Managing and promoting destinations

Functionalities and services of DMSs

Managing and promoting destinations online

The role of ICTs in developing tourism The innovation process in the tourism industry Managing and promoting destinations online E business challenges Concluding remarks.

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.

In this sense it needs to promote its products (the destination's content) but not itself (the DMO).

Despite the proven benefits of moving DMSs online, only a handful of countries, mainly developed ones, have fully developed DMSs in place.

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.

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

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

Furthermore, experts recognized the importance of creating a DMS brand.

In this sense, customer relationship management is essential to an effective 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.

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.

DMOs should advertise the existence of their e tourism website.

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.

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).

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.

The development of a DMS should be based on the recognition that each destination has its own characteristics.

The private sector should drive the commercial activities, and, to facilitate the participation of tourism enterprises in a DMS, their inclusion should be free of charge.

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

Experts also emphasized that the success of a DMS is strongly related to the establishment of public and private partnerships.

Quantitative and qualitative surveys can help assess the impact of a DMS, but they are subject to resource constraints.

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.

Maps and information about restaurants, entertainment and attractions in general should thus also be part of the DMOs' e tourism portals.

Panellists cited change management adapting existing business processes and practices as the main difficulty for destination management organizations (DMOs) and tourism enterprises.

Finally, DMSs have the capacity to host e commerce modules, allowing users to pay for products and services.

Finally, the discussion addressed the relevance of national ICT policies for the implementation process of a destination management system.

Comprehensive consumer research plays a major role in developing a successful tourism strategy and selling a DMS concept.

Experts considered the relevance of DMSs for Governments and for regional, national and local tourism providers as a channel for reaching potential tourists directly.

Tourism products have a communication life cycle, and marketing organizations, including DMOs, need to review the marketing media that are suitable at each particular phase of the cycle.

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.

As part of the proposed DMO workspace, each DMO would be invited to present case studies using a template (yet to be defined).

The case studies showed that DMSs have undergone several versions since their launch in order to include new features such as personalized travel guides and consumer management systems.

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.

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

In particular, destinations are encouraged to review the wisdom of an integrated regional marketing approach.

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 the case of India, further DMS development is likely to result in the dot travel domain concentrating on commercial activities.

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.