Technology and Digital Tools in Tourism, Travel and Events
Systems landscape
Know the categories: global distribution systems for air and hotel inventory, property management systems for accommodation, point-of-sale and ticketing systems, customer relationship management, booking engines, event management platforms and payment gateways. Understand what each does and where data flows between them. Questions reward knowing that a booking engine connects to inventory and a payment gateway handles authorisation, not the reservation record itself.
Digital marketing and data
Understand search engine optimisation, paid search, social media, email marketing, content and reviews, and how metrics differ: reach, engagement, conversion, cost per acquisition, and return on ad spend. Analytics tools turn behaviour into decisions. Personalisation relies on data, which brings privacy obligations.
Security and responsible use
Know password hygiene, multi-factor authentication, phishing awareness, payment card security, backups and incident reporting. Privacy principles govern collection, use, storage and disclosure of personal information. Traps: assuming cloud storage removes responsibility; confusing a booking confirmation with a tax invoice; treating a social media post as private.
Emerging tools
Chatbots, mobile check-in, contactless payment, virtual tours and accessibility features are common. Evaluate technology on fitness for purpose, cost, integration, training and support - not novelty.
Worked rule of thumb
The single source of truth rule: for any booking or event, one system is authoritative. If two systems disagree, the authoritative record wins and the other is reconciled.