Raising Competitiveness for Tourist Destinations through Information Technologies within the Newest Tourism Action Framework Proposed by the European Commission

Ray F. Iunius, Laura Cismaru and Diana Foris
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Ray F. Iunius: École Hôtelière de Lausanne, Route de Cojonnex 18, Lausanne 1000, Switzerland
Laura Cismaru: Faculty of Food and Tourism, Transilvania University from Brașov, str. Castelului, nr. 148, 500014 Brașov, Romania
Diana Foris: Faculty of Food and Tourism, Transilvania University from Brașov, str. Castelului, nr. 148, 500014 Brașov, Romania

Sustainability, 2015, vol. 7, issue 9, 1-19

Abstract: Several challenges regarding the European tourism industry were recently identified at EU level which the experts of the European Commission tried to meet, thus formulating several priorities within the newest Tourism Action Framework: Stimulate long-term competitiveness in the European tourism sector, promote the development of sustainable and high-quality tourism, and consolidate the image and promotion of European tourist destinations. Due to the new generational context, information and communications technology ICT and innovation became keywords within the most recent European Tourism Policy. Considering the symbiotic relationship that exists at the European tourism level between sustainable development, innovative ICT solutions, and long-term competitiveness, the decision-makers in European destinations should focus on identifying innovative ways to implement the new Tourism Action Framework adopted by the European Commission, through ICT applications, in order to support long-term competitiveness achievement. Two such authentic proposals are formulated within the present discussion paper: the creation of a decision support system for the management of sustainable European destinations and the development of a trip-planner for quality-sensitive tourists based on an umbrella European certification/labeling system for tourism quality. There is still a fertile field in these areas and, therefore, more innovative ICT tools to support the long-term competitiveness of European tourist destinations can be developed.

Keywords: European action framework for tourism; long-term competitiveness; sustainability; innovative ICT tools; tourist destinations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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