Abstract
This paper investigates the use of online services within the tourism industry in Thailand, by first assessing the adoption of the internet channel by Thai travel-related companies, and secondly evaluating the effectiveness of their Email use. Previous related research has focused on the developed world, where modern information and communication technologies (ICT) are already pervasive; here we focus on an emerging market with relatively lower internet proliferation, IT infrastructure availability and stability. An interesting case study is presented in Thailand, where its well established, mature tourism industry is contrasted by a developing ICT infrastructure still in its infancy. Despite government driven projects to develop Thailand as a regional ICT leader, we find ICT adoption by the tourism sector is low in quantity and poor in quality. As tourism is a key industry for Thailand, we investigate the reasons for our findings and present recommendations for better utilisation of this channel.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Applegate, A., Austin, R., & McFarlan, F. (2003). Corporate Information Strategy and Management: Text and Cases. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Buhalis, D. (2001). The future eTourism intermediaries. Tourism Management, 23, 207–220.
Ching-biu Tse, A. (2003). Disintermediation of travel agencies in the hotel industry. Hospitality Management, 22, 453–460.
Chung, T., & Law, R. (2003). Developing a performance indicator for hotel websites. Journal of Hospitality Management, 22, 119–125.
Cox, B., & Koelzer, W. (2004). Stickiness: Internet marketing in hospitality. New Jersey: Pearson Education.
Doolin, B., Burgess, L., & Cooper, J. (2002). Evaluating the use of the web for tourism marketing: a case study from New Zealand. Journal of Tourism Management, 23, 557–561.
Frey, S., Schegg, R., & Murphy, J. (2002). Email customer service in the Swiss hotel industry. Tourism and Hospitality Research. 4(3), 198–212.
Kim, W. G., Ma, X., & Kim, D.J. (2004). Determinants of Chinese hotel customers’ e-satisfaction and purchase intentions. Journal of Tourism Management, 27(5), 890–900.
Lehnert, G. W. (2002). Light on the web: essentials to make the network for you. United States of Americe: Addison Wesley Longman.
Limayem, A., Hiller, M., & Vogel, D. (2003). Sophistication of Online Tourism Websites in Hong Kong: an Exploratory Study. Americas Conference on Information Systems, Tampa: USA.
Matzler, K., Pechlaner, H., Abfalter, D. & Wolf, M. (2003). Determinants of response to customer e-mail enquiries to hotels: evidence from Austria. Tourism Management, 26, 249–259.
Murphy, J., Olaru, D., Schegg, R. & Frey, S. (2003). The Bandwagon effect: Swiss Hotel’s Website and E-mail Management, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 44(1), 71–87.
Murphy, J., & Tan, I. (2003). Journey to nowhere? E-mail customer service by travel agents in Singapore. Tourism Management, 24, 543–550.
Nadkarni, S. & Peng, C. (2001). The relevance of travel agencies in the era of e-commerce and globalization. http://www.mca.org.mo/
Nasingkun, K. (2003). How Thailand Should Utilise Information Technology. http://www.cicc.or.jp
O’Connor, P. (1999). Electronic Information Distribution in Tourism and Hospitality. Oxford: CABI.
Peacock, M. (1995). Change: Unravelling the process. Information Technology in the hospitality industry. England: Redwood Books.
Pechlaner, H., Rienzner, H., Matzler, K., & Osti, L. (2002). Response attitudes and behavior of hotel industry to electronic info requests. In Wober, K. W., Frew, A. J., & Hitz, M. (Eds.), Proceedings of the ENTER 2002 conference. Innsbruck: Springer, pp. 177–186.
Picozzi, L. (2005). Understand Online Customer Service. http://www.score.org
Rice, S., & Todd, G. (2005). A guide to becoming a travel professional. U.S.A.: Delmar Learning.
Teal, K. (2005). Online worlds and offline worlds — what are some customer service differences, http://www.netspoke.com
Travel + Leisure, (2006). Florence Named World’s Best City. Travel + Leisure Magazine, August, 2006.
World Tourism Organization: WTO (2001). E-Business for Tourism — Practical Guidelines for Tourism Destinations and Businesses. Madrid, Spain: The World Tourism Organisation.
Zhou, Z. (2004). E-commerce and information technology in hospitality and tourism. Canada: Delmar.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2007 Springer-Verlag Wien
About this paper
Cite this paper
Cosh, K., Assenov, I. (2007). Reviewing the Use of Online Services by the Tourism Industry in an Emerging Market: The Case of Thailand. In: Sigala, M., Mich, L., Murphy, J. (eds) Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2007. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-211-69566-1_45
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-211-69566-1_45
Publisher Name: Springer, Vienna
Print ISBN: 978-3-211-69564-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-211-69566-1