eTourism
data & process interoperability
from travel
Reservation
to travel
Motivation
Interoperability between systems and electronic data interchange are critical to the success of the tourism industry.Though tourism is at the forefront of ICT adoption in marketing and online sales (B2C), it has poor technology uptake inother areas. Inadequacies are most evident in the deployment of ICT infrastructure, and the adoption of e-integrated business processes (eBusiness W@tch Report 2006/2007,www.eBusiness-Watch.org).The successful exchange of electronic data hinges on two things: the ability of all tasks to understand the data –i.e. data interoperability – and of the ability of the processes to meaningfully cooperate – process interoperability. Thisdraft CWA addresses these two core issues ‘data’ and ‘processes’, and related challenges. In particular identifies fivetopics for further analysis:
semantics, data transformation, process handling, meta-search and objectidentification.
These five topics are placed in the context of four general concerns. Tourism transactions on the one hand regularlytranscend national and cultural boundaries, and frequently involve both very small and very large players. On the other hand, many of the parameters are regulated nationally or even regionally. All transactions must naturally follow pertinentnational or regional laws and regulations. This leads to the four concerns that cut across the system:
legal issues,multiculturalism, business models and technology.
‘
Mediation’
has been identified as the key strategy for attaining true interoperability in a highly fragmentedand diversified area like tourism. This best practice case demonstrates the best way to reach interoperabilityby data mediation, while leaving enough flexibility for each partner to define his own data format.Euromuse.net has been chosen as a best practice case.
Euromuse.net
uses the
Harmonise
technology toaddress the interoperability issue and demonstrate ways how to solve the problems derived from the fivechallenges. This technology, the result of a former research project, is able to mediate between different dataformats from the cultural, heritage, and tourism sectors. It is thus confronted with very much the samechallenges as discussed in the CEN Workshop .No Frills, very much aware of the importance of technology in the development of the national tourismindustry, fosters a full working and networking day on the above topics and their strategic implications to our industry .The CWA project team shall present and debate their findings and recommendations with a professionalaudience of trade journalists, travel and lodging operators, ISPs, DMCs, Universities and PublicAdministration representatives .Euromuse.net and Harmonet.org will present themselves and explain how they could encourage and supportthe concrete application of said guidelines . A “best practice case” of data mediation and interoperability willbe presented by Pierre et Vacances, a French Tour Operator .
Bergamo, 25th of September 2009
Workshop
iCT iNTERo
p
ERABiLiT
y
iN THETouRisM sECToR
W A R N I N G
The application of the CEN guidelines described herein could result in higher end- user satisfaction and increased travel product consumption, seriously enhancing local revenue generation and Industry’s SMEs sustainability.
Thematic cycle of harmonisation in Tourism
Topics / ChallengesCore issuesCross-cutting aspects
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