism offices proved a failure and responsibility for tourist related promotional activities was restored to the national tourist office at the start of 2005.

Christian tourism is a subcategory of religious tourism which is geared towards Christians.

In August 2007 the tourism office was upgraded to a Provincial Tourism Department.

In the United States, where tourism is mostly domestic and consumers are confident in booking online through national tourism providers, the share of consumers who booked their travel online in 2004 reached 50 per cent, versus 30 per cent in 2000.

Tourism employs others.

World Tourism Organization

On E Tourism

Tourism Income from tourism is key to the economy of several Latin American countries.

An important role in engaging tourism businesses is being played by tourism industry associations.

At its February 2005 meeting, the Interagency Coordination Group on Tourism Statistics considered proposals to update the Tourism Satellite Account Recommended Methodological Framework,2 and the 1993 United Nations World Tourism Organization recommendations on tourism statistics.

At the international level, there have been intense discussions for the creation of an accreditation system, the Sustainable Tourism Stewardship Council that would accredit the various international, regional, national and sub national schemes.

With regard to coordination with other sectors, policies addressing the sustainability of tourism can be underpinned by aligning tourism strategies closely to other, higher level, national strategies such as those addressing sustainable development as a whole, poverty reduction or overall environmental management.

They should raise awareness among tourism enterprises about the potential of ICTs for tourism development.

World Tourism Organization (WTO)

Tourism impacts and opportunities

Key impacts of tourism

Tourism and climate change

Tourism and biodiversity conservation

Sustainable consumption and tourism

Tourism Authority of Thailand

The E Tourism initiative

Since 1980, the United Nations World Tourism Organization has celebrated World Tourism Day on September 27.