Information Technology as a Strategic Tool for Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Benefits Enhancement of Tourism at Destination Regions†

Information technologies have revolutionised the management of contemporary organisations and introduced a paradigm shift in the way businesses operate. The tourism industry is inevitably affected and a variety of new computerised systems are designed to facilitate the inter-organisational and intra-organisational management and communications. As a result, several destinations benefit by developing destination management systems which enable them to coordinate their operations and promote their products. This paper introduces Destination Integrated Computer Information Reservation Management Systems as strategic tools which enable the establishment of platforms for enhancement of tourism benefits at the destination level. In this sense they can contribute to the profitability of tourism enterprises at the micro level, and the economic impact of tourism at the macro level. These systems can also reduce social, cultural and environmental negative impacts by bridging the gap between visitors and locals and by assisting them to build realistic expectations from their involvement in tourism activities or enterprises. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.