According to recent studies, consumers all around the world are turning to the Internet first to find travel information and 54 per cent of online travel consumers start travel research with an online travel agency.

Consideration of the full arc of the consumer travel lifecycle should also be a central part of any tourism e tourism strategy, comprising in country travel and post travel follow up.

Sustainable consumption and tourism

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.

Sustainable consumption in tourism integrates sustainability issues in the selection of destinations and service providers and in the tourists' behaviour during their stay at the destination.

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.

Annual electricity consumption associated with tourism costs around 500 million.

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.

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.

Experts have pointed out that in addition to basic tourist consumption, experience is a more important consumption element.

In addition, recent trends in the use of ICTs in general and particularly for travel and tourism show that the more online experience consumers have, the more likely they are to look for tourism information and buy tourism products online.

Tourism cannot truly become more sustainable unless consumers (tourists) consistently favour more sustainable destinations and activities in their purchasing decisions.

Much less effort has been concentrated on steering consumers' choice towards sustainable tourism products.

What strategies, tools and actors should be involved in promoting sustainable consumption in tourism?

However, experts agreed that the use of ICTs by destination management organizations and tourism enterprises is the best and lowest cost avenue for reaching the greatest number of consumers, converting their interest into sales and ultimately competing on a global level in the tourism market.

How can sustainable production and consumption in the tourism sector be promoted by Governments?

In recent years there has been a proliferation of carbon offsetting schemes, specifically designed for individual travellers or for package tours.

Look at these motor cars, alcohol... trips to America, holidays on the Continent... and that yacht.

They must provide an umbrella for the wide range of tourism suppliers (including accommodation, airlines, restaurants, attractions, etc) to facilitate their integration into global distribution systems and their outreach to consumers, both before they arrive at the destination and while they are in the country concerned.

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.

However, a Beijing News reporter understands from self drive travelers that few consumers would choose to stay at campsites.

Negative impacts of tourism on the environment include

DMSs enable all stakeholders to interact, in particular consumers and tourism providers and distributors.

Calls upon Member States and other stakeholders to give support to the activities undertaken by the World Tourism Organization in favour of developing countries, and to its sustainable tourism programme for eliminating poverty, and also calls upon donor countries to provide funding to the Sustainable Tourism Eliminating Poverty (ST EP) Foundation and, where appropriate, to the ST EP Trust Fund

6. Calls upon Member States and other stakeholders to give support to the activities undertaken by the World Tourism Organization in favour of developing countries, and to its sustainable tourism programme for eliminating poverty, and also calls upon donor countries to provide funding to the Sustainable Tourism Eliminating Poverty (ST EP) Foundation and, where appropriate, to the ST EP Trust Fund

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.

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.

Consumers are increasingly important players through their use of user generated search content (blogs, postings on travel sites such as TripAdvisor.com, etc).

It is also becoming more difficult for an entrant in the upstream market to find outlets for its product.

Tourism enterprises are also well placed to influence tourists in espousing environmentally and socially responsible behaviour during their holidays (even more crucial when the environmental and social contexts of the destinations are very different from those of the country of origin).

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.

The Internet in particular has drastically changed the distribution of tourism products and services and is driving substantial changes in the market structure and consumer behaviour.

I often deal with Chinese tourists and I am very happen to see them travel to Russia.

World Tourism Organization (WTO)

WTO World Tourism Organization.

WTO (Tourism) World Tourism Organization

WTO (Tourism), Madridd

The increasing number of consumers that use the Internet to plan leisure or business trips represents a major incentive for developing countries to organize and develop their tourism offer and its promotion over the Internet.

The increasing number of consumers that use the Internet to plan leisure or business trips represents a major incentive for developing countries to organize and develop their tourism offer and its promotion over the Internet.

It is also foreseen that about 50 per cent of tourism packages will be purchased directly on line by independent travellers.

6. Invites Member States and other stakeholders to give support to the activities undertaken by the World Tourism Organization in favour of sustainable tourism in developing countries for the eradication of poverty

Invites Member States and other stakeholders to give support to the activities undertaken by the World Tourism Organization in favour of sustainable tourism in developing countries for the eradication of poverty

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

The systems should facilitate interoperability between local tourism enterprises and foreign brokers and tourism portals, including traditional tour operators, online agencies, Internet travel specific search engines or online intermediaries specialized in tourism niches.

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.