E-COMMUNICATION AND ITS APPLICATION FOR TOURISM INDUSTRY

Gabriel HOCIUNG
Abstract
The evolution of the Internet in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century has led to a
significant increase of online transactions, allowing users to access and receive information
anywhere, anytime. Tourism makes no exception and it can be considered the most
connected industry to the online environment: booking systems, online marketing, etourism. Instant communication influenced the way tourism relates to the expressed needs
of tourists at any time during tourists experience.
Keywords: e-communication, e-tourism, ICT, internet, social networking
ICT contribution to e-tourism development
The perception of tourism as a phenomenon highlights the relationship between
society and tourism, the mutual involvement and influence they have on each other in equal
measure, to the point where it can not be said if there are changing circumstances in a society
that transforms tourism or if there are tourism flows changing social circumstances. Both
circumstances should be considered as true: tourism transforms society and, in turn, the
transformed society determines tourism.
The evolution of mankind led to instant communication (e-communication), even
between people separated by thousands of miles, living in different cities, countries,
continents or hemispheres. In the third millennium is hard to imagine progress without
instant communication without immediate access to information, using the latest
technologies. It is crucial to understand how communication and information technology
(ICT) affects daily human activities and how decisions in line with technology are made, if
we adapt the rapid development and the continuous knowledge to our needs.
Tourism industry, although affected by the global economic crisis, remains one of the
activities with the fastest development, driven by growing tourist demand. Concurrent and
collaborative development of tourism and ICT makes difficult to imagine tourism before
ICT. The tourism industry has benefited massively and also provided benefits to information
technology industry. For example, we can highlight CRS or GDS, which were the first
global information and multi-organizational systems. The union between tourism and ICT is
firmly recognized currently through the term "e-tourism" (electronic tourism). The Internet
has changed the way consumers are planning or buying holidays and equally affected how
travel companies promote their products and services. 1
Tourism market is based on the information. For example, a potential Romanian
tourist, who wants to spend hisr vacation in a hotel on one of the Aeolian Islands, needs an
update with respect to connections (airport-boat-hotel), to the activities they may conduct at
their destination or even, recommendations from other tourists. Internet makes possible
direct interaction of different types of service providers and tourism products to potential
1

Hociung, I.-G. (2009) - E-communication and tourism vs. the 3rd millennium Tourist, 10-th EUROPEAN
CONFERENCE E-COMM-LINE 2009, September 28-29, ASE Bucureti

customers, wherever they are located around the world and with a relatively low cost.
Internet access has increased in recent years (including Romania), as can be seen in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1 - Statistics on world population and

Global Internet usage
(Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm )

Fig. 2 - Internet users worldwide

on estimated geographical units at June 31, 2010
(Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm)
Asia dominates the world's total number of users, although internet penetration of
the population is only 21.5%, while North America has the highest penetration rate of the
population (77.4%). The most spectacular growth since 2000 was in Africa 2357%, but only
10.9% of the population has access to internet services.

Tab. 1 - Statistics on Population and

number of Internet users in Romania
(Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/eu/ 2)
In Romania, the degree of increase in the number of Internet users reached 973% in
2010 compared to 2000, respectively 7,786,700 users, with a penetration of 35.5% of the
population. Although penetration is much lower than the European average, the degree of
increase in the number of users is three times higher in Romania than the European growth.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is one of the key factors of
competitiveness in tourism markets and the strategic management of tourism and affects,
virtually, reducing operational and transactional costs. Implications of ICT revolution in the
management and competitiveness of tourism are recognized in different sectors of the
industry, and those industries directly connected to tourism. 3
As the number of internet users grows from year to year, so does the number of online buyers of tourism products, which involves developing appropriate communication
strategies by those who promote their products and services online.
Using ICT to exchange information on products and services allows all stakeholders
involved in the tourism industry to be familiar with what is offered. 4 Thus, an entrepreneur
can ensure that his hotel is visible to all tour operators involved in creating packages.
However, online shoppers can go directly to web pages containing information on
accommodation, transportation, museums, restaurants, protected areas etc. E-tourism can be
an opportunity for developing countries to gain more income as intermediaries are
eliminated. Communities can promote themselves, offering unique insights, authentic and
specialized local knowledge. Professionally designed websites allow local companies to
offer package tours, booking hotels, flights and information exchange. Thus, the profits stay
in the local community, contributing to job growth and economic development. 5
Online communication more options in developing tourism products
Tourism is an industry based entirely on information and reliable services, and
information providers (hotels, restaurants, rent-a-car companies, communities, travel agents,
etc.) need to organize data and communicate in the most accessible way.

http://www.internetworldstats.com
Bojnec, ., Kribel, Z. (2006) - Information and Communication Technology in Tourism, 7th International
Conference of The Faculty of Management Koper, University of Primoska, Portoroz, Slovenia, pp.445-454
4
Buhalis D., Licata M. (2002), The future eTourism intermediaries, Tourism Management Vol. 23, p.207-220,
(ISI)
3

http://www.abeuk.com/pdf/qcf/syllabuses/L5_IT_in_Hospitality_and_Tourism_Operations_dec11.pdf

Fig. 3 TripAdvisor homepage

(Source: www.tripadvisor.com)
Not only we can make purchases online, but fair elections can be made due tourists
from around the world who have created their own forums, blogg sites, where they can get
in touch with each other to share information, but the more importantly, to describe their
experiences.
Here are some websites that have a major impact on tourist behavior and contribute
to choosing a destination, hotel, travel means etc.:
- Cheap Tickets: www.cheaptickets.com;
- Expedia: www.expedia.com;
- IGoUGo: www.igougo.com;
- My Travel Guide: www.mytravelguide.com;
- Travelocity: www.travelocity.com;
- TravelPost: www.travelpost.com;
- Trip Advisor: www.tripadvisor.com;
- VirtualTourist: www.virtualtourist.com;
- Yahoo! Travel: http://travel.yahoo.com. 6
In early 2010, Travelport, one of the largest travel conglomerates, a company that
provides, among other things, support services to companies operating in the global travel
industry, conducted a market research (The Well Connected Traveller), regarding the trend
of consumers preferences of Travel & Tourism industry on a sample of over 12,000 people
in 12 countries, involving at least 1,000 respondents in each country. One of the pursued
issues was tourists preference on accessed web pages when they planned last vacation.

Berger, S. (2007) - Great age guide to online travel - 1st ed., Que Ed., Indianapolis, USA, p.11

Fig. 4 - Websites preferences for online vacations planning

(Source: Travelport)
As it can be seen, search engines dominate the travel industry, being used by two
thirds of tourists (66%) in order to document and look aut for the perfect holiday. Airlines
and visited destinations websites rank second (40%), followed by those of hotels (36%).
Attraction and the increased popularity of these sites is because they invest in search engine
optimization and provide portals with links to many other websites. Tourists are looking for
a mix of inspiration of what they want, with practical information on weather, customs and
more. The research has shown, among other things, that in some regions, consumers still
want to receive messages from basic phones to help them as they travel. On the other hand,
mobile services are developed and allow users to communicate with others in the same
location, in real time. Countries like China and India will bounce probably over classic
internet connection that requires efficient broadband network and they will directly use
mobile phones internet platforms. 7
The simple form of communication proposed by Karl Bhler, 1934, in his "Die
Sprachtheorie" Sender - Message Receiver - Feed-back - Sender 8, now knows much more
complex meanings. Obviously, there are distortions, and their causes are either on attitude
or design differences between the transmitter and receiver, either in the differences between
the used language registers, which are based on the exploitation of language functions,
either good or bad intentions. 9 This is where the communicator's own ethics is used to
maintain a high level of credibility, communicating in an honest manner, managing the free
flow of essential information in accordance with the public interest. 10 Each of those
involved (Fig.5) is designed to be sender and receiver alike. Information is thus correlated
and further determines creating tourism products and services best suited to each
individually customer.
7

http://www.travelport.com/~/media/Global/Documents/Customer%20Community/Travelport%20The%20Well
%20Connected%20Traveller102010.ashx
8
Haine, I. (1998) Introducere in teoria comunicrii, Editura Fundaiei Romnia de mine, Bucureti, p. 18
9
Rogojanu, A. (2005) Comunicare i limbaj economic, Ed. ASE, Bucureti, p.45
10
Rogojanu, A, Tanadi, A., Piroc, G. (2005) - Deontologia comunicrii - Aplicaii i studii de caz, Editura
ASE, Bucureti, p.34

Fig. 5 - Model of online communication in tourism

(Source: developed by author)
Presently, we can easily create holiday at a single "click" away, we can choose the
destination, book the hotel directly on the website, purchase tickets by choosing your own
journey, making all arrangements necessary for a perfect vacation in only few minutes in
front of the computer. Moreover, the latest technologies allow us to do all the above,
whether we are in traffic, at home or at work, by simply accessing the internet on mobile
phones.
A high level of technological innovation and new technologies, mechanisms,
applications and services is growing extremely fast. The number of mobile phone users
worldwide has grown and now exceeds the number of home Internet users. The level of
using mobile broadband connection using UMTS access networks, Wireless LAN reached a
significant threshold for the new 3G and 4G mobile users. The impact of next generation
mobile communication technologies in tourism industry is significant, the industry
presenting extensive opportunities for their use as a broad area of opportunity for
implementing "high-tech" Internet technologies. 11 Providing real time information to
consumers of tourism services and their assistance in planning the journey heady necessary.
Tourists want prompt information services, flexible and convenient regarding the offered
attractions by a destination, services with a relevant, updated and available content when
traveling. 12

11

Baack D.W., Singh, N. (2007) - Culture and web communications, Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, No.
60, pp.181188 ( ISI)
12
Hociung, G. (2009) - Mobile communication technologies - tools for promoting and purchasing services, THE
2009 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON TOURISM and WORKSHOP, Messina, Italy

Fig. 6 - Examples of navigation for tourism mobile

(Source: http://www.cityzeum.com/blog/) 13
Internet makes it possible to distribute multimedia applications such as textual data,
graphics, photos and audio recordings. Search engines such as Google or Yahoo, offer a
remarkable capacity to find anything, in this case, destination and travel products
information. 14 A new market, this time electronically has grown progressively and Profile
providers have developed specific mobile web interfaces to communicate with potential
customers and partners. 15 Developing new techniques in purchasing tourism products and
services introduced a new form of travel: m-travel, which has the following characteristics:
- During the journey, tourists are found often in strange situations, experiencing
orientation problems almost immediately. Mobile technologies can help them to
focus (with integrated GPS modules);
- Mobile technologies equipped with multimedia and data processing capacity,
facilitate information access / discovery to the tourists who require it;
- Mobile phone is used 24 hours / day by many people, therefore, it can provide access
to relevant and timely information and instant communication;
- Tourists, as commercial approach, represents a very attractive target group;
- Customization is often considered added value and, through mobile technologies,
services can be customized to individual applications.
Communication through social networks grows within tourism organizations, always
trying to find new ways of attracting tourists. Online social networks have become
extremely popular and is now a key moment for all tourism organizations to use them. One
of the reasons why they reprezent an important benefit is the cost, which is almost
nonexistent to promote through such networks, reaching instantly to many potential tourists,
more than they can do through newspapers, radio or television.
TripAdvisor is the largest global travel site and allows tourists to plan the perfect
holiday, offering trusted advices from some real travelers and a wide variety of travel
choices and ways of planning (search for air routes, TripAdvisor Mobile and TripAdvisor
Trip Friends) with links unrelated to reservation tools. TripAdvisor , with 19 brands
operating in 30 countries, has over 20 million members, with over 50 million unique visits
13

http://www.cityzeum.com/blog/
Malek, M. R., Samany, N., Aliabady, S., Hajibabai, L., Kashyha, M. (2007) - Using smart map in a mobile
information environment for tourism, XXI International CIPA Symposium, Athens, Greece
15
Weathers, D., Sharma, S., Wood, S. (2007) - Effects of online communication practices on consumer
perceptions of performance uncertainty for search and experience goods, Journal of Retailing, Elsevier (ISI)
14

per month. 16 Most members post more than 50 million monthly views, reviews, experiences
they have lived in various tourist destinations / hotels / restaurants / transportation, this type
of activity being used by those organizations that monitor what they are doing well and also
what they are doing wrong, in order to improve the quality of offered products and services
to satisfy their customers.
Twitter can be a tool for tourism operators through the exchange of quick, short
messages with the members of this social network, so the last ones can get almost instantly
the answers to their questions. In 2011, Twitter had more than 200 million users, with over
1.6 billion search queries. 17

Fig. 7 - Map social networks worldwide in 2011

(Source: Internet)
Facebook statistics are impressive:
- More than 800 million active users;
- More than 2 billion messages a day are discussed;
- More than 250 million photos are uploaded daily;
- More than 70 languages, 75% of users are outside the U.S.;
- Over 500 million people per month use Facebook applications using the Facebook
platform to other websites;
- More than 7 million apps and websites are integrated to Facebook;
- Approximately 350 million users access Facebook from mobile phones and tablets
etc.
The potential for tourism organizations is huge, and by creating an account on
Facebook, tour operators will be able to upload video, photos, messages about various
events and will interact less and simple, with potential customers.
Extrapolating, we can say that social networks are a Seventh Continent, one of the
virtual world.
The tourism industry is growing rapidly, but technological progress is achieved even
in a more accelerated pace and thus must satisfy the 21st century tourist needs, focused on
technological innovation, which is in a constant search of new ways to access tourism
products that spend less money and time, eager for an increased satisfaction. This new type
16
17

http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/about_us.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter

of tourist has literally the world in his hands, being able to improve the tourist experience
using communication and information technologies.
Conclusion
E-tourism offers tour operators from the places of destination a range of services that
facilitates communication and relationships with other stakeholders and reduce the
processing time of applications in different phases of travel services life, when tourists can
experience various problems or challenges or when dealing with new situations or
environments (e.g.: orientation issues, language barriers, need for information and so on).
Tourists are increasingly sophisticated, they need to connect, communicate, participate
actively and to shape their tourism product. Effective communication is needed between all
the involved stakeholders, local authorities and government, in order to create skills on etourism, e-communication and m-tourism, which can not be achieved without access to the
latest technologies.
Refereces:
-

Baack D.W., Singh, N. (2007) - Culture and web communications, Journal of Business
Research, Elsevier, No. 60
Berger, S. (2007) - Great age guide to online travel - 1st ed., Que Ed., Indianapolis,
USA
Bojnec, ., Kribel, Z. (2006) - Information and Communication Technology in
Tourism, 7th International Conference of The Faculty of Management Koper,
University of Primoska, Portoroz, Slovenia
Buhalis D., Licata M. (2002), The future eTourism intermediaries, Tourism
Management Vol. 23
Haine, I. (1998) Introducere in teoria comunicrii, Editura Fundaiei Romnia
de mine, Bucureti
Hociung, I.-G. (2009) - E-communication and tourism vs. the 3rd millennium Tourist,
10-th EUROPEAN CONFERENCE E-COMM-LINE 2009, September 28-29, ASE
Bucureti
Hociung, G. (2009) - Mobile communication technologies - tools for promoting and
purchasing services, THE 2009 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON TOURISM
and WORKSHOP, Messina, Italy
Malek, M. R., Samany, N., Aliabady, S., Hajibabai, L., Kashyha, M. (2007) - Using
smart map in a mobile information environment for tourism, XXI International CIPA
Symposium, Athens, Greece
Rogojanu, A. (2005) Comunicare i limbaj economic, Ed. ASE, Bucureti
Rogojanu, A, Tanadi, A., Piroc, G. (2005) - Deontologia comunicrii - Aplicaii i
studii de caz, Editura ASE, Bucureti
Weathers, D., Sharma, S., Wood, S. (2007) - Effects of online communication
practices on consumer perceptions of performance uncertainty for search and
experience goods, Journal of Retailing, Elsevier
http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/about_us.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter
http://www.vincos.it/world-map-of-social-networks/
http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics
http://www.internetworldstats.com
http://www.cityzeum.com/blog/

http://www.travelport.com/~/media/Global/Documents/Customer
%20Community/Travelport%20The%20Well%20Connected
%20Traveller102010.ashx
http://www.travelport.com/~/media/Global/Documents/Customer
%20Community/Travelport%20The%20Well%20Connected
%20Traveller102010.ashx
http://www.abeuk.com/pdf/qcf/syllabuses/L5_IT_in_Hospitality_and_Tourism_Operat
ions_dec11.pdf