Əlosman Azər Abiyev

Master student
Azerbaijan Tourism and Management University
(+994 51) 758 61 07
aeliosman@gmail.com

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RISKS IN TOURISM

Abstract:
The world's most well-known and prosperous industry is tourism. In the 21th century,
this sector is anticipated to dominate all others and maintain its current growth track. It goes
without saying that tourism is a significant political, economic, social, and environmental
impact. Information technology and use of internet communication are two important and
effective elements on tourism industry. And they have several risk factors for the tourism
industry. Examining all the possible risks of technologies in the tourism industry has become
a topic of interest for numerous people in this field. It’s not a secret that the Internet and
different information systems have transformed the tourism sphere. Technology is paramount
to the success of the tourism industry. Yet, as it turns out, the Internet and other digital
technologies of the modern world have both benefits and risks. In this article, the risks of
technology in the tourism industry are explored.
Keywords: Information; technology; tourism; risks; communication; risk-based
approach.

Since the "stone years" of simple technology adoption in their business models are long
gone, many organizations in the travel and tourism sector are now navigating the so-called
Fourth Industrial Age and integrating technological advancements to redefine products,
services, and consumer experiences. The world is becoming more connected through
continuous innovations as a result of change and digitalization, which is driven in ways that
are both interesting and frequently difficult to keep up with. The globe is getting smaller, yet
technology is improving and broadening in a range of innovative ways, leading to an
unprecedented increase in expectations among customers and business partners. It is
extending outside the organization's physical boundaries and IT infrastructures and into the
goods and services they provide as well as the networks they build with partners, suppliers,
customers, and other stakeholders [6, 94].
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have modernized tourism all over
the world and opened up a wide variety of new opportunities for its development.
Technology resources are key factors in a company's performance, therefore a company
should think about its resources to make sure it can compete with the best in whichever
market it selects. There is currently no study that examines worldwide empirical evidence of
ICTs' effects on tourist activities while taking into account nations with various levels of
tourism development [2, 90].
Since the tourism industry relies primarily on information, it has a powerful connection
with the development of new information technology. Additionally, increased competition in
the field of international tourism has encouraged associated businesses to use the most recent
ICTs to get a competitive advantage and experience adequate growth. ICTs have been widely
used in this industry to reduce costs, remove unnecessary labor, improve productivity, and

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most importantly improve service quality and customer satisfaction. Travel-related ICTs are
now definitely faster, smaller, smarter, and more integrated into the environment of the user.
Additionally, a longer value chain that is affected by information is a key characteristic of the
tourist industry. Therefore, ICT applications for creation, gathering, storing, accessing, and
transfer continue to be essential for all tourism businesses [4, 72].
As the part of information technologies, internet has several risks with maintenance and
control. In order to update the links and respond to the numerous blogs that are received, it
demands a significant investment in internet usage. If their questions are not quickly
answered, people or potential tourists may change their minds or cancel their trip plans. The
increased possibility of cybercrime and hacking is another risk [5, 735].
A system that is hosted digitally may provide certain users access to any potentially
private information. Such an user could falsify the data, resulting in misrepresentation and
client loss. Additionally, the website's traffic volume might not be as high as anticipated. This
results in a significant loss for the tourism business since it may not be able to generate
enough sales, which lowers its level of income.
The fact that technology has increased unemployment in the sector is one of its risks.
Due to cost-cutting measures and the use of the internet, many individuals with occupations
as managers, waiters, chefs, and members of the tourism sector, such as tour guides, will be
lost their jobs. Due to the internet technology's domination in marketing and advertising,
employment creation in these sectors has also decreased. The advancement of the internet
technology has also had an impact on privacy. People have created new techniques for
breaking into or hacking into the websites of organizations in order to acquire important data.
This extremely puts the tourism business at risk [7, 57].
On the internet, proliferation of sites has increased. When we use internet, there are a
lot of travel-related websites. This is a problem, particularly for small and medium-sized
tourist businesses that lack the expertise and understanding required for effective website
design. The fact that there are so many products on the market, which is already saturated,
indicates a lack of organization. The clients are unfamiliar with several of these websites. It
becomes challenging for potential clients to find them and even have trust in them enough to
use them. Another problem on the internet is the utilization of intermediaries to connect
clients to different businesses. They get compensation for their services, which results in low
profitability, low income, and homogeneous websites [1, 389].
There are several methods that may be used to reduce the risks associated with ICT use
in the tourism industry. Provide the consumer with exactly what the business offers, first and
foremost, so that when visitors' expectations are met, they won't spread false information
about your business. Second, in order to prevent money being spent without generating a
return, tourist providers must consider how to effectively integrate the technology into their
business. Finally, certain tourist sites have less technological facilities since not all visitors
agree with utilizing technology to help them. For example, they require a tour guide to
explain what occurred in the past when they visit a historical site since they want to feel
instead of only listen to recordings [3].
Therefore, as conclusion, it can be said that technology has significantly helped the
global hospitality and tourism industry in their development. Increased revenue has been an
advantage for nations who have positively adopted technology in their operations. This
technique has enormous potential. To effectively manage it and take use of its enormous
potentials, though, it needs managers with a broad knowledge of how it works. On the other
side, technology has contributed to the unemployment of people. Since they rely on their
work for a living, this has impacted their level of living. However, as the article reveals, its
advantages outweigh its risks.

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