Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) have rapidly revolutionised the operational and strategic practices of the entire tourism industry. Within this framework the competitiveness of Tourism Destinations increasingly depend on their ability to use innovative ICTs to integrate their offering and to develop multi-channel distribution strategies for close interaction with prospective tourists and travel industry partners. This seminar will explore the requirements of the eTourism Destination of the future and will discuss some of the most established Destination Management Systems available in the marketplace.

The speakers of the seminar will be the following:

Dr Dimitrios Buhalis<.> (UniS): eTourism Destinations for the Future-Setting the scene
Andrew Duff (ETC) Destination Management Systems at a National Level
Ken Male (Bournemouth) Destination Management Systems at a Regional Level
Sue Faulkner (Hampshire): European Experience and Research
Karsten Karcher (Tiscover): The Tiscover DMS-solution-implementation-results
Graham McKenzie (Integra): The Integra DMS-solution-implementation-results
Peter Dennis (World.net): The Worldnet DMS-solution-implementation-results

An open discussion will follow the speeches.

This event is organised by Centre for eTourism Research (CeTR) at The School of Management Studies for the Service Sector, University of Surrey<.>, on Wednesday, April 24th. The School has a consistent history of 35 years of innovation in tourism and hospitality research and teaching and this is clearly demonstrated by the launch of the first and only MSc in eTourism in the world. The MSc in eTourism focuses on the ways that tourism, travel and hospitality organisations can use the latest information communication technologies to achieve competitive advantages in the global digital eTourism world. The recently launched CeTR specialises in eTourism research and in eDestinations in particular.