Information Technology Adoption by Midwest United States Travelers

Abstract

The travel and tourism industry is information intensive (Poon, 1993). Tourists need, and therefore demand, information about destinations in order to select vacation places, to plan trips, and to facilitate choices about services and activities throughout the vacation experience. The nature and effectiveness of the various channels travelers use to obtain information have changed dramatically over the past few years. Destination marketing organizations (DMO’s) have in large part relied on traditional methods (i.e., television, newspaper, and magazine advertisements) to provide travel information. These methods are giving way to new communication vehicles such as the Internet (e.g., Prodigy and America On-line), the Home Buying and Travel Channels, as well as point-of-purchase televideo, kiosks and interactive computers. These forms of technology create opportunities for information exchange where the traveler can interact with the information provider as well as the supplier. Frequently, the individual who controls information (or access to information) can be expected to benefit (both in experience and financially) more than those who have no control (Poon, 1993).