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.

SERVIMED, a trading company created by the Government, prepares health tourism packages to be sold in target markets in cooperation with tour operators and travel agencies.

Eco tourism, cultural and natural heritage tourism, health and medical tourism and adventure tourism are some of the tourism niches that are increasingly marketed by destinations and tourism enterprises in developing countries.

Internet based distribution of tourism products has become crucial for effective market entry and for the competitiveness of tourism operators from developing countries.

Managing and promoting destinations

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).

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

However, websites run by direct tourism providers such as hotels and transport companies are attracting travellers seeking better prices by avoiding third party distributors.

Tourism services The distribution of tourism services relies on different distribution channels.

Up to the end of the 1990s, face to face contact was required and tourism services were distributed mainly by tour operators and travel agents or directly by carriers transporters, fully integrated with global distribution systems (GDS).

Spending by stayover visitors in 1997 was estimated at about US 456 million, with cruise ship passengers adding another US 2 million.4

Distribution of other services Audiovisual and tourism

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.

It represents a growing distribution channel, complementary to traditional ones, for consumers, tourism enterprises such as hotels, transport companies, leisure companies and distributors, including travel agencies, tour operators and DMOs.

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.

Effective marketing channels include destination management organizations and tourism boards, tour operators, guidebooks, media, certification schemes, travel fairs, such as the so called business to business (B2B) and business to consumers (B2C) fairs, internet retailers and consumers' organizations.

Most of the off line and on line marketing and distribution of tourism in developing countries is currently carried out by service providers based in developed countries.

In distribution of tourism products, the role of wholesalers continues to be important, along with the emerging trend towards on line retailing of tourist packages.

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).

The environmental impact of tourism is heavily influenced by the decisions taken by private sector investors and operators of tourism enterprises.

Urumqi normalizes the operating order of travel tourism market and regulates that travel agencies must sign contracts with tourists

Distribution systems have reduced the market share of traditional travel agents, although high street travel agents still dominate the market in terms of distribution.

However, new technology has allowed other non traditional providers of tourism services such as Microsoft, Google and Yahoo to enter the distribution market for tourism services and become providers of e tourism.

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.

Management of supply capacities and tourism resources relies on information networks and distribution channels, where global distribution systems (GDS) are the backbone of tourism business structure, transactions and operations, and the platform for integrating operators and customers at every point in the value chain, offering access to all destinations in the world.

The three leading service industries in the period were financial services and leasing (12 per cent), hotels and tourism (11 per cent), and trading and marketing (6 per cent) (annex table 1).

The ETP will allow developing, least developed and small island countries to organize, market and sell their own tourism services online.

Tourism products have a communication life cycle, and marketing organizations, including DMOs, need to review the marketing media that are suitable at each particular phase of the cycle.

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.

The online promotion of tourism niches by developing countries complements the product offer of online travel distributors from developed countries, which often promote static packages (versus dynamic packages that allow consumers to customize their travel) and international hotel chains in developing countries.

(b) Strengthening the capacity for expanding the tourism sector in developing countries, with particular focus on tour operators, travel agencies and other suppliers

I've camped my whole life. And I decided that living in a van for a year to do this would be like one long camping trip.

The promotion of tourism niches by developing countries for which many of them enjoy a competitive advantage and the development of DMSs that offer tourism enterprises and consumers respectively an innovative way to promote and obtain tourism information (e.g. search engine, trip planner, interactive maps and virtual tours) are contributing factors to the creation of value.

DMOs begin with the management of information on tourism products and services and their online promotion.

However, small businesses such as hotels have often been excluded from global tourism distribution channels.

With regard to B2B, DMSs provide tourism enterprises with the means to be better integrated into tourism supply chains by promoting personalized and enriched tourism experiences directly to a large number of consumers.

The majority of developing countries are mainly concerned with setting up informative e tourism websites to market their destinations.

A key point to bear in mind is that e tourism websites serve a dual function to provide information for visitors to aid in planning their trip and to advertise and sell tourism products once the visitors are already at the destination.

It focuses on the practical modalities of new business models that destination management organizations and tourism enterprises should adopt to improve their competitiveness in tourism markets.

ICTs help DMOs and tourism providers organize their resources (databases, data processing), network with business partners, and distribute and market products on the web.

Destination management and promotion are key strategies to respond to consumers' expectations, ensure sustainable development and improve the relative position of destinations in developing countries on the global tourism market.

While the majority of the sales of tourism products and services still happen off line, travel related Internet usage continues to grow at a rapid rate.

If some have had an online presence for the last couple of years, only a small share of destinations have so far been able to fully exploit the Internet for marketing and offering services through the web.

According to the Government of Anguilla, the marketing and promotional activities of the Anguilla Tourist Board and the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association are having a positive impact on the industry, and a 20 per cent increase is projected for 2004, compared to 2003.