INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) AS AN INNOVATIVE TOOL IN TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

TNFORMATION TtrCHNOLOGY (IT)

ASAN INI\OVATIVE TOOL

IN TOURISM DEVELOPME,NT

Rosilnrunti

Znirtol

A B S T R A C T

Many innovative tools have been invented to assist humankincl in their daily life.

One of the great inventions is information technology (IT) IT has changed manv aspects of humankind and their lifestyle today. Ever since its inception, man's reliance

on information technology is vital to his existence. Those who have not ttsed IT are

being left behind. The Internet as the catalyst of IT has made transfers of informatiorr

f a s t e r t h a n a n y o n e c o r - r l d im a g i n e j r - r s t a d e c a d e a g o . I n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y innovaticrns have improved man's quality of life, in work and leisure. In the tourism

sector of Malaysia, information technology and the Internet are two main elements

in prospering the country. The country is rich in diverse tottrism prodr-tcts which are

available nationwide. The numbers of international and domestic tourists visiting

are consistently increasing yearly. IT and the Internet have played a major role in facilitating this sllrge in visitations. Today many Malaysian tottrist attractions are

a v a i l a b l e o n t h e w e b . H o w e v e r , I T u s a g e i s n o t l i m i t e d t o p r o m o t i n g t o t r r i s t s '

attractions and disseminating information but also in planning, development and

assessment. Furthermore, the current tourists' attractions need to be managed and

a s s e s s e d r e g u l a r l y a n d I T t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e I n t e r n e t c a n a s s i s t i n a c h i e v i n g t h i s

g o a l . T h u s , t h e p t r r p o s e o f t h i s p a p e r i s t o s u g g e s t w h a t I T a n d t h e I n t e m e t h a s

c o n t r i b u t e d a n d c o n t i n u e s t o c o n t r i b u t e i n d i f f e r e n t p h a s e s o f t h e t o u r i s m s e c t o r . T h e s t u d y v i e w s d i f f e r e n t a p p r o a c h e s i n w h i c h I T a n d t h e I n t e r n e t c a n p l ; r y i n

moving towards sustainable tourism development.

INTRODUCTION

The world evolves and everything that exists does so similarly. Almost one

lrtrndred and thirty years ago in 1876 Alexander Graham Bell invented the

"electrical speech machine" or the telephone to assist

people who had hearing

p r o b l e m s . H e n e v e r i m a g i n e d t h a t t o d a y h i s c r e a t i o n h a s t u r n e d i n t o

A-lex;rnder Graham Bell, a

Scotsm;rn and speech

ther:rpist

interested in the educ:rtion of deaf people

Fax

" Dtt't'

,/r/

-/

3c

(on" / '/

s_.,

Mobile Telep

Video

lnti, Bilnngntt 70, Disctttbtr 2005

Figure 1: Evolution of Communication

The same goes rt'ith the size of a personal computer. In \946,20,000

vacutlm tubes occupying a big room were required to run a compllter.2

Figure

2 slrows the first computer called ENIAC I built in 7946.

Sixty years later the

size of a personal

computer is rniniaturised

that it can be carried on the pahn

of yotrr hand. Figure 3 shows a personal computer of 2005.

I

Ros i I niLtn t i - I t t.f o r t t t n t i o r t'[' cc] t t t ol ogtl ( IT )

4"::2t iii!,

n, :*_i&4'.,1

Figure 3: Personal comptrter in the yearr

2004 (Pocket PC PDA Phone)

In addition, advancemerrts

in LCD technology

are beginning to replace

the olcler

CRT monitors. Humankincl

being the dominant species

of this planet

has sttrvivecl

clue to inventiveness

and creativity in creating tools to improve

the cluality of life.

COMPUTER,

INTERNET AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Computing technology r,r,as

first developed to assist

humankind in processing

rnathematical problems.a

As it der.eloped,

man has enhanced tl-re

computer

Irardware from a gigantic size into miniature stze. Then the idea of sharing

of infonnation vi.r collaboration

came into picture.

The precllrsor to the Internet, ARPANET r,r'as

a large wide-trrea

network

crerrted

by bhe United States Dc.fence

Advanced Research

Project Agencl,

( A R P A ) . E s t a b l i s h e d

i n \ 9 6 9 , A R P A N E T s e r v e d a s a t e s t b e d f o r n e w

netvvorking technologies,

linking many universities and researcir

centres.s

The first two nodes that forrned the ARPANET were UCLA and tire Stanford

Researrch

lnstitute, followed shortlv thereafter by tlre University of Utah. As

technology improved, mankind contintres enhancing Internet usability. The

rnarriage of comptrting technologv trnd the Internet, Information Technology,

which is also knor,r'n

as IT, came into the picture.

('

Information technology has proven its capabilities

as reflected by its

definitiorr. As clefirrecl

by San Diego State Unirrersity,

information technology,

" i n c l t t c l e ' s a l l m ; ' r t t c r s c o n c e r n e c l w i t h t h e f u r t h e r r l n c e o f c o m p u t c r

science ancl technologv and .,r'itl-r the design, development, insLallation,

a n c l i m p l e r n e n t a r t i o n o f i n f o r m a t i o n s y s t e m s a n d a p p i i c a t i o n s . I n f o r r n a t i o n t c c h r r o l o g y a r c h i t e c t t r r e i s a n i n t e g r a t e d f r a r n e r t ' o r k f o r a c q r , r i r i n e a r r r l e v o l v i n g I T t o a c h i e v c s t r a t e g i c g o a l s . I t i r a s b o t h l o g i c a l a n c - l te c l ' r n i c a l c o m p o n e n t s . L o g i c a l c o m p r o n e n t s i n c l u d e n r i s s i o n , f t t n c t i o n a l a n d i n f o r m a t i o r r r e q u i r e m e n t s , s y s t e m c o n f i g t r r a t i o n s , a n d i n f o r m a t i o n f l o r v s . T e c h n i c a l c o m p o n e n t s i n c l u d e I T s t a n d a r d s a n d

*;'

tr

'

,:.;'l-.t:';l\ , a

:, ₁

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lnti, Bilnttgnrt 10, Disatttltar 2005

Today, ir-rformatiorr technology plays major roles in many areas which i n c l t r d e m a n a g e l n e n t , b t r s i n e s s , commerce, education ar-rd tourism. It has a s s i s t e d m a n k i n c l i n c l e c i s i o n m a k i n g a n d e n h a n c e d h t r m a n c a p a b i l i t i e s i n c o m p l e t i n g h i s t a s k s s o o n e r t h a n e x p e c t e d .

T h e I n t e r " n e t h a s c x p e c l i t e d t h e p r o g r e s s o f t h e i n f o r r n a t i o n t e c h r r o l o g y .

O r i g i n a l l y c i e s i g u e c - l a s a r 1 a l t e r n a t i v e c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n c l a t o o l f o r

c o l l z t b o r e r t i v e e r f f o r t s b e t r ' r , e e n s e l e c t e d u n i v e r s i t i e s , i t h a s f l o t r r i s h e c l t o b e

s o L r r c e o f i r r f o r m . r t i o n a r r d c o l l a b o r a t i o n i n t h e v r r o r l d s o c i e t i e s to d a v . A s o c i e t y

u ' i t l ' r o t r t t h e I r r t e r n e t i s a n i s o l a t e c l s o c i e t y . T h e I n t e r n e t w h i c h originally prornoted the trse of open commrlnication tools via ftp (file transfer protocol), a n t - l o p e n c o m n l u n i c a t i o n s p r o t o c o l i . e . T C P / I P ( t r a n s f e r c o n t r o l protocol/

irrternet protocol) a'rncl telnet, r,r'as further enhanced technology-n'ise by Tim

Bertrers Lee by creating the World Wide Webs popularly known as "\^/\ /\,v". T h e W o r l d W i c l e W e b i s equipped with multimedia technology anc-h a s t r t t r a c t e d r n a n y s e c t o r s t o u s e i t f o r m a r k e t i r l g p l r r p o s e s . N o t o n l v t anc-h a t , i t

has irlso createcl thc n,orld to Lre a Lrorderless n'orlc1, also knorvn zrs cyberspace.

In the last dec;-rcles of the 19rr' centur1,, inrrentors \,vere busy irrventing machines

t o a s s i s t m a l n k i n d i n t h e i r l i v e s . T o d a y i n f o r m a t i o n a n d k n o w l e d g e s h a r i n g i s t h e k e y t o l i v i n g i n t h e 2 1 ' t c e n t n r \ , .

BENEFITS

OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOCY

There are rnanr,' benefits that can be obtained from information techrrology.

T h o t t s a t r c l s _{o f )rcars ago, the'uvorld experienced tl-re Metal Ag", Ice Age, and}

I n r - l t r s t r i a l A g e . T o r l a y , i t i s I n f o r m a t i o n A g " . l n f o r m a t i o n i s v i t a l t o c l a y a n d

c v c r v s o c i e t y i n t h e w o r l c l r e q u i r e s i t f o r s t r r v i v a l . K n o w l e d g e c a n b e d i s s e m i n a t e c l t h r o u g h i n f o r m a t i o n . T h e r e f o r e s h a r i n g i n f o r m a t i o n i s r r i t a l i n t o c l a l , ' 5 s o c i e t v . I r r f o r m a t i o r r t e c h n o l o g y p r o m o t e s i n f o r m a t i o n s h a r i n g . W i t h t h e a v a i l a b i l i t t , o f t h e I n t e r n e t , i n f o n n a t i o n c a n b e s h a r e d b e y o n d b o u n d a r i e s . "

M a l a y s i a r , t ' i t h t h e f o r e s i g h t o f i t s l e a d e r s e m b r a c e d i n f o r m a t i o n technology in the late 90s rvith the setting up of Jaring as the first internet

s e r v i c e p r o v i d e r ( l S P ) . T h e s e r v i c e r , r , a s o p e n e c l .for public trse in 1998 with

Ro s i I nu n t i - I r t.fo rt r n t i o r t T e cl u rc I o gt1 ( IT )

Table 1: Internet Dial-up Subscriptions

rr

Source: Malatrsian

Cornmunication

and Multirnedia

Cornrnission,

With the current knowledge possessed

by Malaysians in IT, information

abotrt Malaysia can be disserninated

to the n'orld. New ideas will emerge

and Malaysians with different background cornbined with knowledge in IT,

will be able to produce creative web-sites in promoting Malaysia as tourist

d e s t i n a t i o n .

T;rble 2 shows the subscriptions

throtrgh broadband. The nttmber of

subscribers

has increased

tremerrdously.r2

With the availability of broadband

facilities,

multimedia presentations

can be wired to the ar"rdience.

This shows

that Malaysians' technological

knowleclge

can be leveraged

with those from

the cleveloped countries.

Internet dial-up subscrip tions

Year _Quarter Interne d i a l - u p

T o t a l ( ' 0 0 0 )

Crowth rate

Perretration rate

Estimated ntrmber of rlsers ('000)

7998

4 0 5

9 7 . 6

1 . 8

1999 6 6 8 6 4 . 9

2 . 9

2,004

2 0 0 0

7 , 6 5 9

7 . 1

2 0 0 1

L l . a 8 . 8

6,345

2002

2 , 6 7 1

23.7

i 0 . 5

7,842

2 0 0 3

2,881

70.2

77.4

8,643

2 0 0 3

2,679

2 . 5

1 0 . 8

8,037

2

_{r . 9}

8,r87

3

8,526

1

2 , B E i

2004

1

3,739

8 , 7

72.4

9,477

2

3,777

_12.2

_9,357

a J

- 1 - 1

1 t / l 1 . 7 ' l a a_{) - z . J}

9,573

T

5 . 6

72.7

9,879

2 0 0 5

3,139

1,0,317

2

3 , 5 7 0

3 . 8

..|

J

a / - 1

Jnti, Bilnrtgrur 70, Disatrr|tar 2005

Table 2: Broadband Subscriptions

Source: Malavsian Cr>rnrnunication arrd Muitimedia Cornmrsston

I n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y p r o m o t e s p a p e r l e s s s 1 ' s t e t n s . It h a s t h e c a p a b i l i t y t o e l i m i n a t e p a p e r w a s t e a n d h a s m a d e m a n k i n d t o b e m o r e c o n c e r n e d a b o t r t t h e r r a t u r a l e n v i r o n m e n t . L e s s g a r b a g e , l e s s s t o r a g e o f p a p e r s , l n o r e s p a c e , a r r d m o r e e n v i r o n m e n t a l f r i e n d l y s c e n a r i o p r o r n o t e s healthier society. Therefore it fits the drive in promoting sustainable tottrism develop-rment.

I n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y p r o m o t e s e f f i c i e n c y . ' t C e n t u r i e s a E o , m a p m a k i n g w a : d o n e m a n l r a l l y . E v e r y m a p d r a w n w a s f o r a s p e c i f i c p t r r p o s e . With IT, rnaps carn be clrawn and producer-l digitally and shared by many. Figure 4 shows the evolution of map drawing. From a Fraper-trased, maps can be redrawn into digital svstern. The latter enables cartograrphers to modifl, m a p s a n d k e e p t h e m d i g i t a l l y . T h e s e h a v e m a d e i a r t o g r a p h e r s m o r e e f f i c i e n t a n d p r o d l r c e m o r e m a p s a t a s h o r t e r p s l i s d o f t i m e .

Estimated number of broadbancl subscriptions by tecl-rnology

Year Qtrarter N nrnber of Sr.rbscrip tions

ADSL SDSL Others T o t a l P c n e t r a t i o r r R a t e

2002

1 8 , 5 1

1

542

79,302

0 . 0 8

2003

108,173

_770,406

_{0 . 4 5}

2004

r39,862

3 0 2

L Lrfvvk

0 . 5 6

')

_170,576

a

J

273,589

2 , 6 1 6

7 , 7 9 9

218,004

0 . 8 5

4

247,802

2,834

1 8 6 5

252,507

2 0 0 5

288,673

5 , 3 0 0

2 9 7 , r 7 7

2

_353,278

i . 3 5

Before IT Age

Mop 1 Theme: Poptrlation

Mop 2 Theme: Transportation

Network

Ir4ap 3 Theme: Resources

Map 4 Theme: Elevation

Mop 5 Theme: Development

T o d a y

O n e r n a p t h a t c o n s i s t s o f d i f f e r e n t l a y e r s b t r t carr be vierved arrd r n o d i f i e d a s p l e a r s e d .

" t ' i " ' : '

" ' r r . r \ . . _{, ^ , t t}

-iu tt'' . f

. . e *

-- ' i 1 ! l -J -J t ' '

r ! \ l r r " '

Ros i I nru n t i - I r t.fo r tr n t i o r t T t, cl r t rcl 0 gV ( lT )

Figure 4: Evolution of Mop Mapping

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

T o u r i s m i s a c o m p l e x a n d d v n a m i c s e c t o r . I t e v o l v e s i n t a n d e m w i t h t h e cllrrent needs of the people and their experiences. Tollrism sector has always

b e e n a s e c t o r t h a t c r o s s e s th e b o u n d a r i e s o f d i s c i p l i n e s a n d a p p l i c a t i o n a r e a s . r l

L a n d - u s e p l a i r n i n g , b t r s i r l e s s , m a r k e t i n g , i n f r a s t r u c t u r e a n d t r a n s p o r t a t i o n a r e a m o n g t h e d i s c i p l i n e s t h a t a r e d i r e c t l y a n d i n d i r e c t l y c o n c e r n e d w i t h t o t r r i s m . r 5

I n t h e p r e v i o r - r s c e n t r l r i e s , p r o m o t i o n s o l - r ' a n y c o n n t r y i n t h e w o r l d were conducted via brochures, pamphlets ancl roacl shorvs. Pictures shown o n t h e s e m e d i a w e r e s t a t i c . M a p s s h o w n o n t h e s e m e d i a a r e r i g i d a n d n o t Llser friendly. Furtherrnore, changes to any tollrist destinations incur cost as m o r e m o n e y i s n e e d e d t o p r i n t n e w b r o c h t r r e s a n d p a m p h l e t s . N e w r o u n d s o f r o a d s h o w s n e e d t o b e o r g a n i z e d i n o r d e r t o m a k e n e w p r o d u c t s k n o w n . P r i n t i n g n e w b r o c h u r e s m e a n s c u t t i n g m o r e t r e e s a u d w a s t i r r g m o r e m a n ' s e n c r g y u n w i s e l y .

T o t r r i s m i n d u s t r v c a n b e b r o k e n d o w n i n t o s e v e r a l c o m p o n e n t s . A m o n g the components include planning, infrastructnre, constrllction, promotions

a n d m a i n t e n a n c e . 1 6 T h e s e c o m p o n e n t s w o r k a s o n e . F i g u r e 5 s h o w s t h e

lnti, Bilnrtgntr 70, Disuttltcr 2005

Figure 5: Components of Tor-rrism

Development

Services

Tourism

P r o m o t i o n s

M a i n t e n a n c e

H o s p i t a l i t y

I n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y c a n b e i m p l e m e n t e d i n r n a n y o f t h e s e c o m p o n e n t s i f n o t a l l . A m o n g t h e c o m p o n e n t s i n c l u d e p l a n n i n g a n d

p r o m o t i o n s . P l a n n i n g c o m p o n e n t decicies t h e a r e a s to b e d e v e l o p e d a s tonrism

a r e a . O n e c - r f _{i t s t a s k s i s t o b e a b l e t o l o c a t e resorlrces which consist of natural}

trucl tnetnmade resources to be cleveloped as tourist attractior-r sites. Desigrrs of ner,v sites are also rzital to the planning task. Geographic information system a l s o k n o w n a s G I S i s a p e r f e c t t o o l t o b e u t i l i z e d t o c a r r y o u t t h e t a s k . M a i n t e n a n c e t a s k c a n also be conducted using GIS. Likewise, in promoting tourist attraction sites, rnultimedia applications wotrld be suitable.

G E O C R A P H I C I N F O R M A T I O N SYSTEM (GIS)

G I S h e r s s e r r e r a l d e f i n i t i o n s . I n simple term, it is defined as,

s v s t e m o i c o t n p t r t e ' r s o f t n ' t r r e , h a r d w a r e a n d d a t a , a n d p e r s o n n c l t o h e l p m a r r i p u l a t e , a n a r l y z e a n d p r e s e n t i n f o r m a t i o n t i r a r t is t i e d t o a s p a t i a l l o c a t i o n . l T

Alternatively, it is defined as,

a comptrter-based tool for mapping and arralyzing things that exist and el'ents that happen oir etrrth. GIS technology integrates common database operations strch as

qltery and statistical analysis n'ith the r-rniqtre visualizatiorr and geographic analysis

Ros il nitt _{n t i - I t tfo r n r n t i o r t T c cl t t t ol o 911 ( tT )}

B o t h d e f i n i t i o n s d e s c r i b e a l m o s t t h e same thing. Generallv, GIS is abotrt trsing softwerre system as a tool to assist mankind to carry otrt arnalysis trsing s p a t i a l d a t a e f f i c i e n t l y . S p a t i a l a n d a s p a t i a l data are kept in databases for e a s y a c c e s s i b i l i t y . S p a t i a l d a t a a r e i m p o r t a n t due to its features of being d i g i t a l a n d g e o - r e f e r e n c e d . r ' '

T o u r i s m p i a n n i n g r e q u i r e s r e s o r l r c e l o c a t i o n s , p - r e o p 1 e , a n c l

infrastructttre. By plotting resorlrces available at a specific location and giving appropriate priority, a planner will be able to decide whether the resources a r e s t t i t a b l e t o b e e x p l o i t e d . E n v i r o n m e n t a l a n d social impacts are aciditional c r i t e r i a t h a t p l a n n e r s h a v e t o t a k e i n t o a c c o u n t t o o . Using GIS as a tool, these

data can be cligitized.2o Infrastructure component r-reed to be inclr-rded in this

a n a l y s i s . W i t h C I S c a p a b i l i t y i n a n a l y z r n g t h e b e s t suitable location n'ith minimal im.pact on environment and local people, a tourist attraction site can b e s p e c i f i e d . T t r a t ' s t h e b e a t r t y o f G I S . r r

Tourism sector deals n'ith information sharing. The cligital map can be

shared by local ar-rthority -,t,hich may consist of several departrnents, developer

and consllmer. However the information needs of these components are of d i f f e r e n t l e v e l s . L o c a l a t r t h o r i t y m a y r e q u i r e t h e m o s t d a t a . T h e s e d a t a i n c l u d e l o c a l p l a n a n d i n f r a s t r t r c t t r r e plan. Ftrrthermore local authorities need to carry ottt maintenance on every tourist site efficiently. Abbas Abdul Wahab et.al22 identified data sharing in the Malaysian Federal Department of Town and

Country Planning. This department which is also known as JPBD23 has starteC

t r s i n g C I S a p p l i c a t i o n i n i t s c l a v t o d a y o p e r a t i o n s i n c e 1 9 9 3 a n d h a s a d v a n c e C t o t r s i n g w e b - b a s e c l G I S i n p r o m o t i r r g k n o w i e c l g e a n d d a t a s h a r i n g . T h e r e a r e m o r e t h a n 1 0 0 0 i a y e r s o f d a t a o f a l l p l a n s d e v e l o p e d b y t h e d e p a r t m e n t W i t h w e b - b a s e d G I S , l a n d - u s e d a t a o n 1 2 8 l o c a l p l a n s c a n b e c l i s t r i b u t e d t o all the 128 local governments w,ith ease. This method of data sharing is to be extendecl to corzer all the other plans in JPBD.2+

Abdr-rl Nasir Matori iras identified that GIS application has significantly reduced time consllmption in entertaining client who requires information o n I o c a l p l a n . I p o h C i t y C o u n c i l n o r m a l l y r e q u i r e d a p p r o x i m a t e l y 4 h o u r s t o e n t e r t a i n 1 0 c l i e n t s . W i t h G I S a p p i i c a t i o n , t i m e r e q u i r e d t o s e n r e t h e s a m e n u r n b e r o f c l i e n t s i s r e d t r c e d t o a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1 . 5 h o u r s . 2 5

I n t o u r i s m d e v e l o p m e n t , C I S a p p l i c a t i o n c a n b e u t i l i z e d i n p r o v i c l i n g i n f o r m a t i o n t o t o u r i s t s . A n e x c e l l e n t e x a m p l e o f a GIS map can be viewed at

h t t p : w w w . t o u r i s m p e r a k . c o m / m a i n . c f m . 2 6 U s e r i s a b l e t o m a n o e l r v r e

lnti, Bilntruntt 70, Discntbar 2005

Figure 5: CIS Map at smaller scale

L-.--f l t;:---i:--1-l

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Figure 7: CIS Map of Figure 6 in detail

i ' ! t n k i 5 : 1 ! i . ' l . \ t ' : r , t l a f : J l r r ' . r q i [ . ! t i n i t r

i . ' : - ' : : ' ! ' , i t : : : i _ : , . - i - = : . _ - _ - i . = - . - ' ! . S : : " a f ! _{4 -}

l : : : l ' : : i ' - : : : : ' : : | € ! - : : - ' . . -: ' : : : : ,

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r r ! : r , t r t a F - L S r t r : l { r

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Ro s i I ntt, n t i - I t t-fo r nt n t i o r t T' c cl ut ol o gr1 ( lT )

CIS map is able to be rriewed on a r,veb browser with the advancement of internet CIS. Advancement in technology has also enablecl GIS Map to be viewed on a personal digital assistant (PDA). Figr,rre 8 shows source of map d a t a o n t h e I n t e r n e t . C I S d a t a i r a s t o b e d o w n l o a d e d f r o m a n y s i t e t h a t offers map data. The data will then be synchronized to PDA through a personal c o m p u t e r . 2 T F i g u r e 9 s h o w s a n e x a m p l e o f G I S m a p b e i n g d i s p i a y e d o n a P D A p h o n e .

F i g u r e 8 : S o u r c e o f G I S m a p d a t a o n t h e l n t e r n e t

i l l i 1 1

Figure 9: GIS Mup displayed on a PDA

E R s e f . l 6 l $ t r - . | , B i n i p o ? s . : e ! t s o r l l li u E E , H c G s P o i 7 3 T H F r l J E . . u j 0 ! 0 0 r . l , n t l D A L | E E . ' , , , =

7 4 T 1 1 . . . _{: r ; H n u e s f t} ?:N U,,, i , tr: rli

H 0 o r r L n N s , r t u E E f l u J _{e o r n . . . l 6 d T H . - & .} F T

tD uJ

= h o r s r . . . i o l N o r r L l E E t r : - i l E e r H n t . J E r v' _{r*- (tr}

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70,

Disantbar

2005

Today, web-based CIS or also known as online GIS are being studied

thoroughly due to its abilitv to display GIS maps via web browsers.2s

Web-based CIS uses client-server technology architecture. Several software that

can be r-rsed

to deveiop web-based GIS include ATcIMS and MapExtreme.

Web-based

GIS has given a chance to Lrsers

who do not have GIS software to

view and manoeuvre GIS maps easily.

MULTIMEDIA APPLICATION THROUGH THE INTERNET

Clobalization has changed the way people do things. Political boundaries

merely refer to the management of a country. Other activities such as banking

operations,

buying and selling and business

decisions are conducted beyond

political boundaries.

Tourism industry transcends

boundaries.

To sustain a

competitive advantage in this era of globalization, tourism industry must

limit its focus to three major areas: product innovation, new prodr-rction

p r o c e s s a n d m a r k e t i n g s t r a t e g i e s . 2 '

T h e r e f o r e in o r d e r t o b e s u c c e s s f u l ,

improvement in delivering information is needed. Global demands increase

t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f s t r a t e g i c le a r n i n g i n o r g a n i z a t i o n . I n t e r n a t i o n a l

competitiveness

demands new technologies

and ways of doing things.

Information, the Internet and multimedia are three vital components

to tourism industry. If information is considered

as blood in tourism industry

then the internet becomes the heart that controls the flow of tl-re

blood.:t('

Multimedia will then be the nr-rtrition

in assisting the blood flow smoothly.

Studies have shown that majority of tourists today refer to the internet, in

this case,

the world wide web for information on places thev would want to

visit. The Travel Industry Association of America has identified that 67oh

of

American tourists refer to the world wide web to retrieve information on

their tour destinations and travel costs.3r

Rosilnunti - Itr.forrtntion Tcclnrcllgv (lT)

Figure 10: Components of Multimedia

Promoting tourist sites on the Internet requires multimeclia appiication.

A good example can be found at http:/ i vvrvw

1.3r

Tourism Malaysia r,vebsite.

On clicking the identifier or uniform resorlrce

l o c a t o r ( U R L ) , t h e t o u r i s t w i l l b e a b l e t o v i e w a n d h e a r t h e m u l t i m e d i a

application on the web site. Furthermore, by clicking "enter", one will be

able to view more information. Interactivity enables

users to browse through

the web site easily. Figure 11 shows the interface

of Totrrism Malaysia website.

F i g u r e 1 1 : T o u r i s m M a l a y s i a h o m e p a g e

rE5[:i d

TCURISM*,:f

MALAYSIA

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Audio

I

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I n t i, B i l n r t u t t t t ' 1 0 , D i s c n r b c r 2 0 0 5

T h e s e m u l t i m e d i a a p p i i c a t i o n s w e r e c r e a t e d u s i n g h t m l e d i t o i a r r d a u t i r o r i n g t o o l . H t m l e d i t o r i s u s e d t o c r e a t e m a i n h ' t h e l a y o t r t , t e x t , a n d

inserting graphics and animations. Ar.rthoring tool sr-rch as Macromedia Flash

is ttse'c1 to create .rnimations. Advancement in internet technologies has also

enabled users to communicate r,r,ith r,t,eb site's host through forrn submissiorr.

T h i s c o m m l r n i c a t i o n i s h a n d l e c l b v s e r v e r scripting language such as PHP, A S P a n d JSP. Software snch as Visual Basic can be used to create rlser irrterface and later incorporate GIS map into a website. Figure 12 to 14 shon' some of t h e w e b s i t e s p r o m o t i n g M a l a y s i a n t o t i r i s t d e s t i n a t i o n s u s i n g m u l t i m e d i a a p p l i c a t i o n .

Figure 12: Malaysia MyDestination home i-,age "

' , r ? i l : r i r f i l r .

- - : , : - a . . :

: i . : " : : r : : - : . : : : : : i : , i : l l a l a y J r i l l t [ r . 1 t r r ^ t r L ] r l : i

,;: ,:

' 1 t

K.""

if, ",

Today, promoting tourist attractions can be conducted easily through

the Internet. Furthermore r,r'ith

the myriad of technoiogies

available, tourism

web sites are lro more static pages.

Web sites are more lively arrd attractil'e.

Today irolidary

packages,

hotel, air flight ticket booking and payments carL

be made oniine and on real time. Normaliza and Amir Hashirn have indicatecl

that Thailand has r-rsed

mtrltimedia as her key sllccess

factor in boosting

t o t r r i s m p r o d u c t s a s c o m p a r e d t o M a l a y s i a . F o r e i g n t o u r i s t s ' a r r i v a l i n

Thailand is dotrble than that of Malaysia.

The major factor that caused

Thailand

to be better-knowll than Malaysia is contributed by the use of mtrltimedia in

promoting Thailand as a preferred destinatiorr.sT

Normaliza and Amir Hashim

argued that most tourists felt that Malaysiar's

multimeclia is rather slow in

- l - - * t 4r r-' t!.,

' . ' " : i

Ros il niunt i - I n.fo r m n t i o t r T c cl tr t ol ogrl ( IT )

needed to carry out the mission.3E

Malaysia is inevitably on par with other

n a t i o n s w h e n t e c h n o l o g i c a l a d v a n c e m e n t a n d u t i l i z a t i o n i s c o n c e r n e d .

However, ways and means need to be determined in order to exploit tourism

products to the fullest in order to enhance tottrism industry in Malaysia.

Figure 13: Malaysia Trr-rly

Asia home page'o

! i e l c o n t e l o I l . l . r v ! ' . T ' u l Y

*- -"*'{

;+;&,8

&. i,::.,,

- - r f t , 1 r. t U l A . , r q r t ' '

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T ' t . l : : i r t l . ! 1 { i 1 :

t 1 : 5 r r l a t r r i i r f ' ! t

I ! r r : - r l - - : "

)

Figure L4: Virtual Malaysia web page

3('

. t , r . . . 1 t . 1 ! 1 d ! \ 1 . , 4 . , , , r | , , . . t . , . t . . ' : , , . : 1 ' J l \ l

! r r t u . t l I l . l . V r r . I l . l . y t r i

0 a ! t r n 3 r r n H r q h I q h t s : { ] u a i ? . n g 8 u r l n a

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lnti, Bilnttgntt 70, Disctnbar 2005

CONCLUSION

Information is vital to a society in order to survive in the twentv first centr-rry. Travellers need irrformation before starting their jor,rrney. Tourist promoters need to promote tor,rrist attraction sites. They too need information. Planners a n d t h e a r - r t h o r i t y n e e c l i n f o r m a t i o n t o c a r r y o u t t h e i r t a s k s . T o t r r i s m is a sector that always needs to be updated with the most current information. T h e r e f o r e , G I S a n d m u l t i r n e d i a a p p l i c a t i o n s c a n b e t h e m e d i a t o t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n . U p d a t i n g GIS data is much easier than creating a new one. Information on web pages carl be r-rpdated easily using the html editor. Web-based CIS will make web pages become more dynamic. Thns, information

t e c h n o l o g y h a s c u t s h o r t t h e j o u r n e y i n p r o m o t i n g t o u r i s t a t t r a c t i o n s .

ENDNOTES

' _{S i m p s o r - r , R i c h a r d , " C L r r r e n i & F u t r - r r e T r e n d s i n G I S T e c h n o l o g i e s " , P a p e . r}

presented at the 1'tNational GIS Conference and Exhibition 2004 (29-30 November 2004), Plrsat Dagangan Dunia Putra, Kuala Lumpur

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' _{t b i d}

+ _{E i e c t r o n i c B o o k , C h a p t e r 3 " A B r i e f H i s t o r y o f C o m p u t e r T e c h n o l o g \ " ' . I l e t r i e v e d}

O c t o b e r 2 0 , 2 0 0 4 , f r o m h t t p : / / c s e p l . p h y . o r n l . g o v / o v / n o d e S . h t m l

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" Conrer, Douglas, (7997). Tlttt Irttuttct Book: Eucrtltltittg Yott Nccd To Krtotu Abottt

C o t t r y t r t t c r N t ' t t t t o r k i r t g n n d H o z t , t l r c I n t a r t t c t W o r l c s , 2 " ' r _{E d i t i o n , N e w Jersey: Prenticc}

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@

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