Evaluation, Synthesis and Formulation of Proposals for the Use of ...

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«Evaluation, Synthesis and Formulation of Proposals for the Use of ICTin the Tourism Sector»The lack of adoption of these standards (especially in the air transport sector which is the mosttechnologically advanced) is not a Greek phenomenon. The large GDS providers react to theexpansion of use of these open standards. Also reluctant are the airline companies, which haveinvested large amounts in GDS systems and in training for their personnel. The acceptance of openstandards systems by the international airline companies is the single most important factor for thefuture developments in the field.The exception in Greece can be found in the cabotage sector, due to the legal requirements for thebusinesses to maintain an electronic passenger registry system. Companies such as FORTHcrs, Profileetc. have developed and promote relevant booking systems based on open standards technologiesand attempt to transfer their know-how in other areas of tourist activities.The applications that are based on the OTA and TTI technological standards in other areas apart fromcabotage (and partly in air transport) are not yet prevalent in Greece. For example, hotels do not havesimilar legal or data exchange requirements and settle with more light and inexpensive solutionswhich simply cover their administrative needs.With regard to other technologies and standards that are not directly related to interconnectivity andinteroperability:• Web services and modern protocols for data exchange are found in Greece in the mosttechnologically advanced tourist websites, in businesses using foreign commercial solutions and insome Greek systems (for example the latest versions of thewidely used HERMES system). Some large hotels in additionThe adoption of openexploit the Β2Β possibilities. An example is the Latostandards forBoutique Hotel website in Heraklion, Crete 29 which has fullinterconnectivity andfunctionality and offers both on-line services to tourists and interoperability is mostlyaccess to collaborating tourist agents for their bookings. found in the cabotage sectorHowever, such cases are very rare. The typical content of atourist website is characterized by mediocrity in functionality, because no use is made ofadvanced technologies to allow interactivity. The situation in the area of integrated solutions fortourist agencies is even poorer, with only one such system available in the market.• The very popular, internationally, ShockWave Flash technologies for the enhancement of contentare met in numerous websites in all sectors, hence also in tourism. One frequently notices anabuse of these technologies, with lengthy introductions and page overloading. However, in the29 http://www.lato.gr/.Version 1Month: December Year: 200746
«Evaluation, Synthesis and Formulation of Proposals for the Use of ICTin the Tourism Sector»best cases, the ShockWave Flash elements enhance the content of a tourist website. An exampleis the Santorini Travel Key tourist portal 30 . Even better applications can be found in the use ofdynamic interactive maps, which are not common in Greece. One such case is met in the«Corinthorama» 31 travel map. This site offers interactive maps for use in tourist, educational andlocal administration websites.• The subject of search engine optimization, that is the improvement of a website’s ranking in theresults of search engines such as Yahoo, Google and MSN, is for the most part unknown towebsite owners in Greece. It is usually offered as an additional service by the designer or bundledin a hosting package, frequently with doubtful results. A new development is the operation also inGreece of companies specializing in these methods (an example is Rankings).• Virtual reality in Greece mainly concerns the culture sector and is at the stage of academicresearch, creation of prototypes and work in the framework of EU programs for the exhibition ofcultural heritage. There are very few non-academic or research bodies implementing suchprojects, the main one being the Foundation of the Hellenic World (FHW). Apart frompresentations in the institution’s showrooms, FHW works towards the transfer of its virtual realityexhibitions also to the internet. Similar pilot actions are implemented in the framework of EU cofundedprograms in various regions, with virtual reality applications in cultural sites and places ofhistorical interest, to provide new specialized services in the area of cultural tourism and increasethe tourist traffic. These efforts do not however show results comparable to the ones from FHW.• With respect to the accessibility standards for the disabled, Greece is essentially now making itsfirst steps. There are not many relevant projects implemented in the private sector, despite theknow-how present in Greek IT companies. This was also confirmed by the field research in touristwebsites. The exception is the public sector, where the leaders are the Ministry of Transport andCommunications and the Athens Urban Transport Organization with special web pages 32 .5.4 Thematic Area «Human Resources»5.4.1 Tourist Education and TrainingWith regard to the tourist education and training in our country, the overall picture shows delayscompared with other countries which offer specialized courses for many years. At a first glance, the30 http://www.santorini.tk/santorini/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=144.31 http://travelmap.korinthorama.gr/features.php.32 See http://www.yme.gr/amea/index.php and http://www.oasa.gr/amea/default.htm, respectively.Version 1Month: December Year: 200747
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