Attitude of international tourist towards ICT and digital services in tourism industry of nepal

Abstract

Tourism is the second biggest industry of Nepal and it serves as the primary source of business and employment in the country. The ICT boom around the globe has a poor state in Nepal and the country lacks behind in digital service implementations. The global pressure has forced Nepalese tourism industry and Government organizations to implement ICT to overcome global competition and meet the rising demands. These implementations lack the study and empirical evidence of consumers (International Tourist) attitude and point of view, therefore, this work carries a great significance. The work explores the attitude of International tourist for perceived risk, perceived usefulness, and perceived case of use of ICT technologies for adoption in Nepalese context. We employ exploratory research methodology with descriptive statistics to investigate the subject under consideration. A sample size of 150 international tourists based on convenience sampling is taken as primary source of data, supplemented by secondary sources which consist of reports, projects, publications and closed group interview of tourism officials and business men. The study helps Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) and business houses of Nepal to devise plans and strategies for growth and implementations in ICT and Digital services. The study also fulfills the gap in the literature and serves as a knowledge base for tourism officials, business houses, policy makers, bankers, digital companies, tourism authorities and consumers.