NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Travel technology

Travel Technology is a term used to describe applications of Information Technology (IT), or Information and Communications Technology (ICT), in travel, tourism and hospitality industry. Travel technology may also be refered to as tourism technology or even hospitality automation. Web 2.0 is a current buzzword in the travel technology community, used to describe various social software applications. XML is an increasingly important aspect of travel technology for handling metadata toward the semantic web. Immigration technology, known as tecurity, such as the biometric passport may also be included as travel technology in the broad sense. Information Technology (IT)[1] is a broad subject concerned with the use of technology in managing and processing information, especially in large organizations. ... Information technology (IT) or information and communication technology (ICT) is the technology required for information processing. ... Travel is the transport of people on a trip or journey. ... Tourists at Oahu island, Hawaii Tourism is the act of travel for predominantly recreational or leisure purposes, and also refers to the provision of services in support of this act. ... The hospitality industry is a catchall phrase covering a varety of Service Industries. ... The convergence of industries has forced people to create new terminology such as information technology, biotechnology, ubiquitous technology and even cultural technology to explain new, frequently talked about topics. ... Web 2. ... Social software enables people to rendezvous, connect or collaborate through computer-mediated communication and to form online communities. ... The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a W3C-recommended general-purpose markup language for creating special-purpose markup languages, capable of describing many different kinds of data. ... Metadata (Greek meta after and Latin data information) are data that describe other data. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Symbol for biometric passports, usually printed on the cover of the passports A biometric passport is a combined paper and electronic identity document that uses biometrics to authenticate the citizenship of travelers. ...

Definition of Travel Technology

Since travel implies locomotion, travel technology was originally associated with the computer reservations system (CRS) of the airlines industry, but now is used more inclusively, incorporating the broader tourism sector as well as its subset the hospitality industry. While travel technology includes the computer reservations system, it also represents a much broader range of applications, in fact increasingly so. Travel technology includes virtual tourism in the form of virtual tour technologies, and in fact there is even a Wikipedia:WikiProject Virtual Tour. Travel technology may also be referred to as e-travel / etravel or e-tourism / etourism, in reference to "electronic travel" or "electronic tourism". A computer reservations system, or CRS, is a computerized system used to store and retrieve information and conduct transactions related to travel. ... Virtual tourism refers to exploring other areas in the world without having to physically travel. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Applications of Travel Technology

Travel technology includes many processes such as dynamic packaging which provide useful new options for consumers. Today the tour guide can be a soundseeing tour, and the guidebook could be an audioguide, podguide or I-Tours. A package holiday or package tour consists of transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. ... A Tour Guide is an occupation or vocation of someone who conducts tours usually within the tourism industry. ... A Soundseeing tour is an audio tour that uses the ambient sounds and descriptions given by a tour guide to give the listener an accurate depiction of the surroundings. ... The following is a list of travel guides and web sites with substantial international coverage. ... An audioguide is a audio recording prepared to guide viewers through a museum exhibition by providing background, context, and information on the works included (Fisher 2004, p. ... A podguide is an enhanced audio tour podcast. ...

History of Travel Technology

Certainly travel technology was born on the coattails of the airline industry's use of automation and their need to extend this out to the travel agency partners. It should be kept in mind that there was an online world before the advent of the world wide web in the form of private and commercial online services, via packet switched network using X.25. Travel technology played a significant role in the so-called dot-com boom and bust, circa 1997-2001. A travel agency is a business that sells travel related products and services to end-user customers on behalf of third party travel suppliers, such as airlines, hotels and cruise lines. ... WWWs historical logo designed by Robert Cailliau The World Wide Web (WWW or simply the Web) is a global, read-write information space. ... // A Packet Switched Network, or PSN, refers to the packet switched networks that were popular in the days before Internet. ... X.25 is an ITU-T standard protocol suite for WAN networks using the phone or ISDN system as the networking hardware. ... Dot-com (also dotcom or redundantly dot. ...

See also: History of the Internet , History of the World Wide Web Originally intended to share data between a few universities and government agencies, the Internet today allows connectivity from anywhere on earth and beyondâ€”even ships at sea and in outer space. ... Today, the Web and the Internet allow connectivity from literally everywhere on earthâ€”even ships at sea and in outer space. ...

See also

Sabre is a computer reservations system used by airlines, railways, hotels, and other travel companies. ... The Amadeus Global Travel Distribution System is an electronic reservation system. ... The Galileo Central Reservations System is one of the main computer reservation systems designed for the travel industry by a consortium of airlines. ... Worldspan is a technology company that specializes in travel related software and systems. ... An electronic ticket or e-ticket is used to represent the purchase of a seat on a passenger airline, usually through a website or by telephone. ... Online hotel reservation is becoming a very popular method for booking hotel rooms. ... The following is an partial list of global distribution systems: 1A Amadeus ...

References

External links

Members of the Open Travel Alliance (OTA)

Category:Travel technology This article might not be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia entry. ... Founded in 1986, CheapTickets. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Screenshot of expedia. ... Hotels. ... FlightAware is an aviation software and data services company. ... FlyerTalk is an Internet forum for discussion of airline frequent flyer programs and business travel. ... Go10000 logo Go10000. ... GotoBus is an Internet travel agency specializing in bus travel. ... IgoUgo. ... IXEO is an online travel agency operated by IXEO Interactive Travel SA, a registered corporation with head offices in KÃ¼snacht-Zurich, Switzerland. ... Kayak. ... Lonely Planet logo Lonely Planet Publications (usually known as Lonely Planet or LP for short) claims to be the largest independently owned travel guidebook publisher in the world. ... Screenshot from MapQuest MapQuest is an Internet map service, owned by AOL. The map creation software was originally developed by GeoSystems to generate maps for customers. ... Orbitz, Inc. ... Opodo is like Orbitz an Internet travel agency. ... Priceline. ... // Overview Railpage Australia is a website focusing on railways within Australia and Oceania. ... Rough Guides Ltd is a large travel guidebook and reference publisher, owned by Pearson PLC. Their travel titles cover more than 200 destinations, and are distributed worldwide through the Penguin Group. ... Seatguru. ... SeeTheGlobe. ... SideStep is a privately held internet travel company based in Santa Clara, California. ... Site59. ... Transport Direct is a non-profit web site funded by the UK Department of Transport and operated by a consortium lead by Atos Origin. ... A travel journal, or road journal or travelogue , is an initially blank book carried by a traveler for the purpose of documenting a journey. ... Travelocity is an online travel agency operated by Travelocity. ... The current version of the article or section reads more like an advertisement than an encyclopedic article. ... Screenshot of the venere. ... Virtualtourist (VT) is a free travel oriented community website featuring user-contributed travel guides for locations world wide. ... Wikitravel is a project to create an open content, complete, up-to-date, and reliable world-wide travel guide. ... World66 is a Dutch company which embraced the open content idea and is currently trying to transform it into a profitable business. ... The Open Travel Alliance (OTA) is a non-profit organization working to establish a common electronic vocabulary like XML for use in the exchange of travel information. ... Accenture (NYSE: ACN) is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. ... Accor (Euronext: AC) is a large French multinational corporation, part of the CAC 40 index, whose main business is running chains of hotels and restaurants. ... The Air Transport Association is a trade organization of the largest U.S. airlines. ... AirTran Airways (NYSE: AAI), is a low-cost airline based in Orlando, Florida, USA and is a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings. ... Amadeus is a Global Distribution System company formed in 1987 by an alliance between Air France, Lufthansa, Iberia Airlines, and Scandinavian Airlines System. ... American Airlines and American Eagle aircraft at San Juan American Airlines is the largest airline in the world in terms of total passengers transported and fleet size, and the second-largest airline in the world (behind Air France-KLM) in terms of total operating revenues. ... The AAA logo The AAA (usually read triple-A, or sometimes three As), formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is an American not-for-profit automobile lobby group and service organization. ... Acela Express in West Windsor, NJ Amtrak Cascades service with tilting Talgo trainsets in Seattle, Washington Amtrak train in downtown Orlando, Florida For other uses, see Amtrak (disambiguation). ... Aeronautical Radio, Incorporated (ARINC) is the leading provider of transport communications and systems engineering solutions for five major industries (aviation, airports, defense, government and transportation) since 1929. ... Auto Europe, a car rental consolidator founded in 1954, has grown from a 10 person operation to a multimillion dollar corporation specializing in travel services for North Americans visiting Europe With over 4,000 locations throughout Europe, Australasia, the Caribbean and South Africa using major suppliers, Auto Europe is currently... Baymont Inn & Suites is a hotel franchise owned by Cendant and based in the United States. ... Best Western purports to be the worlds largest hotel chain, with nearly 4,000 hotels in nearly 80 countries. ... Cendant Corporation (NYSE: CD) is a New York-based provider of business and consumer services, primarily within the real estate and travel sectors. ... Continental Airlines (IATA: CO, ICAO: COA, and Callsign: Continental) (NYSE: CAL) is an airline of the United States. ... Delta Boeing 757-232 at Los Angeles International Airport in August 2003, showing the livery the airline instituted in 2000. ... EDS may refer to: Ed. ... The Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company is a privately held St. ... Europcar is a Paris based car rental company owned by the French investment company Eurazeo, after its sale by the Volkswagen group in June 2006. ... Screenshot of expedia. ... Galileo logo. ... The Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS or HRS) was a spectrograph installed on the Hubble Space Telescope. ... The Hertz Corporation (also known as Hertz Rent A Car or simply Hertz) is the worlds largest car rental company, with 1900 locations in the United States and 5100 worldwide. ... Hilton is the flagship brand of Hilton Hotels Corporation (but not the luxury brand - see Conrad Hotels) and is based in Beverly Hills, California. ... Global Hyatt Corporation is a Chicago, Illinois based holding company for several hotel brands and related businesses. ... now. ... InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) (LSE: IHG NYSE: IHG) is a multinational company which operates several hotel brands. ... IPEC can refer to: Indian Point Energy Center International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour Categories: | ... ITA Software, Inc. ... ... Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT) is a hospitality holding company based in White Plains, New York, USA. The company owns, operates, franchises and manages hospitality properities under its 8 owned brands. ... Marriott International, Inc. ... The Microsoft Corporation, (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKSE: 4338) is a multinational computer technology corporation with global annual revenue of US$44. ... Midwest Airlines Boeing 717 taxiing for departure at John Wayne Airport (Santa Ana, California, USA) in February 2004 Midwest Airlines is an American scheduled passenger airline based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, operating from General Mitchell International Airport. ... The Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is an aerospace and defense conglomerate that is the result of a 1994 merger between Northrop and Grumman. ... Norwegian Dawn passes Lower Manhattan on the way to Bermuda and the Bahamas. ... OAG is a global content management company specializing in travel and transport. ... Omni Hotels is a privately owned upscale hotel company based in Irving, Texas. ... Orbitz, Inc. ... Outrigger Hotels is a Honolulu-based hotel chain operating over 50 properties and over 12,000 rooms in Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam and Indonesia. ... Royal Caribbean cruise ships Ultra-Voyager class, includes Freedom of the Seas, currently in construction with a scheduled delivery of May 2006. ... Sabre Holdings (or Sabre Inc) (NYSE: TSG) is an S&P 500 company, encompassing several brands in three global travel distribution channels: travel agency, airline, and direct to consumer. ... SAP AG (FWB:SAP, NYSE: SAP) is the largest European software enterprise, with headquarters in Walldorf, Germany. ... SideStep is a privately held internet travel company based in Santa Clara, California. ... Sita Devi SITA ... The Star Alliance, launched on May 14, 1997, is the largest and most awarded airline alliance in the world, with the following points of cooperation among its partner airlines: Frequent flyer program integration allows airline miles to be earned and redeemed on all members of the Alliance at the same... Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT) is a hospitality ownership, management, and franchise organization based in White Plains, New York. ... Stena Line is one of the worlds largest ferry operators, with ferry services around the UK and Scandinavia. ... Sun Country Boeing 737-8Q8 N805SY (To learn about the computer language Sy, select Sy_language. ... Sun Microsystems, Inc. ... Travelport is a new company with a nearly 30-year track record. ... TRX is a type of tyre and rim invented by Michelin in 1975. ... Uniteds logo as seen at United hub Denver International Airport. ... US Airways is an airline based in Tempe, Arizona, owned by US Airways Group, Inc. ... Worldspan is a technology company that specializes in travel related software and systems. ...

Encyclopedia > Travel technology

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