In these precarious economic times, the hospitality industry, composed
of tourism and travel, is facing a quintessential question. Technology
has the great advantage that it allows tourism industries to replace
expensive human labor with technological labor, thus not only reducing
labor costs but also avoiding issues of customer service. Yet,
technology may produce a whole new set of unintended consequences.
How does it draw the line between technology and personal service? There
is no doubt that technology plays an important role in tourism and
travel. Most of us are now used to booking our airline reservations
online, dealing with telephone trees and other cost-saving devices.
These technological advances have allowed corporations to save on
manpower while at the same time empowering customers to make their own
decisions.
On the other side of the equation, travelers use more technology then
ever before, and often the tourism industry has taken advantage of this
desire (need) to stay in touch with its clientele. Most of us are now
used to being almost harassed with online surveys or computer-driven
telephone calls. Now we have entered into the world of e-marketing, a
system that may be called an advanced form of "spam."
Although many hotels do provide free Internet services, many of the
"better" hotels have added additional charges for local calls, for
Internet access, and a per page fee to receive a fax. These additional
charges combined with less personalized service often means that
travelers have the idea that technology has become a one-way street.
Technology is used to providing less-personalized service and at the
same time generating additional revenue at hotels, on airplanes, and at
transportation hubs.
Despite the misuse of technology, tourism and travel are highly
dependent on technology, and its use has made life a whole lot easier.
There is no doubt that the cell phone has become a major part of our
lives. And although technology etiquette may lag behind technology
machinery, the inconvenience of someone speaking too loud on a cell
phone is more than outweighed by the safety, security, and convenience
that cell phones bring to most of us.
On the other hand, technology's growth has allowed worldwide terrorism
to attack the tourism industry. Cell phones can save lives or detonate
bombs; air conditioning units serve to make life bearable in hot
climates, but also pollute the atmosphere and can be carriers of
disease.
The dawn of the computer age permits us to know weather forecasts around
the world, allows business travelers to stay in touch with their
offices, and to supersede the problem of cross time zones negotiation
but can be used to destroy air travel.
Technology then has become a mixed bag for the tourism industry. It
creates a great deal of conveniences while at the same time has been
used as a way to increase revenues and to lessen customer service. The
world of technology has made air travel safe and abundant but has also
brought about the need to go through long security lines and daily
hassles. Certainly, some parts of the industry have begun to use
technology prudently. When used ethically, technology can be a great
help in increasing our communication and security.
If, on the other hand, technology is used for selfish or destructive
purposes, than it can become a nemesis within the travel and tourism
industry. Hamlet's question, "to be or not to be," has never seemed more
poignant in its relationship to travel and tourism. To help you decide
how much or how little technology is right for your tourism business,
Tourism Tidbits offers the following suggestions:
- Remember that tourism is about people "interfacing" with other people.
No matter how good your technology may be, technology does not provide
human warmth of take-home experiences. Be mindful that tourism is about
the selling of memories and then ask yourself at what point are you
willing to sacrifice memories for efficiency.
- Make sure that your employees are well trained in the use of
technology. Technology is only as good as the people who use it. Often
tourism centers hire people who simply are not up to the task, misuse
the technology, and create more problems then they solve. Train, train,
and then train your people some more. Do not update so often that your
employees' knowledge base lags behind the technology's capabilities.
- Use technology wisely: even the best computer can never substitute the
care and love that comes from another human being; technology if used
properly can solve many a problem in tourism. Among these are:
* Issues of time. Nothing upsets the tourism industry's clientele as
much as the misuse of time. The proper use of computers to facilitate
both check-ins and check-outs of places, such as hotels, allows the
person on duty to attend to other problems.
* Clarity and consistency. In an interrelated multi-lingual world, a
great deal of information can be provided to guests in their own
language without linguistic, pronunciation, or grammatical errors
* Ease of place. Use technology and social networks to allow visitors to
research from home and to gather basic information. However, many
hotels and transportation companies seem to hide telephone numbers on
their web sites. Combine basic information that can be given on a
computer with the human side of information. Remember that if the
tourist can never reach you, then you may find that your customer has
found a more user-friendly location.
Whether we like it or not, technology touches almost every aspect of the
tourism industry. If we are smart enough to use the benefits of
technology such as convenience, speed, and accuracy, and avoid some of
the pitfalls, lack of human contact, user friendliness, size of
lettering, then technology can be a great time and cost saver. But if
the tourism industry forgets the importance of the human element and
that tourism is all about the experience, then it is making a major
error.
Source = eturbonews