IT as a Means for Enhancing Competitive Advantage

Abstract

ABSTRACT The objectives of the paper are designed to highlight the importance of IT to gain a competitive edge. The research also seeks to identify the tourism activities in which IT applications can be successfully applied. Furthermore, it tries to provide a number of suggestions to develop the use of IT through tourism business sector in Egypt. The aims of this research were achieved by means of a survey that was distributed among 100 tourism marketing managers. The research methodology depends on Likert scale of attitude measurement. This approach is used to measure the Egyptian tourism marketing managers' attitudes towards the importance of using IT to achieve competitive advantages. Results reveal that Egyptian tourism institutions/organizations are in a hybrid stage concerning IT developments. Most tourism organizations use IT mainly as a communication tool. Few organizations have developed websites and a very small percentage has established a comprehensive IT strategy to be presented online. Nevertheless, managers in the Egyptian tourism industry have faith in IT, but still they are not ready to invest in building a comprehensive IT strategy.