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

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.

To what extent can ICTs enable tourism enterprises in developing countries to become more competitive on tourism markets?

The environmental impact of tourism is heavily influenced by the decisions taken by private sector investors and operators of tourism enterprises.

Part A considers the role of ICTs for tourism development in developing countries and the strategic challenges for local tourism enterprises to successfully participate in international tourism markets.

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.

With regard to B2B, DMSs provide tourism enterprises with the means to be better integrated into tourism supply chains by promoting personalized and enriched tourism experiences directly to a large number of consumers.

The systems should facilitate interoperability between local tourism enterprises and foreign brokers and tourism portals, including traditional tour operators, online agencies, Internet travel specific search engines or online intermediaries specialized in tourism niches.

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.

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.

The adoption and usage of e business practices will facilitate the evolution of the traditional tourism systems and the integration of tourism enterprises into the digital economy.

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.

The distribution of tourism information and products over the Internet is the main area where technological innovation has had the most profound impact on tourism enterprises (producers and distributors).

The distribution of tourism information and products over the Internet is the main area where technological innovation has had the most profound impact on tourism enterprises (producers and distributors).

According to the World Tourism Organisation, 85 per cent of accommodation enterprises in developing countries are small and medium size.

Tourism is a service industry composed of tangible elements, namely tourism products and services such as hotels, leisure enterprises and transport, and intangible elements such as rest, relaxation, culture, adventure and authentic experiences.

(l) Environmental purity To minimize the pollution of air, water and land and the generation of waste by tourism enterprises and visitors.

Tourism enterprises of developing countries could gain autonomy and save costs by promoting and selling products directly to consumers provided they have an effective website.

A particular challenge is to engage medium size, small and micro enterprises, which make up the vast majority of tourism businesses, in addressing environmental issues.

Monitoring can be implemented mainly through measurements of the state of the environment and society and regular surveys of visitors, tourism enterprises and local communities.

Despite the challenges posed in respect of the adoption and usage of ICTs in developing countries, tourism enterprises with well conceived websites are given an opportunity to access international tourism markets on an equal footing with competitors from developed countries.

They disguise themselves as legal and illegal commercial enterprises that operate in various areas, such as tourism, entertainment, transport, fashion, culture, pornography industries and service agencies.

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.

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.

The growing adoption of the Open Travel Alliance (OTA) standard based on Extensible Markup Language (XML) greatly facilitates the exchange of information between tourism enterprises such as airlines, hotels, car rental enterprises and travel integrators such as Cendant, Sabre, Expedia, Orbitz, and SITA.

Governments can encourage this process by showing a lead themselves and recommending an agenda for reporting and auditing within the tourism sector Voluntary certification This involves the objective inspection of tourism enterprises against agreed criteria and recognition of those complying through a label.

Rural tourism, handicraft and service sector, crayfish and fish growing, and food processing in small enterprises have been supported (these fields of business often largely employ women workers).

(a) Economic viability To ensure the viability and competitiveness of tourism destinations and enterprises so that they are able to prosper and deliver benefits in the long term

Barriers to establishing a new small enterprise in the sector were quite low, which had led the World Tourism Organization to conduct research on the possible role of microfinance in the development of small and medium sized enterprises in tourism and development in poor areas.

When considering the main barriers that must be overcome in the integration of sustainability principles and approaches into the development and management of tourism, it is helpful to consider the position of three main types of player or stakeholder tourists private sector tourism enterprises and Governments.

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.

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.

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 state start up capital to enterprises gives preference to projects related to local production and use of local raw materials and projects for the development of the tourism service.

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.

The government is struggling to upgrade education and technical training, to privatize commercial and industrial enterprises, to improve health services, to diversify exports, to promote tourism, and to reduce the high population growth rate.

Licensing processes can help to identify enterprises that comply with legislation and to deter others Land use planning and development control These combined instruments are critical in enhancing the sustainability of new tourism development.

Tourism

Tourism

It will be implemented by enterprises or partnerships of enterprises.

Tourism services

Tourism statistics

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.

Tourism employs others.