Greek Tourism Industry Still Behind On ICT Use

New opportunities that will revolutionize the business profile of Greek tourism enterprises are rising through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), according to a recent study by the Observatory for the Greek Information Society.

Source: Observatory for the Greek Information Society

The observatory recently said that Greece maintains a very good position in the global tourism industry due to the strong comparative advantages and its already established position as a major destination in Europe and the Mediterranean.

However, the prospects of Greek tourism are significantly influenced by general developments, trends and the reformation of the global tourism through modern e-tourism applications.

According to the study, international trends show a clear shift towards the use of ICTs with the acceptance of specialized applications in regards to tourism services and products.

In this context the observatory’s study showed a lag on Greece’s side in regards to the incorporation of new technologies within the tourism industry.

However, a change is noted in the mentality and attitude of Greek tourism bodies and young tourism professionals as they rank new technologies and online presence as their top business priorities.

The observatory underlined that Greek tourism enterprises must move faster than their competitor countries and comprehend the extent and application of advanced ICTs so as to gain a strategic advantage.

Significant gains towards this direction are expected from the increasing efforts and actions for the wider use of ICTs by the industry.

According to the analysis of the 2009 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report- published annually by the World Economic Forum-Greece is among the most competitive tourist countries as it occupies the 24th position out of 133 countries worldwide and the 18th position in Europe.

However, the report’s detailed index showed that in regards to ICT infrastructure Greece ranked 40th out of 133 countries worldwide thus maintaining the same performance of the two previous years.

The observatory’s study also focused on Internet usage for tourism purposes throughout Europe.

According to the study, a significant increase of Internet usage has been noticed as Europeans are now regularly using the Internet in search of information as well as to choose tourism services and products.

Thus, according to Eurostat figures, in 2008 the average use of Internet for services related to organizing trips to European Union member states reached 32 percent against 25 percent in 2006.

The study showed that one out of two Dutch and British, three out of five Norwegians and Finns and two out of ten Greeks use the Internet for services related to travel and accommodation.

Also, a section entitled “ICT in the tourism industry: international trends and developments” was included in the study.

This section showed that the adoption of innovative methods to promote and support the tourism product of each country could provide levels of quality and diversification of services that lead to an increase in the share of the country within the international tourism demand.

The study made mention of new trends such as destination management, electronic marketing (e-marketing), electronic customer relationship management (e-CRM), social networking and web 2.0 technology, tourist geographic portals (geoportal), mobile platforms in tourism (m-tourism), data mining and business intelligence.

The study also focused on the use of ICTs for the accessibility of tourism Internet sites by the disabled and elderly groups who until recently were considered minorities in terms of Internet usage.

Especially for the tourism industry, businesses and national tourism organizations that adapt their websites and ICTs applications and make them accessible for the disabled and the elderly acquire a significant share of the tourist demand.

The observatory also noted that the size of tourism enterprises along with their geographical location seemed to affect the extent of computer usage and Internet access.

Source: Observatory for the Greek Information Society

According to figures from a 2007 panhellenic survey (for which representatives of 250 hotels and 250 lodgings were interviewed) nine out of 10 large hotels, four out of 10 small hotels (0-9 employees) and two out of 10 other lodgings use a computer.

Also, 74 percent of hotels have Internet access as opposed to other lodgings (37 percent).

The 2007 survey noted that Internet access is significantly higher in major tourist and business units that operate on the Greek islands and Central Greece.

In terms of online presence, 63 percent of hotels and 30 percent of other lodgings have a private website while the percentage of online advertising promotion amounts to 46 percent and 33 percent respectively.

Tourism professionals also show a positive attitude in regards to owning a private website and recognize the advantages of online advertising.

However, it seems that most of the websites are inadequate in regards to the provision of electronic services (transactional and interactive) while Greek tourism professionals have not fully realized the potential and opportunities that the Internet offers.

Hotels based in Central Greece and on the islands proved to work more with online sales but the level still remains low.

According to the observatory, it is optimistic that even professionals who do not use ICTs are convinced of the Internet’s usefulness.

New technologies are seen as fairly or very useful by 93 percent of the hotels and 81 percent of other lodgings that were researched.

Additionally, tourism professionals that do use ICTs see it as an overall business benefit and believe that new technologies contribute significantly to customer increase, improve customer service and save time.

The observatory concluded that based on the analysis of the survey’s findings and the fact that young professionals include technology within their online business priorities, new opportunities for entrepreneurs in the industry could be found through the National Strategic Reference Framework’s (NSRF) financial projects.

The survey mentioned that the Greek National Tourism Organization‘s new portal www.mygnto.gr would offer significant opportunities to the Greek tourism industry as it is expected to cover the lack of an organized joint network of Greek tourism information.

Also, the recently announced Digi Lodge subsidy program is expected to produce positive results for the Greek tourism industry.

The program offers a 60 percent funding to investment proposals for the digital support of tourism businesses (creation of a website, online booking/reservation systems, etc).

The Observatory for the Greek Information Society aims at collecting and assessing quantitative and qualitative data on issues regarding the Information Society in Greece, diffusing best practices, as well as conducting relevant studies and contributing to the policy formulation processes to the Greek Government and any other party interested. It operates under the supervision of the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Interior, Public Administration and Decentralization.