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JHTT
5,1 ICT and sustainable tourism
development: an innovative
perspective
2
Alisha Ali
Sheffield Business School, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK, and
Received 13 December 2012
Revised 22 June 2013 Andrew J. Frew
Accepted 23 June 2013
School of Arts, Social Science and Management,
Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, UK

Abstract
Purpose – The aim of this research is to foreground information and communication technology
(ICT) as an innovative approach for sustainable tourism (ST) development of destinations. ICT is the
technology required for information processing which facilitates data processing, information sharing,
communication, searching and selection. This paper concentrates on the Abernathy and Clark model
and its usefulness in applying ICT as innovative in managing ST.
Design/methodology/approach – An online survey was administered to destination managers
and to eTourism experts. Destination managers were selected as they were identified as the person
responsible for the overall management of a Destination Management Organisation. eTourism experts
were identified as someone who possesses special expertise, knowledge and skills on ICT applications
to tourism and offered expertise on which ranged from such areas as electronic distribution,
recommender systems, user-generated content, online communities, mobile technology, technology
acceptance, tourism networks and Web 2.0. This was followed by semi-structured interviews.
Findings – These ICT tools were found to be innovative for information management and
distribution for critical decision-making. Innovation was fostered through the use of ICT for ST by
leading to a better understanding of the tourism product, monitoring, measuring and evaluating,
forecasting trends, developing partnerships and engaging and supporting stakeholder relationships.
ICT would provide novel ways of approaching marketing, energy monitoring, waste management, and
communication for destinations.
Originality/value – This research is important in demonstrating the value that technology can have
to ST and further develops the work on tourism innovation theory.
Keywords Innovation, ICT, Destination management, Sustainable tourism,
Information and communication technology, Destinations
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction
Information and communication technology (ICT) has become a critical element in the
modern tourism industry. It has fundamentally transformed the effectiveness and
efficiency of tourism organisations, the way they conduct business and consumer
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism interactions with stakeholders. ICT is the umbrella term, which refers to any product
Technology that stores, retrieves, manipulates, transmits and receives digital data and how these
Vol. 5 No. 1, 2014
pp. 2-16 differing applications work with each other (Buhalis, 2003). Buhalis and Law (2008)
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1757-9880
identified that the tourism industry has mainly focused on using ICT for consumer and
DOI 10.1108/JHTT-12-2012-0034 demand dimensions, technological innovations and industry functions. However, the
application of ICT for managing the sustainable tourism (ST) development of ICT and ST
destinations is one area which has been very largely ignored, in the academic literature. development
Tourism, like any economic activity, has produced detrimental environmental and
socio-economic effects (Becken and Patterson, 2006) which destroys its chief product, the
environment (Clarke, 1997). In the literature there is no shortage of examples of the
harmful consequences of tourism (Inskeep, 1991; Wall and Mathieson, 2006). Taken
collectively, the tourism industry has responded to these challenges by applying the 3
concept of sustainable development to tourism policy and planning, i.e. ST (Choi and
Sirakaya, 2006). ST has been regarded as a mechanism for achieving economic
development whilst protecting, preserving and enhancing the environment
(Swarbrooke, 1999).
Attempts have been made to apply the concept of ST by developing indicators and
monitoring (Lozano-Oyala et al., 2012; United Nations World Tourism Organisation,
2004), eco-labelling (Puhakka and Siikamaki, 2012), codes of conduct (Ayuso, 2007;
Ong et al., 2013), educating the tourist (Ballantyne and Packer, 2011) and other best
practices. However, most of these attempts have been identified with “lack of quality,
technical content, reliability, maturity, equity and effectiveness” (van der Duim and
van Marwijk, 2006, p. 449). The alternative developmental approaches such as green,
soft, responsible, community-based and eco-tourism have not been successful in
combating tourism’s negative impacts (Liu, 2003). It is agreed that ST is a valuable
concept but its implementation has resulted in difficulties (Wall and Mathieson, 2006;
Williams and Ponsford, 2009).
The aim of this research is to foreground ICT as an innovative approach for ST.
Specifically, it focuses on Abernathy and Clark (1985) model (Figure 1) and its
usefulness in applying ICT as being innovative in managing ST. This model was
theorised for tourism innovation by Hjalager (2002) and subsequently this influential
work has been well cited in the literature (Pikkemaat and Peters, 2006; Decelle, 2004).
Despite this theoretical influence, little research has been done to develop this proposed
model into further frameworks for tourism (Budeanu, 2012). The model can categorise
a wide-ranging collection of ICT-tools and to better understand their innovative uses
for ST. Classical innovation theories have much to offer tourism but there has been
limited research on these applications (Hjalager, 2002). This research therefore makes

Conserve/entrench
existing
competence

Regular innovations Niche innovations Disrupt

Conserve/ existing/
entrench creating
existing new
Revolutionary Architectural
linkages linkages
innovations innovations

Disrupt/make
Figure 1.
obsolete existing
Abernathy and Clark
competence
(1985) model
JHTT a contribution in developing tourism innovation theory, identified as research gap
5,1 (Hjalager, 2010). Conceptualising ICT as an innovative approach to solving some of the
ailments of ST can be a new way forward for the industry.

2. Literature review
Hall and Williams (2008) commented that tourism could be a commanding force for
4 driving innovation however research is in this domain is sparse and fragmented
(Hjalager, 2005). ICT is a critical catalyst for tourism innovation (European
Commission, 2009; Hjalager, 2010) but destinations have not yet embraced the
power of ICT to connect innovation for tourism planning (Racherla et al., 2008).
According to Schumpeter (1939) innovation is aligned to a new good, new quality
product, new methods of production, new markets or marketing and new
organisational or management. The innovative idea has to be fused with a product,
process or service for specific industry uses. The word “newness” is often closely
aligned with innovation. However, it does not have to be totally new but rather only
new to the market or the industry to be considered innovative (Sundbo, 1998). ICT is
not new to tourism but rather its applications to ST are and therefore this viewpoint
will be adopted.
A search of the literature (Bahaire and Elliott-White, 1999; Buhalis, 2003; Lawson,
2006) identified a number of ICT-based tools which can be used for managing ST.
These are identified in Table I.
Abernathy and Clark (1985) (Figure 1) developed a model for analysing the
competitive implications of innovation based on the concept of transilience and this
model, explained for the automobile sector, can be generalised for other sectors such as
tourism. This model categorised innovation in two dimensions, market knowledge and
technological capabilities of the firm. The horizontal axis of the model identifies
whether specific innovation leads to existing business linkages being either obsolete or
cemented, whilst the vertical axis identifies the knowledge and competences needed for
producing the product or service. After the occurrence of an innovation, the model
differentiates between the preservation or destruction of market knowledge and the
ability of the firm to develop the product or service due to the innovation. The
horizontal axis of the model identifies if particular innovations render current business
linkages obsolete or lead to enhancement of these existing linkages. On the other hand,
the vertical axis recognises the knowledge and competence used for the production of
goods and services.
Regular, niche, revolutionary and architectural innovation can be achieved through
a permutation of technological capabilities and market knowledge. The effects of
regular innovations are usually indiscernible but over a period of time this cumulates
and the impact can be substantial whilst niche innovations build on established
structures but not the existing competences (Abernathy and Clark, 1985; Hjalager,
2002). It therefore augments the technological capabilities but makes obsolete market
capabilities. Revolutionary innovations disrupt the existing competences and leads to
radical consequences with the existing structures remaining unchanged (Abernathy
and Clark, 1985; Hjalager, 2002). Lastly, architectural innovation is wide-ranging since
it not only involves transformations to the industry but also the environment or
community in which it will be used (Hjalager, 2002). It therefore shapes a new
architecture for the industry.

ICT-based tools
Carbon calculator
Community informatics
Computer simulation
Destination management system
Economic impact analysis software
Environment management information
systems
Geographical information systems
Global positioning system
Intelligent transport system
Location-based services
Tourism information system
Virtual tourism
Weather, climate and ocean change
forecasting software
Source: Adapted from Ali and Frew (2010)
ICT and ST
Definition
development
Used to determine carbon emissions based on the type
and amount of energy consumed. The result of this
calculation is known as the carbon footprint and is
measured in tonnes of CO2
Focuses on the design and delivery of technological 5
applications for enhancing community participation and
development through the use of e-mail, bulleting boards
and networks all based on the internet
A simulation of real world settings where models are
designed to depict how a system operates over time
A system that consolidates and distributes a
comprehensive range of tourism products through a
variety of channels and platforms
Software used to monitor the economic impacts of
tourism by providing information on the type and
amount of spending
A combination of computer hardware, software, and
professional services that integrates disparate
information about environmental issues in order to
manage the environmental function within an
organisation. This systematically gathers, analyses and
reports business information related to environmental
management such as waste tracking and emissions
monitoring. It allows a company to track, refine, and
improve its environmental management practice
An information system that can capture, store, manage,
manipulate, analyse, integrate and display large
amounts of geographical data
Satellite-based navigation system that provides
positioning, navigation and timing services to users in
any weather conditions around the world 24 hours a day
Telematic systems which provide detailed information
on traffic, information from independent locations,
traffic guidance and dynamic routing
Collects and delivers information to and from a mobile
device depending on the automatic location of the user.
The aim is to provide targeted information to the user
based on his/her geographic location. Such information
include but is not limited to places to visit, eat and stay
as well as emergency and health services
Data warehouses that manage business critical
information in order to provide quality information on
hand to assist in decision making by serving as a
decision support system for destination managers
Based on the internet anyone can experience the culture,
history and other points of tourist interests in a visual and
interactive manner without actually visiting the destination
Software used to monitor changes in the weather,
climate and ocean Table I.
Summary of ICT-based
tools for ST development
JHTT Moreover, this model focuses on the type of innovation that accompanies the
5,1 introduction of technology. This is ideally suited to this research, which looks at the
applications of technology for ST. Regular innovations will exist with ICT-based
tools/applications since their impacts will seem insignificant but over a considerable
period of time this impact builds up and plays a huge role in sustaining the tourism
industry. These innovations can includes new investments in existing technology in
6 support of ST. Niche type innovations will be created with the use of ICT for
sustainability by strengthening the existing structures. Revolutionary innovations will
occur when the types of ICT-based tools used for ST have a disruptive effect on the
competence of how sustainability is managed. This is accomplished by transforming
the current methods to managing ST, making some of these approaches obsolete and in
the long-term change how tourism is managed overall. Architectural innovation
will occur through the use of ICT for ST since it will change the existing ways in
which this is manage and will open up new market linkages and users. This is
characteristic of the creation of new industries and the reformation of old ones.
There are a number of ICT-based tools for ST (Table I) and Abernathy and Clark’s
(1985) research provides a functional classification and a better understanding of the
types of innovation and therefore will be useful in classifying these ICT applications
for ST at both a micro and macro level. Additionally, this model focused on the types of
innovation rather than the behaviour of firms in the innovating process. The intent is
therefore to develop concepts that may prove useful in incorporating ICT in the
struggle to make ST more achievable.
The Abernathy and Clark (1985) model is not without it critics, for example the
model has been challenged for being overly static as well as underrating the impact on
innovation produced by existing technologies. Tourism is a dynamic and ever-changing
and part of this apparent inflexibility can be reduced by understanding how this model
works in application to this vibrant industry. Additionally, this research did not
concentrate on developing new technologies but rather examining what already exist
and how these ICT-tools can be adapted for managing the ST of destinations. Thus,
while no model is flawless, in practice this model aids in constructing a useful
framework for addressing ICT as an innovative approach to ST.

3. Methodology
An interpretivist perspective was selected as the most suitable approach for this
research based on the limited extant theoretical and empirical research, the
inventiveness of ICT-ST as a research field and exploratory nature of this study.
According to Blaxter et al. (2001), research which is or lacks empiricism is best suited
to be inductive. Please see the Appendix for a more detailed discussion on the choice
of this approach.
Data was collected and analysed from two populations. The first had a defining
interest in making ST a more workable reality and these were destination managers
who were identified as the persons responsible for the overall management of a
Destination Management Organisation (DMO). The DMO is responsible for the holistic
management of tourism at the destination, which encompasses tourism development,
planning and marketing activities. The researchers understand that destinations exist
which are not managed by a DMO but may be managed by a government ministry,
a local body, a private entity or some other type of arrangement. The person(s) charged
with the responsibility of managing these entities can indeed be identified as ICT and ST
destination managers. For this research, boundaries were important in giving the development
project direction and making this work achievable.
The second population under investigation was eTourism experts identified as
someone who possesses expertise, knowledge and skills on the application of ICT to
tourism. Examples of such were individuals involved in researching, teaching, using
and implementing ICT in the tourism industry. They offered expertise which ranged 7
from such areas as electronic distribution, recommender systems, user generated
content, online communities, mobile technology, technology acceptance, tourism
networks, Web 2.0 and context awareness. They were surveyed since they are forefront
in researching the latest, cutting-edge applications of ICT for tourism and therefore
were instrumental in identifying how ICT would be innovative for ST.
The research methods employed were an online questionnaire supplemented by
semi-structured interviews. These methods complemented rather than competed with
each other (Bryman, 2004) with the literature displaying support for the use of a
multi-method approach (Newman, 2004; Bryman and Bell, 2007) and allowed for
triangulation of the collected data and a more thorough understanding of the research
problem under investigation (Bryman, 2004; Bryman and Bell, 2007). This combined
approach offered the benefits of identifying respondents who possessed knowledge of
the topic and the responses provided the underpinning for the issues to be explored in
the interview. The interviews offered scope for more in-depth exploration of issues.
Care was taken in the design of the questionnaire to clearly define the information
being sought. It was developed in consultation with the literature on ICT, ST,
innovation, Abernathy and Clark (1985) and Hjalager (2002) research and these main
constructs were operationalised. A panel of experts, which consisted of a survey
authority and leading academics, reviewed the instrument. A pilot test was then
conducted to determine the suitableness of the questionnaires and test for content
validity, relevancy and under-representation of the research topic being studied. This
pilot test also determined if the respondents understood the instructions and gauged
the length of time taken to answer the questionnaires (Newman, 2004). Criterion and
construct validity were determined by the review of the questionnaires by a panel of
experts and the pilot test. External validity was achieved through the sampling
procedures discussed below. This ensured that the sample was representative of the
population being surveyed. Reliability was achieved though documentation from the
pilot study and the thorough design of the questions by ensuring clear
conceptualisation of construct. The questionnaire was structured using the “funnel”
technique.
For each of the populations being surveyed, a database was obtained that was
thought to be representative of them. This database of destination managers was
obtained from a leading tourism consultancy and for the eTourism experts from
the international organisation specialising in the exchange and development of
knowledge on eTourism. These respondents were sent an e-mail by the heads of these
organisations explaining the nature of the survey and asking for participation. The
researchers recognised that there may be destination managers and eTourism experts
who were not included in these databases. However, these databases were a
representative cross-section of the respondents under investigation and there were no
other comprehensive listings of members of these two groups.
JHTT There were 434 DMOs active in the database obtained and 37 valid responses were
5,1 received, yielding a response rate of 9 per cent. From a database of 202 eTourism
experts, 23 valid responses were received, this yielding a response rate of 11 per cent.
Even though these response rates were low they were by no means extraordinary as
Weimiao and Zheng (2010) reported that online surveys average a response rate of
11 per cent whilst Sivo et al. (2006) identified that high profile IS journals have reported
8 response rates as low as 3 per cent. Sheehan (2002) observed that a large number of
responses cannot guarantee generalisation of results and the aim of this survey was
not generalisability but rather gaining a greater understanding of the issues to be later
investigated in the interviews. Appropriate measures were adopted to minimise
non-responses by through two rounds of reminder e-mails and by following the
procedures outlined in Weimiao and Zheng (2010). The non-responses did not differ
significantly from those who did respond and hence did not impact on the
representativeness of the findings. Therefore, the responses must be interpreted in
light of the purpose of this research.
Sequential sampling was used to select those participants for the semi-structured
interviews. This approach was appropriately matched to exploratory research and best
used when the researcher wants to discriminate the type of respondents required
(Cooper and Schindler, 2003). Thirteen expert interviews were conducted and this
number was based on reaching saturation point. It is argued that ten cases are
adequate in developing themes and concepts from qualitative data (Eisenhardt, 1989).
The data from the questionnaires were coded and entered into SPSS and analysed
using cross tabulations and descriptive statistics since this provides a simple yet
rigorous way of arranging the data and presenting the results (Denscombe, 2007).
Complex statistical analysis was not suited to the data set due to the nature of
the study, size of the sample and the categorical nature of the data. Perhaps more
sophisticated statistical techniques could have been used, however, because of the
small number of responses, the data being largely categorical consisting of questions
with categories which were mainly nominal and ordinal in nature and the exploratory,
inductive nature of this research it was felt best to keep the analysis simple.
Each interview was transcribed verbatim upon completion. Adopting an inductive
approach by using the text of the voice of the interviewees, the interviews were first
broken down into broad categories and then organised into themes based on the
findings of the literature review. Peräkylä (2005) observed that such an approach is the
most appropriate choice where the qualitative text plays a complementary role rather
than being the heart of the research.

4. Results and discussion

The results demonstrated that destinations were in different stages of ICT usage as
some were more advanced than others. This provided a different categorisation of
ICT-tools uses for ST validating that innovation for one destination may not be the
same for another (Abernathy and Clark, 1985). The majority of DMOs (56 per cent)
surveyed strongly agreed that ICT is an innovative approach for ST (Figure 2). This
aligns closely with the results of the eTourism experts with most agreeing (strongly
agree 39 per cent, agree 49 per cent) as seen in Figure 3.
ICT was seen to be innovative for information management and distribution for
critical decision-making. Innovation would be fostered by leading to a better
 Undecided Strongly ICT and ST
3% disagree 3% development

9
Agree
38%

Figure 2.
ICT – an innovative
Strongly
approach to ST
agree 56%
development – destination
managers

Disagree Strongly
4% disagree 4%

Undecided
4%

Strongly
agree 39%

Figure 3.
ICT – an innovative
Agree approach to ST
49% development – eTourism
experts

understanding of the tourism product, monitoring of the destination, measuring and

evaluating, forecasting trends, developing partnerships and engaging and supporting
stakeholder relationships. ICT would provide novel ways of approaching marketing,
energy monitoring, waste management, and communication for destinations.
All respondents were also asked to examine the uses of these ICT-based
tools/applications in relation to the modified version of the Abernathy and Clark (1985)
model presented earlier. Figure 4 presents a classification of these tools combining the
results of the expert interviews and the findings from the questionnaire. Both DMS and
tourism information system (TIS) were identified as regular, niche and architectural
innovations. A destination already engaging with a DMS and a TIS would view these
tools for ST as primarily a new investment which the DMO already possess,
JHTT
Conserve/
5,1 entrench
existing
competence

10
Regular innovations
Computer Simulation
Destination Management
System Location Based
Services Software
Tourism Information System
Conserve/
entrench
existing
linkages Revolutionary innovations
Community Informatics
Computer Simulation
Environment Management
Information System
Location Based Services
Niche innovations
Carbon Calculator
Community Informatics
Computer Simulation
Destination Management System
Geographical Information System
Global Positioning System
Location Based Services
Tourism Information System Disrupt
existing/
creating new
Architectural innovations linkages
Destination Management System
Geographical Information System
Intelligent Transport System
Location Based Services
Tourism Information System
Virtual Tourism

Figure 4.
Classification of
ICT-based Disrupt/make
tools/applications based obsolete
on the Abernathy and existing
Clark (1985) model competence

i.e. regular innovation. A destination which has never engaged with a DMS or a TIS, will
consider this as a change to the way ST and the overall tourism industry is managed. It
would help manage the tourism resource inventory, support small and medium
enterprises and engage the community in tourism development, i.e. architectural
innovation. New sectors can be created through the use of ICT for ST such as novel types
of tourism promoted through the DMS or through community involvement. The use of
TIS can alter the shape of the industry by providing destination managers with critical
information by standardising tourism statistics. Such standardisation is important
since this is needed for measuring the enormity of tourism impacts, assisting in the
tourism planning process, aiding in possible creation of new sectors or transforming
old ones and for marketing and promotion of the destination (Wöber, 2000).
These tools were also determined to be niche innovations. This classification aligned
with some of the uses a DMS discussed prior. DMS can be used to create new businesses
by forming partnerships and alliances and fostering greater co-operation and
communication. By extending its uses for ST, a DMS can offer creative products such
as providing a web space where the community and the visitor can interact, offering an
avenue for the community to consult on proposed tourism plans and projects, supply
sensitisation information to the tourists for better interpretation of the destination and ICT and ST
encouraging more sustainable behaviours and attitudes at the destination. development
Location-based services (LBS) was identified in all four categories of innovation.
This perhaps indicated that LBS potentially has the power to transform the entire
industry with its usage for ST. With LBS, destination managers can create innovative
experiences for the tourist at each stage of their travel experience by providing them
with information on a variety of activities relevant to their needs (Liburd, 2005). LBS 11
was perhaps denoted to be a regular innovation because some destinations are already
using this tool for marketing and promotion (Sharda et al., 2006). The use of LBS is
adding an ICT dimension to the existing approaches for managing ST such as visitor
management techniques and tourist education. It can be a niche innovation since it is
facilitates greater co-operation amongst stakeholders in promoting the destination in
creative ways for tourists. LBS can be a revolutionary innovation since it can have a
transformative effect by presenting new opportunities for destinations to be more
sustainable by reducing the level of printed materials and providing information to
tourists whilst on holiday. It is also architectural since it plays a pivotal role in not only
how ST is managed but also how tourism is managed from the uses and applications
discussed earlier. Destination managers will now have the power to communicate
seamlessly with the tourist whilst they can share and exchange information with the
local community and other travellers. Developing consumer-centric technology such as
LBS has been identified as critically important for DMOs (Buhalis and Law, 2008) as
this builds rich and rewarding experiences, which considers the environment
(Racherla et al., 2008).
Computer simulation was identified as being regular, niche and revolutionary but not
an architectural innovation. This can be attributed to the different stages of destination
development. However, it was not seen as an architectural innovation because the main
uses were modelling, simulating and depicting changes or future scenarios. This is quite
important for making the right decisions with regards to ST but this ICT-tool may not
have the ability to create new markets or new sectors or transform the way the tourism
industry is managed. geographical information system (GIS) was seen as both a niche
and architectural innovation. It can be classified as a niche innovation because it can
open up new market opportunities through the identification of sites and attractions
suitable for tourism development, best routes to use at the destination and provide better
ways of monitoring indicators at the destination. GIS was also identified as being an
architectural innovation since it has the power to change the way in which tourism is
managed. New linkages are created by involving the community and by forming
partnerships to collect data to feed into the system. Through proper analysis of the data,
destination managers can make more informed decisions which can create new types of
tourism products and services, rejuvenate old sites and attractions and improve parts of
the destinations which are suitable for development and protect those which are not. It
can also demonstrate to the community that the DMO is serious about tourism
development hence having an architectural innovation impact. Community informatics
was identified as both a niche and a revolutionary innovation. It was classified as a niche
innovation since it opens up collaboration and co-operation with different community
groups to share information and contribute to the tourism development process. It was
identified as a revolutionary innovation since it can transform how the community is
consulted in tourism matters, allow the community to play a leading role in destination
JHTT development, help educate the tourists and preserve heritage and traditions. Even
5,1 though community participation is deemed to be important for ST, this rarely occurs in
practice (Cole, 2006).
The ICT-tools, which were rated in one category, were environment management
information system (EMIS), which was identified as a revolutionary innovation,
software (economic impact analysis and weather, climate and ocean change
12 forecasting) which was seen as a regular innovation. Global positioning systems
and carbon calculators were both identified as niche innovations and intelligent
transport system and virtual tourism as architectural innovations. EMIS may have
been rated as a revolutionary innovation since many destinations are aware of the uses
of an environmental management system (Lee, 2001) but they have limited knowledge
on the ICT aspect of this. EMIS can assist sustainability by monitoring emissions and
waste management. This leads to sounder decision making and aids in current
approaches such as carrying capacity and indicator development. Similarly, software
was identified as a niche innovation since all destinations are already using software
for their everyday uses and, therefore, it is a new investment in already existing
technology. It also adds an ICT dimension for the methods currently used to monitor
the economic impacts of tourism at the destination. Intelligent transport system and
virtual tourism were identified as architectural innovation since they do possess the
elements to transform the way tourism is managed. If a proper intelligent transport
system is implemented, then destinations will be able to manage their energy
consumption and contribute positively to the environment. There is the lingering
question as to whether virtual tourism will replace travel (Teo, 2002). A likely trend
that may emerge is that more people may be keen to participate in a virtual holiday
(Guttentag, 2010). Large virtual communities exist with many tourism businesses
already having a presence in virtual worlds such as Second Life. DMOs can create
stimulating online experiences combined with rich media with well-constructed
narratives to guide the tourist through the destination and allow them to share this
experience with others without physical travel.
Abernathy and Clark (1985) discussed that successful use of the different types of
innovation requires different types of organisational and managerial skills. DMOs do
possess these capabilities since in recent times their roles have been increasing from
just a marketing function to overall management of tourism destinations (Ritchie and
Crouch, 2003). From the multiple classifications of these ICT-based tools/applications,
it is evident that DMOs have to become technology experts and become
generalist-specialist in how they manage their destinations. It should be noted this
modified version of the Abernathy and Clark (1985) model needs to be debated and
tested for its ability to innovate tourism. As it stands, the model is still conceptual and
until these ICT-based tools are implemented by DMOs, only then can this model be
tested and accepted.

5. Conclusions and future work

Tourism, like any other industry, must strive to innovate for survival in an
ever-growing competitive market environment. Innovation research in tourism is still
in its infancy and this work sought to progress its development. Addressing the
age-old question of how to make the tourism industry more sustainable, it approached
this challenge by not focusing on the existing debates and the current approaches for
managing ST but rather suggesting a new strategy through the use of ICT. Moreover, ICT and ST
it sought to extend the research in eTourism beyond web marketing, distribution, development
social networking, virtual communities and consumers’ use of the technology and
identified a new stream of research for the ST literature.
This research has developed ICT as an innovative approach in managing the ST of
destinations through the use of the Abernathy and Clark (1985) model as seen in
Figure 4. It has identified the types of innovations each of these ICT-based 13
tools/applications can produce for destinations. The Abernathy and Clark (1985) model
is based on the concept of transilience which is the ability of the innovation to influence
the firms’ resources, skills and knowledge. This model was based on the premise of
how firms increase their competitive advantage in the marketplace. This research did
not focus on competition in order to set boundaries, make the work manageable and to
be able to complete it in a set time frame. However, this does not exclude the
researchers from recognising that the creative use of ICT for ST can provide
destinations with a competitive advantage. This in itself contributes to ST by leading
to economic benefits for destinations. It was evident that some ICT-tools can be
grouped under more than one categorisations of innovation.
The next phase of this research is testing this model with DMOs using ICT for ST
for improvement and refinement. For this approach to be innovative, decision makers
not only need to know the ICT-based tools/applications which can be used, but also
need to know what ICT-based tools/applications are available and how best to make
use of them for their particular needs (Fache, 2000). Decision-makers would be offered
no practical benefit if they were only to be made aware of these tools and rather a
systematic framework is essential in helping destinations select the best ICT-tools for
them based on their particular needs relating to tourism development. Therefore,
further exploration is warranted in taking forward this avenue and ultimately perhaps
providing an expert-system to aid decision-making.
A further area of research would be to look at the application of ICT from the
perspective of the individual tourism businesses at the destination rather than the
perspective of the DMO. The consumer perspective and their motivations to visit a
destination engaging with technology for assisting the destination to become more
sustainable can also be considered. It might also be worthwhile to explore how
consumers make use of the internet in promotion of the principles for ST development.
It is hoped that the work presented here has laid the groundwork for progression of the
applications of ICT in ST and will be of direct relevance to both industry and research.

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Appendix. Further explanation of the research approach

The researchers were concerned with the understanding of the worldview of the populations
being investigated (Newman, 2004). This was important for gaining an accurate representation
of the innovative uses and applications of ICT for ST. An interpretivist perspective was therefore
warranted in understanding destination managers and eTourism experts’ opinions and
perspectives on the innovative uses of ICT for ST. An interpretive stance would bring forth data
that was not constrained by fixed, analytical categories and would allow the researcher to visit
and re-visit the linkages between the data and the theory. Interpretation, rather than statistical
analysis, was better suited to researching respondents’ perceptions, attitudes and feelings
(Denscombe, 2003).
Added to this, to answer the research questions posed; information was required from a large
number of experts based at various geographic locations all over the world. Due to the
international scope of this research, a more flexible and open-ended approach was more desirable
to elicit the required information. Moreover, Saunders et al. (2007) observed that an interpretivist
perspective is best suited to a piece of research when the researcher has empathy and
understanding of the topic under investigation. Each DMO and eTourism expert possess his/her
own individuality on the innovative use of ICT for managing ST.

About the authors

Alisha Ali is a Senior Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University where she teaches in the areas of
leadership, entrepreneurship, innovation, service excellence and focuses on the specific
applications of these concepts to the hospitality industry. Current research interest includes
computer-mediated sustainability for destinations and tourism businesses. Alisha Ali is the
corresponding author and can be contacted at: Alisha.Ali@shu.ac.uk
Professor Andrew J. Frew is a leading expert in eTourism. He has been active in the
hospitality and tourism fields for the past 25 years specialising in the research, application and
management implications of information and communication technologies. He has published
widely, presented in numerous international forums and is a regular keynote speaker on trends
in ICT research in travel and tourism. Current research interests include electronic distribution,
new media and computer-mediated sustainability.

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