Technology & Tourism

Tourism in its present form is a post war phenomenon developed essentially as a consequence of technological developments in the fields of automibiles, railways, ships, aircrafts, computers and communication systems. Although sails were the earliest means of transport, the invention of steam powered automobile by Nicholas Joseph Cugnot in 1769, the assembly of the first commercial steamer by Robert Fulton in 1807 and the production of first successful locomotive by George Stephenson in 1814 introduced several means of mass transport. It was, however, the advent of air transportation during twentieth century which revolutionalised the phenomenon of international tourism. It reduced the distances between the nations to a matter of few hours.

The developments in computer and communication technologies have made it possible to have rental cars with computerised driving directions and self-service video-terminals at rental counters in high traffic airports. Fully automated rental transaction systems n — National's "Smart Key" machine and Budget's "Remote Transaction Book" came into existence. Yet another major contribution of technological developments in computers and communication systems to tourism is the computerised reservation systems (CRS). These systems can now inform subscribers about schedules, fares and seat availability, issue tickets and boarding passes, record bookings, maintain waiting lists, display preferred airlines or classes, search for the lowest fare available or the first available non-stop flight and calculate fares for domestic and international itineraries. The system can also make reservations for other services like hotels, car rentals, cruises, railways, tours, boat charters, theartres and sporting events.