Identificación y análisis de los criterios de cambios del sistema de distribución turístico asociados al uso intensivo de las tecnologías de la información y de la comunicación

There is unanimous acknowledgement in the literature in that information and communication technologies (ICT) can improve the effectiveness of cooperation between tour operators and help in the development of the tourism industry. However, there is no empirical research that supports the reduced uncertainty about the future structure of the sector resulting from the changes induced by ICT. The objective of this paper is to attempt to fill this gap, firstly by identifying the change criteria found in the research literature, and secondly, to apply the resulting theoretical framework using the data collected in a survey of tourism intermediaries.

Exploratory Factor Analysis provide evidence that the intensive use of ICT in the tourism production and distribution processes generate four types of changes that affect the tourism system structure. The evolution of the sector appears to be linked to a increase of direct channels, and to the positional changes of suppliers, intermediaries, and consumers.