E-services and Tourism: a Case Study of Uae Hotel Industry

This proposed study seeks to develop specific e-service (electronic service) strategies that could help enhance competitiveness of Abu Dhabi’s tourism in the global market in general and in the Gulf region in particular. As e-commerce (electronic commerce) increasingly transformed business operations in the contemporary networked economy, services provided by these emerging information and communication technologies (ICTs) became essential for global competition in tourism as well. With high growing number of luxury hotels, Abu Dhabi is in critical need of e-service framework that could help attract international tourists and better position itself in today’s competitive global market. The proposed study could thus benefit the local hospitality industry in the following ways. It could first call for critical attention to e-service strategies that play a significant role in hospitality competition in many advanced economies but are seemingly overlooked by the local industry. Secondly, the framework that the proposed study intends to develop would systematically outline strategic guidelines that are tailored to the specific social and cultural needs of the local hotel industry and in turn help utilize these emerging ICTs for competitiveness enhancement. Consequently, an advanced tourism image that differentiates Abu Dhabi from other major cities in the region or in the world could be established.