Essay Sample on Impact of IT on Business

Introduction

TravelOnline is an Australian online travel agency that offers vacation booking services. Its inventory includes holiday products from all over Australia, Fiji, the Cook Islands, Vanuatu, and New Zealand. The company also has partner links for Asia and Europe accommodation services. It operates several websites to cater for each individual region in which it offers its services. Clients can book a vacation package that includes airline tickets and accommodation using the company website. This essay looks at the impact of information technology (IT) on TravelOnline.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The world appears to be on the move, with people travelling more than ever. They are traveling further than before and much faster. According to estimates by World Tourism Organization (WTO), people will take about two billion international trips by the year 2030. In order to adapt itself to this shift, the travel industry has been forced to transform itself. A travel agency like TravelOnline is the basic unit of this industry. Such a unit has had to transform itself from the traditional agent that facilitates vacations to an innovative and forward-thinking travel partner of the modern era. The top influence for this transformation has been the rise of a savvier travel consumer. The average modern traveler is influenced by trends and whims, driven by passions, and capitalizes on the power of technology. The modern traveler has more say in their destinations and experiences. IT has bridged the gap between individuals with information or experience and those seeking it. Travelers are leveraging this tool that includes search engines, apps, aggregators, and social media.

Travel agencies like TravelOnline can only ignore IT and its impact on business at their own peril. IT is constantly changing the tools that such companies use , how the tools are used, how they communicate with clients, and how potential clients rely on the agencies for their travel needs. Travelers are also affected by IT changes in the travel technology. They get the impression that there is a mobile application for each travel related service. IT has already made it easier for travelers to search the internet for vacation destinations; access great travel packages, compare airplane or cruise ship fares and accommodation fees, and book their own reservations-all at the click of a button. TravelOnline attains a competitive edge by capitalizing on IT to offer its client the most updated customized services and communications.

The impact of IT on TravelOnline and other travel agencies is felt in a number of ways. Travel has become more experiential-based than it is destination-driven, with services to clients becoming increasingly focused. TravelOnline and high traffic portal travel websites can access the global distribution system (GDS), a reservation tool used to make travel service bookings. The system enables their employees to filter travel options for clients fast. It is worth noting that travelers can use GDS to book services by themselves without using an agency. This means TravelOnline has to use certain expertise to get the best deals in travel and package them in a way that is appealing to potential clients.

Thanks to IT, the customer service offered by TravelOnline is faster, easier, and more cost-effective. The company utilizes social media to as an IT tool for easing customer service. With social media, a small group of staff members can send automated alerts to update clients on wait times and delays, handle huge numbers of enquiries, and share interesting information about travel. The company even utilizes luggage tags as part of data tracking system to increase efficiency. It has IT-based luggage tags fitted with a tracking system that pinpoints a traveler's luggage and which is capable of sending real-time data through email, text message, or a special mobile app.

IT enables travel agencies like TravelOnline to adopt an environmentally friendly travel. The travel Industry is embracing sustainable and eco-friendly green business practices more and more. Thanks to IT, there is a paperless environment. Airline tickets, hotel vouchers, and boarding passes made of paper are a thing of the past. TravelOnline utilizes QR codes, a wireless data transfer known as NFC (Near field communication), E-vouchers, and E-tickets. The modern traveler does not like waste and tends to do something to minimize their carbon footprint to save the planet, even if it means paying more. IT enables travelers to book vacations and check-in through the internet.

With IT, TravelOnline and other travel agencies gets to adopt cost-effective and time saving practices. Online transactions means that travelers save time that they otherwise have spent commuting to the agencies offices. A potential traveler gets to save the time and money that can as well be invested back into the vacation package. TravelOnline does not have to set up offices in every city in Australia. This means a less number of employees, and a lower wage bill in terms of salaries, benefits, medical insurance, and so on. The company gets to enjoy lower operating costs and direct savings to customer discount offers.

To apply IT, an online travel agency like TravelOnline has to invest in digital technologies such as Cloud computing and Big Data. These technologies make it possible for such agencies to personalize packages and offerings based on traveler preference. An agency can thus create a personalized consumer experience that will resonate with travelers and help them return in the future. For instance, TravelOnline can target millennial travelers by using mined and actionable data to provide them with unique travel packages that suit their age group. By doing this, the average millennial customer does not have to go through numerous returned searches for travel options like vacation destinations or cruises that are of little interest.

Such customized service provides millennial travelers with peace of mind since they feel TravelOnline is well aligned with their desires and interests. It also allows the company to collect additional information on travel and destination preferences sought by millennial travelers. This data can be leveraged into more opportunities in the future through special offers, promotions, packages, or discounts. It may be true that the modern traveler may be more informed and savvy when it comes to researching vacations or trips and then booking them. However, the sheer amount of the information available can be quite overwhelming. Using digital technology for personalization gives TravelOnline a boost in offering fast and convenient experience while purchasing travel packages.

Thanks to social media, the average modern traveler increasingly lives in an online and virtual environment. Social networking websites such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook together with travel review sites have changed the way people research and recommend travel destinations. Travel agencies have somewhat lagged behind in capitalizing on user-generated content and social media as a means to interact with potential customers. They can use this avenue to form relationships that will continue after the traveler returns home from a trip. All in all, the travel industry at large has gradually figured out the importance of utilizing social media to boost customer engagement.

User-based content such as social media and review websites are changing the way travel agencies provide and manage products and services. Take an example of a luxury hotel with a few rooms that offers more luxurious personal hygiene and bath products when compared to those offered in other rooms. These higher-end products may get more positive and frequent online reviews, social media posts, and recommendations. The hotel's management can leverage on such responses to re-evaluate the products offered in all rooms and then decide whether or not to change their standard products accordingly.

According to recent studies, the modern traveler spends more time accessing the internet with a mobile device, whether it is in their professional or personal life. The devices may range from smartphones and tablets to laptops and mini-computers. Given the huge number of travelers who research, review, and purchase travel destinations using mobile devices, agility and responsiveness in a travel agency's website and overall internet presence is of great importance. An agency with no such responsive design capabilities is likely to lose potential customers due to technological issues. The company can significantly damage its image and reputation if clients get the impression that it is not in touch with functional modern technology.

Smart users of mobile devices are forcing online travel agencies like TravelOnline to re-evaluate how they fully optimize mobile internet access. If a travel agency is to remain relevant and competitive in an increasingly digital industry, it has to fulfill a top priority. It has to integrate an effective booking and payment functionality into its mobile internet platforms. Potential clients should be able to access all its offers, packages and service with mobile devices and in a convenient manner. Mobile technology has made it possible for travelers to review travel destinations, book flights and hotels, and even order room service via handheld devices. Such enhanced access, visibility and control is a major win for the modern traveler, while presenting travel companies like TravelOnline with an opportunity for growth and expansion.

Conclusion

TravelOnline and other online travel agencies need to prepare themselves for future technological changes if they are to monitor and manage their IT. They must brace themselves for a new way of booking vacations and trips that no longer requires the presence of real-life travel agencies. They also need to look into big data, artificial and virtual intelligence for future business. It is clear that data is growing at a massive rate and will probably be doubling every two years in the next decade. The large amount of client data that travel agencies are in possession of can make a more pervasive analysis possible. TravelOnline can use this data to make credible predictions based on traveler behavioral information. Also, virtual intelligence assistants are increasingly being used in messaging applications and mobile devices. The company can use this technology to offer a genuinely on-demand service that makes travelers happier. Transformation in the travel industry is about ability to recognize client needs and responding to them as fast as possible. It is all about utilizing IT to make customers happier, grow revenues, and increase profits.

Bibliography

Lin, S.W., 2017. Identifying the critical success factors and an optimal solution for mobile technology adoption in travel agencies. International Journal of Tourism Research, 19(2), pp.127-144.

Wang, Y., So, K.K.F. and Sparks, B.A., 2017. Technology readiness and customer satisfaction with travel technologies: A cross-country investigation. Journal of Travel Research, 56(5), pp.563-577.

Xiang, Z., Magnini, V.P. and Fesenmaier, D.R., 2015. Information technology and consumer behavior in travel and tourism: Insights from travel planning using the internet. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 22, pp.244-249.