The library has just got the following as an e-book:
Sigala, M., et al. eds. 2012. Social Media in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality: Theory, Practice and Cases. Farnham: Ashgate.
Blog
Welcome to the BU eTourism Lab
ENTER 2012 – Main conclusions
ENTER 2012, the annual IT and Tourism conference, was held from 24th to 27th January 2012 in Helsingborg, Sweden.
Organised by IFITT, the leading international organisation for information technologies in travel and tourism, this conference is the biggest tourism IT and travel related event of the year, attracting 300 delegates from more than 40 countries, covering all continents. This edition had 150 presenters, which attended the conference to discuss the present and the future of eTourism. Overall, the event included 6 keynotes, 51 research papers, 59 industry presentations, 16 PhD-student presentations and 14 presentations on the Scandinavian day.
IFITT President Professor Dimitrios Buhalis stated that “ENTER has again identified the most important developments in tourism and technology. It is evident from the presentations that social media is becoming the most critical communication tool for organizations to engage dynamically with consumers. Applications which are location and context aware and facilitate a range of sensors also emerge to provide dynamic solution for the travellers. Perhaps the future will emerge through innovations in augmented reality and gamification where the virtual will blend with the real world. This will enable tourism and travel organizations to co-create memorable experiences with – rather than for – tourists, throughout their journey from inspiration to travel experience and post-trip sharing in the social world.”
Rodolfo Baggio, ENTER2012 Chair said: “A wonderful team has been able to provide a well-balanced and high-quality program. Good and insightful presentations from academia, industry and destinations have given the audience examples and ideas. The social program, and the Swedish hospitality has then helped strengthening the most important aspect of the whole IFITT community: the willingness to work together for the advancement of the field.”
During ENTER2012 KLM was awarded with the prestigious IFITT innovation award for their innovations on social media marketing and state -of-the art approach in customer service via social media in airline industry. Additional IFITT Awards were presented: the Hannes Werthner Tourism and Technology Lifetime Achievement Award to Inkeri Starry from Regional Council of Lapland (Finland), Dr. Carlos Lamsfus from Cic-Tourgune (Spain) won the Thesis Excellence Award, while Malgorzata Ogonowska (Poland) won the best PHD proposal Award. ENTER2012 Best Paper Award was presented to Ada Lo, Joey Wu and Rob Law (Hong Kong Polytechnic University); Andrew Lepp, Heather Gibson, Charles Lane won the Journal Paper of the Year Award for a study entitled: Image and perceived risk – A study of Uganda and its official tourism website published in Tourism Management. Finally, John Fotis won the picture competition with a prize offered by the Thailand Tourism Board.
Barbara Neuhofer is awarded 2nd Prize for Best PhD Proposal at ENTER2012
(In the picture: Prof. Dimitrios Buhalis, IFITT President; Barbara Neuhofer, Bournemouth University PhD Student; Dr. Ulrike Gretzel, Chair ENTER 2012 PhD Workshop)
Babara Neuhofer, PhD student at the Bournemouth University eTourism Lab won the 2nd Prize of the PhD Workshop Best Proposal Award at ENTER 2012, held in Helsingborg, Sweden on 24th to 27th January for her proposal entitled “Revisiting the Tourist Experience: An exploration of the essence of the technology-enabled enhanced tourist experience”.
The annual PhD Research Workshop at the ENTER conference was attended by doctoral students from all over the world who are undertaking research in information and communication technology in the tourism industry. The ENTER 2012 conference was run by the International Federation for Information Technology in Travel and Tourism (IFITT), the leading independent global community for the discussion, exchange and development of knowledge about the use and impact of ICT in the travel and tourism industry.
Barbara’s research, supervised by Prof. Dimitrios Buhalis, Prof. Adele Ladkin and Dr. Scott Cohen, focuses on exploring how technologies can be used to enhance the tourist experience for the tourist throughout all stages, i.e. pre/during/post, of the travel process.
Abstract of the PhD Proposal:
The notion of consumers increasingly striving for experiences constitutes a prevalent concept in today’s experience economy. The significance of experiences in both tourism research and practice has been acknowledged by literature in the past. However, given the recent impact of technology on tourist experiences, there is evidence for a prevailing insufficient understanding of the experience in a technology-mediated context. Considering that the changing nature of the tourist experience needs to be understood in order to create and deliver competitive experiences in the future, a revision of the concept is indispensable. Based on this rationale, the doctoral research aims to explore how technologies can be used to enhance the tourist experience for the tourist throughout all stages, i.e. pre/during/post, of the travel process. Theoretical contribution in terms of developing a holistic framework to understand and measure the Technology Enhanced Tourist Experience by adopting a mixed methods approach will be provided.
For further information on Barbara’s research project.
View Barbara’s PhD Research Poster: ENTER 2012_Poster Presentation_Barbara Neuhofer.
For further information on ENTER2012 go to: http://www.ifitt.org/congresses/website/enter2012/Home_page.
Technology Enabled Tourism Experience Economy
When: 09:00 – 12:00, Thursday, 18th April 2012
Where: Eyefortravel Trave Distribution Summit 2012, London
Registration: http://ifitteft-eorg.eventbrite.com/
Fees: Free for IFITT Members – £40 for non IFITT Members (charged at the entrance)
Join IFITT and benefit from cutting edge events
PLEASE NOTE that participation in the event will give you access to the exhibition area of the EyeForTravel London Travel Distribution Summit Europe 2012 but NOT to the conferences. Please contact Eye for Travel and purchase your access. Significant discount available for members of IFITT.
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
IFITT is hosting a workshop at the EyeForTravel London Travel Distribution Summit Europe 2012 to discuss the “Technology Enabled Tourism Experience Economy”.
The experience economy has become an increasingly important concept in modern society as well as in business. Today, consumers increasingly strive for experiences gained by the consumption of products/services. Tourism as a traditionally service-dominated industry has always been on the forefront of the experience economy. For tourism businesses, designing, staging and delivering meaningful, unique and memorable consumer experiences has become an imperative.
At the same time, recent dynamic technological advancements have provided opportunities for adding value to already high-level quality tourism products and services. Businesses in the cruise, aviation, or hospitality sectors, as well as a number of destination management organisations, have successfully implemented information and communication technologies in order to enhance the experiences provided for their customers. For example, British Airways offer iPads as a means of inducing an immersive in-flight experience for their customers. Carnival Cruise Lines have developed a multimedia platform to directly engage with customers during the pre- and post-travel stage, and improved the on-travel experience through digital signage.
The role of technology in staging tourism experiences represents a cutting-edge concept in experiential tourism marketing. Participants in this Workshop will:
- Understand the importance of technological solutions for customer experiences
- Learn how recent technological developments can enhance tourism and hospitality products and services;
- And find out from leading experts in the field about current best practices and future opportunities of technology-enhanced tourism experiences.
http://www.ifitt.org/home/view/ifitt-e4t
http://ifitteft-eorg.eventbrite.com/
ENTER2012
eTourism Present and Future Services and Applications Helsingborg Sweden 24th to 27th of January 2012.
Organized by the International Federation for Information Technology and Travel & Tourism (IFITT), ENTER 2012 offers a worldwide and unique forum for attendees from academia, industry, government, and other organizations to actively exchange, share, and challenge state-of-the-art research and industrial case studies on the application of information and communication technologies to travel and tourism.
At ENTER 2012, the theme is on present and future services and applications, thereby considering interactions among information and communication technology use and development in both, a supplier and user context within travel and tourism. Issues to be covered at the conference include, but are not limited to, the following areas:
- Advanced Distribution Systems
- Electronic Marketing
- Information Search and Retrieval
- Technology Acceptance
- Consumer Inspiration through ICTS
- Eno-Gastronomic Tourism
- Information Interfaces and Presentation
- Travel Search and Meta-Search
- Crisis and e-Tourism
- ICT Adoption, Use, and Value Creation
- Intelligent Systems
- Web 2.0 and Web 3.0
- Distribution Strategies
- ICT-enabled Partnerships and Segmentation
- Legal and Social Aspects
- Website Design and Evaluation
- E-Learning
- ICT and Sustainability
- Mobile Services
- Context-Aware Systems
- E-strategy and e-Business models
- ICT for Regional Development
- Recommender Systems
BU Tourism Futures Forum @ WTM2011
World Travel Market, ExCeL, London,
Thursday 10th November 2011 – 14.00 to 16.00 Room: North Gallery Rooms 6&7
Seminar Details
Chaired by Professor Dimitrios Buhalis
<a href="http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/tourismBournemouth University tourism experts organise again the BU Tourism Futures Forum @ WTM2011 and engage leading tourism practitioners from around the world on an interactive discussion to examine the future of tourism. The global challenges and opportunities for both tourism destinations and suppliers around the world require innovation in management and operations, calling for a major rethinking of both strategic and tactical Tourism Management. The Tourism Futures Forum will provide an insight into the future dimensions of the tourism industry. It examines major trends in tourism demand and supply and explores the strategic changes that lead to the international tourism industry restructuring. The Forum will be organised by
<a href="http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/icthr/Bournemouth University in partnership with the World Travel Market and the TravelDailyNews are organising this forum to facilitate debate about the key strategic changes and to engage in a discussion about the successful response of the industry. The event will involve two short research-based presentations to stimulate discussion. Chairman Prof Dimitrios Buhalis will encourage all participants to contribute to the debate and discussion.
Invited Presentations
- Dr Marcio Favila, United Nations World Tourism Organisation, Global Tourism Trends
- Professor Adele Ladkin Human Resources trends and Tourism
- Dr Richard Shipway Olympics, Sport Tourism and Legacy
Invited Panelists include
- Marcio Favila, United Nations World Tourism Organisation
- Dermot Blastland TUI UK
- John Kent YouTravel & Aquis UK and Greece
- Jens Thraenhart DragonTrail.com China
- El Hamy El Zayat EMECO Egypt
- Justin Reid VisitBritain UK
- Daniela Wagner ewaterways UK
- Dmitry Khrapov tutu.ru Russia
- Ana Sustelo Just a Drop UK
- Gerard Brown, UBM Aviation, Routes UK
BU launches eTourism Lab
Bournemouth University is launching the eTourism Lab (eTL) at the World Travel Market 2011.
This exciting new research Lab will explore cutting edge information and communication technologies, alongside e-based strategic management and marketing for the tourism and hospitality industries. The eTourism lab’s mission is to push back the barriers of knowledge on eTourism and through Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) empower policy making and strategic competitive advantage.
The Lab is led by Bournemouth University’s Professor Dimitrios Buhalis, who’s currently President of the International Federation for Information Technologies in Travel and Tourism (IFITT). Professor Buhalis said: “As Information Communication Technologies become globally pivotal both commercial and public organisations are increasingly depending on their ability to embrace, foster and develop information technology for achieving competitive advantage and implementing strategy.”
The eTourism Lab will reside within the International Centre for Tourism and Hospitality Research (ICTHR) in the School of Tourism at Bournemouth University. The School has a long tradition of generating research output in the information technology and information systems field and the formation of the Lab demonstrates the university’s commitment to this field.
Professor Buhalis continued: “Bournemouth University is in the cutting edge of eTourism research and is working closely with international organisations to create agile solutions and dynamic innovations. Technology will be critical for competitive advantage and our research will have great relevance and global impact”.
The eTourism Lab will offer global excellence in the field of eTourism in the widest possible sense which includes eTravel, eTransport, eHospitality and eCatering/Food. In addition it will research how social media is becoming critical for organisations to communicate effectively and compete globally.
The Lab will generate synergies with the newly established MSc in eTourism; it will engage with multiple stakeholders and will also enable the School to be recognised as one of the key research organisations in this field. Academic members include Dr Philip Alford, Dr Soo Jun, Dr Miguel Moital, Dr Christos Gatzidis and researchers include John Fotis, Nicolas Gregori, Barbara Neuhofer, Andrew Spencer, Ivana Rihova, Soultana Symeonidou, Georgina Sekadakis, Zornitza Yovcheva and Luca Smiroldo.
A number of projects on eTourism Marketing, Social Media and eConsumer Behaviour are currently underway. The eTL reflects increasing global interest from bodies such as the World Tourism Organisation, the World Travel and Tourism Council and the European Commission in the wide range of implications of ICTs. The eTL aims to provide research results, which will facilitate both policy making at the macro level as well as strategic tools for optimising competitiveness and maximising profitability at the micro level. The eTL will collaborate globally in developing this pioneering vision and strategy.