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Discussing about the "E-Tourism & Travel Distribution for Southern Europe & Mediterranean" conference, held in Athens 31 Jan.- 01 Feb., Professor Dimitrios Buhalis, Deputy Director of ICTHR at Bournemouth University, President of IFITT, and Chairman of the conference said:
“Technology and the Internet has already been revolutionised the tourism industry and has affected consumer behaviour, profit margins and structures of distribution. The emerging ICT tools introduce new capabilities, which consequently provide new opportunities as well as major challenges for all players. This is already evident in the North Europe and America where electronic and direct distribution is now common practice. Technology already challenges all tourism intermediaries and suppliers as they introduce new business models to deal with the increased transparency in the marketplace and the direct engagement with consumers through social media. Although technology can support the competitiveness of organisations it is difficult to offer sustainable competitive advantage as many organisations simply imitate their competitors. Sustaining competitive advantage therefore on the long term however is one of the most difficult challenges organisations have to face and will only depend on their ability to achieve dynamic and constant innovation.
In contrast to the new global realities the Southern Europe’s & Mediterranean’s travel industry has been slow to adapt to the new realities and many organisations failed to engage with the emerging tools and modernise their operations and distribution. This conference will therefore be an eye opener to new techniques and methodologies for distribution and customer service in the new online environment. The economic crisis propels a range of dynamic changes and technology will be critical for engaging with consumers, creating innovative experiences and reducing operating and distribution costs.
As the Chairman of the conference I am really looking forward to engage in conversation with the fantastic panel of speakers lined up for the conference and also engage the audience in conversation to maximise the knowledge for all participants. See you in Athens!”
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
