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»According to the opinions expressed by participants in the focus groups, the training and culturecurrently cultivated in educational institutes need improvements, both quantitative and qualitative. Itis considered that the problem is not in the number of graduates, but rather in the adequacy ofknowledge acquired and the natural reluctance to work in low-paid positions. The end result is a lackof specialized employees in the market. The vocational training seminars that address moderntechnology needs are few (mainly through Centres of Vocational Training) and do not suffice to coverthis large gap in technological skills in the tourism sector.Other problems mentioned by hotels representatives concern the inability to follow the technologicaldevelopments and the fact that most of the technological solutions come from foreign manufacturers,creating thus an unwanted feeling of dependence. The corresponding local solutions «do not deliverwhat they promise» because «the various application developers do not have any relationship withthe tourism sector and cannot understand the particular needs of the sector».The general conclusion is that, in the tourismBusiness owners in the tourism sector aresector in Greece, there is a lack of technologicalnot yet persuaded that investing in newculture and awareness. This is not however duetechnologies is profitableto some sort of technological fear. On the onehand, graduates of tourist schools do not bring with them fresh attitudes towards technology. On theother, business owners are not yet persuaded that investing in new technologies is profitable. Thisunwilling attitude leads to a vicious circle: The business practice does not stimulate the touristeducation and the Greek IT industry.5.5 Thematic Area «Synergies and Collaborations»5.5.1 Synergies Between Related SectorsThis section concerns the synergies between the tourism sector and other related sectors, and inparticular the lack of infrastructures and e-methods in the transport and culture sectors. Thedeficiencies in provincial airports and the road network, the water supply problems, the absence ofsupport for the disabled, the shortcomings in ports and marinas etc. result to the visitor discovering areality inferior to his/her expectations. According to views expressed during the focus groups, theseproblems constitute larger obstacles for the Greek tourism than the lack of ICT infrastructures.The lack of ICT infrastructures in thetransport and culture sectors prohibitsthe provision of integrated destinationmanagementVersion 1Month: December Year: 2007Concerning the present study, the interest mainlylies in the absence of ICT infrastructures in thetransport and culture sectors, which in turn50
«Evaluation, Synthesis and Formulation of Proposals for the Use of ICTin the Tourism Sector»prohibits the provision of integrated destination management. For the transport sector, it suffices tomention the lack of electronic bookings in the Hellenic Railroads Organization 35 . For the culture sector,the investigation for the adoption of e-methods in sectors related to tourism concluded that thisparticular sector significantly lacks behind.In the presence of integration of e-bookings in various sectors, Greece could apply worldwide bestpractices to extend the length of visitors stay (following tourism models applied in countries such asHolland), by exploiting the close distances between tourist destinations (e.g. between islands) and thenatural diversity in our country. Examples are abundant, from excursions to places with natural beautyand cultural institutes, to excursions combining land transport and cruises.5.5.2 Tourist ClustersThe question of collaborations between tourist SMEs, especially through the application of ICTmethods, is discussed also in other sections. However, it is worth of particular mentioning, because itis the central component in the modern international model of e-tourism. In countries leading in theinternet collaborations in tourism (such as USA and Canada), there is a very high degree ofcooperation between enterprises through tourist clusters.In Greece, the establishment of tourist clustersis for many businesses the only way to adopttechnological solutions, e.g. for e-commerce,because it allows the sharing of costs and risks.An example is found in Santorini, where thelocal businesses decided to cover their needsjointly with a technology provider.Networking and cooperation betweentourist enterprises seems to be the onlyway to achieve differentiation in thetourist promotion of a region, and is alsosuitable for the marketing of alternativeforms of tourismFurthermore, networking allows the differentiation of a region, as stressed by executives at theHellenic Chamber of Hotels. Each region can collectively shape its own tourist profile (following theexample of Rhodes). Such a differentiation requires effort from both the tourist enterprises and thelocal communities, because it cannot be shown through the general promotion of Greece by theNational Tourism Organization. An indicative international example that was presented in chapter 4 asa best practice is the collaboration of local businesses in the Granada region in Spain, which is35 This will be made possible through the implementation of the project “Integrated Information System for theManagement of Passenger Transport”, which however delays.Version 1Month: December Year: 200751
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