A Conceptual Model e-Collaboration for Rural Tourism – Combining Soft System Methodology and UML

Abstract

Through the IT utilization, stakeholders in rural tourism can engage in e-collaboration to develop tourism products and services together. While existing literature has not extensively addressed the e-collaboration model specifically tailored for rural tourism, this research sheds light on the emerging role of IT and its value within this context. To effectively model the intricate and less-structured environment of e-collaboration in rural tourism, the SSM is deemed the most suitable approach. Nonetheless, one limitation of SSM is the absence of explicit references during the implementation stage, requiring an additional methodological approach to realize the e-collaboration conceptual model within a system. To overcome this limitation, the present study applies both SSM and UML an e-collaboration system for rural tourism. The findings of this research can serve as a valuable reference for the development of an e-collaboration tool.