The main beneficiaries of a DMS are potential travelers, the providers of tourism products and services, national travel agents and outbound travel agents, national tourism institutions, IT providers and investors.

20. The tourist industry is the principal economic activity.

This cycle is equally important for leisure and business and conference tourism and travel.

Major traditional tour operators have joined leading suppliers of e business solutions to the travel industry that often power a large number of websites.

Today's online tourism is a very dynamic market, and the number of providers, both generalists and niche players, is rapidly increasing.

The diffusion of ICTs enables tourism businesses to make tourism products and services directly available to a large number of consumers at a relatively low cost, and to interact with them, as well as with other tourism producers and distributors.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, the decentralization of tourism marketing activities to the provincial tourism offices proved a failure and responsibility for tourist related promotional activities was restored to the national tourist office at the start of 2005.

The diffusion of ICTs enables tourism businesses themselves to make tourism products and services directly available to a large number of consumers at relatively low cost, and to interact with them as well as with other tourism producers and distributors.

Contributing factors for the successful integration of local tourism enterprises into international tourism markets are adequate e tourism strategies that focus on tourism innovation in terms of tourism products and adoption of e business tools such as destination management systems.

DMSs are the IT infrastructure used by DMOs for the collection, storage, management and distribution of information and for the transaction of reservations and other commercial activities.

Encourages the business sector, in particular the tourism industry and Internet providers, to

Moreover, most severe impacts of tourism stem from the infrastructure and construction activity that it entails rather than the recreational activities themselves.

Tourism services

Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism

Previously, these services were available only for business to business operations, mainly tour operators and travel agencies.

11. Welcomes the positive measures taken by the World Tourism Organization and professionals in the field of tourism to combat sex tourism, and encourages the reinforcement of such activities

Tourism, which has been the engine of our national economic growth for the past three decades, has suffered a sharp decline.

Box No. 2

In order to market their tourism products efficiently, destination and tourism providers should keep abreast of technological developments and standards.

The adoption and usage of e business practices will facilitate the evolution of the traditional tourism systems and the integration of tourism enterprises into the digital economy.

The private sector should drive the commercial activities, and, to facilitate the participation of tourism enterprises in a DMS, their inclusion should be free of charge.

The UNCTAD E Commerce and Development Report 2001 also devoted an article to e commerce and tourism.

Tourism development Plans to provide all necessary tourism services

A large choice of hotels in all price ranges, tourist packages, leisure time activities and so forth.

Business models should provide technological, financial and marketing solutions for the providers and users of the DMS, namely tourism providers (accommodation, transport and leisure companies), travel agents, tour operators, and consumers.

The distribution of tourism information and products over the Internet is the main area where technological innovation has had the most profound impact on tourism enterprises (producers and distributors).

Inter thematic issues poverty reduction and managing globalization

However, the eventual adoption of e business practices will facilitate the evolution of traditional tourism systems and the integration of tourism enterprises into the digital economy.

In terms of reservation services, the majority of DMOs in developing countries support the promotion of tourism in their country mainly by advertising the contact details of tourism providers.

Retailing of gasoline

(e) To ensure that persons with disabilities have access to services from those involved in the organization of recreational, tourism, leisure and sporting activities.

DMOs need to have a comprehensive vision of existing and potential market segments, tourism evolution and prospects, consumers' tourism related Internet usage and tourism behaviour to be able to translate them into web based technologies, customer centered services and marketing campaigns.

Many service stations carry the brand of one of the oil majors (BP, Shell, Mobil, etc.) others carry the brand of secondary marketers, while still others carry the brand of a distributor and some carry their operators' own brand or no brand at all.

The distribution of tourism products on the Internet complements traditional distribution channels (travel agents, national tourism offices, tourism producers, call centers, etc.) because a large number of DMOs do not yet have the capacity to develop an effective e tourism website and cannot rely only on uncertain online revenues.

The role of ICTs in developing tourism The innovation process in the tourism industry Managing and promoting destinations online E business challenges Concluding remarks.

Previously, the first event was successfully held here to create an exclusive cultural tourism brand event integrating cultural tourism IP, creative market and traditional folk culture experience.

Child sex tourism means tourism organized with the intention to facilitate or effect directly of indirectly the sale of children, child pornography , child prostitution or any other unlawful sexual practices .

Tourism services comprise advice, information, sale of accommodation, transport, international tourism services and excursions entrance to parks and swimming pools individually or in groups.

By integrating these SMEs into their DMS, DMOs bring them into the new e business environment of the tourism industry and offer them the technological tools to conduct their operations online.

Governments in developing countries should seek partners that can contribute not only to the technical development of the DMS, but also to the development of new products and services (e.g. niche tourism distributors), marketing actions, information technology and funding.

To implement the Phuket Action Plan, the World Tourism Organization, in collaboration with the international tourism community, has initiated a series of specific activities and actions including familiarization trips for the media and tour operators, communication campaigns, waiving of participation fees at international tourism fairs, assistance in channelling funds to small and medium sized tourism enterprises, workshops on risk management and repositioning of tourism products.

The Internet gives tourism providers in developing countries an opportunity to access international tourism markets directly and promote a diversified tourism offer based on their cultural and natural resources.

ICTs could be used to present dynamically tourism products by travel experience (activities) or preferences (duration of stay, type of accommodation, price).

At the same time, ICTs reduce operating costs, improve business processes, and provide tourism producers with additional opportunities to present and sell their products, as well as to naturally establish partnerships with carriers, global distribution systems (GDS), tour operators, travel agencies and national tourism offices.

The considerable expansion of tourism activities, even to isolated destinations, and the important linkages of tourism with other economic activities explained why tourism was particularly well placed to meet the needs of the poor.