Information and Communications Technologies in Tourism Proceedings of the International Conference in Innsbruck, Austria, 1994

The conference ENTER • International Conference on However, the tourist market has several specific characteristics Information and Communications Technologies in Tourism with regard to the use of technological infrastructure: represents a fll'St attempt • On the demand side computerized reservation and general • to provide an international forum for the discussion of the distribution systems (eRS and GDS), managed by big role of telecommunication and information systems in airlines, are well organized and technological pioneers. In tourism, the past they typically focused on the business traveller, • to inform potential users and people concerned with the nowadays they also try to cover the vacation sector. These importance of such technologies and to explain their systems work on a world-wide level and are highly functioning sophisticated. However, it should be added that the • to give an opportunity to the research community, nowadays information provided is rather poor and also selective, scattered into different areas of research, to discuss their which may restrict its usefulness for the promotion of an results on a common platform, and, fmally, entire tourist region. • to intensify the contact and the communication between • Similar to CRSlGDS several tour operators have begun to develop their own systems, although with varying success. researchers, system developers and users.