ABSTRACT
Information technology can fulfill various roles in tourism, acting as ‘a creator, protector, enhancer, focal point and/or destroyer of the tourism experience’ (Stipanuk, 1993, p. 267). However, many people believe that its greatest impact has been the change it has caused in how tourism products and services are marketed and sold. Developments in technology have driven a revolution in tourism distribution channels, totally changing relationships between suppliers and intermediaries, and even the very structure of the distribution network itself. Suppliers, intermediaries, and consumers have all embraced the electronic world, with the result that tourism, in common with many other aspects of society, increasingly operates in a digital world (Buhalis, 1998).
