CU -SEM-VI - E- TOURISM

UNIT – 9 FUTURE OF E-TOURISM-I STRUCTURE 9.0 Learning Objectives 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Meaning and significance 9.3 Travel Blogs 9.4 E-marketing 9.5 Promotion of Tourism Products 9.6 Summary 9.7 Keywords 9.8 Learning Activity 9.9 Unit End Questions 9.10 References 9.0 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After studying this unit, you will be able to:  Understand the concept of travel blogs  Identify different tourism products  State the significance of E-marketing  List some importance promotion strategies 9.1 INTRODUCTION Every year, travel trends come and go, but 2022 is setting itself up to be one of the most important years in tourism history. As the globe progressively recovers from COVID-19 and boundaries reopen, we expect travel to look a bit different than it did before the pandemic. Although no one knows what will happen in the future, one thing is certain: we will not be able to travel as freely as we used to, at least in the near future. Your role as a tour operator in this quickly changing business is critical as the tourism industry enters the next chapter. 151 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Government restrictions, health awareness, and the long-term attitude of a worldwide pandemic will all have an impact on how your business operates. However, this presents an amazing chance to adapt and develop, as well as the possibility that travelers will be ready to pay more to decrease their COVID-19 exposure. Exploring a congested town before COVID-19 would have been thrilling and exciting. Wandering through lively markets, eating at a café packed with locals, and seeing tourist destinations were the elements of a good vacation. Unfortunately, what was once a source of wonderful trip memories is now a cause of worry and anxiety for many. Travelers in a post-COVID-19 world will be considerably more aware to visit locations that make it simple to maintain social distancing strategies. Tour operators will need to get creative in order to design itineraries that avoid public transportation and overcrowded tourist destinations, since their clients would expect a more strategic approach to tour design. This might be in the shape of itineraries that focus on more isolated regions, or it could be the rising popularity of hobbies like birding tours and bicycling tours, because there travelers have less possibilities to interact with others. 9.2 MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE In a post COVID-19 world, being connected while traveling will be more important than ever. People may no longer simply go \"out of,\" as there is now an essential necessity to keep aware and up to date on the current travel restrictions. Tour operators who can deliver thorough online and offline itineraries to their customers will be top of mind for those who want to stay updated. We've all seen how rapidly things can change when it comes to COVID-19, so future travelers will probably want to know that their expert tour operator will be ready to provide trustworthy advice at any time while they're in-country. In the current scenario, the tourist sector is growing, and the job of travel operators has grown more responsible than earlier. During this pandemic, strict governmental rules, health knowledge, and social contact will have long-term behavioral effects. Indeed, all of this will result in a change in the way travel companies continue to do business. All of this will provide a fresh and exciting chance to adopt and develop. People will also be prepared to pay extra to reduce their contact with the virus. As more visa applications are submitted online, eVisas are becoming a more popular choice for immigration agencies. This online approach makes travel more convenient and secure. 152 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Tourism plays a major contribution to the promotion of national integrity and international understanding. The most essential advantage of tourism is that it provides individuals with a sense of comfort and relaxation when they are tired and exhausted from their busy schedules and the hustle-bustle of city life. It is a friendly gateway for travellers. Traveling, as easy as it could feel, may have a massive effect on one's life in a variety of ways. Many people have learned a lot from this simple phenomenon, and they have expressed their ideas using inspiring travel quotes, quotes that genuinely give others an idea of their experience and explain how life-altering a simple journey can be. When planning a journey, keep in mind that it is not the destination that is important, it is actually the art of travel. Focus on the trip rather than the goal, as Robert Louis Stevenson said, \"For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but just to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move,\" this statement expresses so very much about the enjoyment of travel and how motivational this can be. India has a large travel and tourism market, with many individuals interested in both. Cruises, adventure, medical, wellness, sports, MICE, eco-tourism, film, rural, and religious tourism are just a few of the specialized tourist commodities. India has been recognized as a spiritual tourist destination for visitors both inside and outside the country. Mr. Narendra Modi, India's Prime Minister, delivered an Independence Day speech from the Red Fort, he encouraged tourists to visit 15 Indian cities and towns by 2022 in order to boost tourism. People travel all around the world for holidays and India ranked 34th. According to World Travel & Tourism Council's (WTTC) new report, India's travel and tourism sector ranks seventh in the world in terms of its total contribution to the country's GDP. Work in this field may be extremely interesting and adventurous, as well as well- paying. According to research issued by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), tourism might add extra Rs. 8,50,000 crores to India's GDP by 2022. No More Crowded Tourist Areas Visiting busy tourist destinations was a massive event of the trip. All of the fun and pleasure that was once a source of Holiday memories has now vanished. People have grown more careful, and new situations require social distance.The situation is improving, but visitors will prefer to visit regions where it is simple to maintain social distance. Tour operators will have to come up with new ideas in order to create trips that avoid public transportation and busy tourist spots. Online travel planners that specialize in designing group trips may consider how to shift their company in order to function securely and profitably in this new world. One r possibility is to continue offering group travel, but only to groups that already know and trust one other and interact on a regular basis. All travelers will welcome such activities by tour operators. 153 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Destination Popularity May Change In the future, the popularity of a destination may be influenced by how successfully that country or region controls the Corona Virus. The protections in place, as well as how the first epidemic was managed, can convince visitors that they would be safe when visiting a specific nation or location. This may, however, result in the disappearance of hotspots that were popular previous to the pandemic due to the crisis and lack of tourists. As a travel designer, it will be important to have a number of spots saved up that you can offer your customers. Internet and Artificial Intelligence This is one of the most interesting and promising travel technology concepts. It includes device connection over the internet. As a result, devices may send and receive data via sensors. Such devices are already playing an important part in the travel and tourist business, and their use will spread further. For example, in hotel rooms, these technology devices may be placed, linked to everything from the lighting to the TV and the air conditioning system, allowing all of this to be managed from a Smartphone. Robots will meet tourists at the airport or in front of hotels in the future. Chatbots will be used to provide customer support. Chatbots powered by AI is becoming better and more efficient at addressing client issues. Shift in Transportation Not only will common destinations change, but this mindset will also influence how people travel to and within a destination. The choice of the airline may no longer be purely based on pricing; judgments may be influenced by hygienic standards, such as whether masks are required or not, seat occupancy spacing, and so on. Travelers within the nation may prefer to use private transportation or upgrade to a business class rail compartment in order to stay secure and avoid congestion. Sharing of Information Tourists who travel for fun want quick and simple access to information about their location. It is the tour operators' job to guide them and guarantee that they are correctly supervised. It is essential that they are well informed and up to date on the most recent travel requirements. Before going, the trip manager may quickly and easily post all important information on the destination, such as cultural values, religion, political setup, weather, what clothing to bring, and other necessary information, to customers. Shift from International to Local 154 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Due to different travel limitations and many people's hesitation to travel internationally, many in the tourist business have to focus on local customers rather than foreign ones. This does not imply avoiding foreign travelers completely, but it will almost certainly require a shift in your basic marketing efforts. When it comes to hotels, it may be helpful to highlight the kind of amenities that may attract to the local market, such as restaurants, gyms, Wi-Fi, and even the fact that your hotel rooms are perfect for remote work. Airlines and tourism management companies also need to shift gears towards domestic tourists. Solo Travel Traveling for pleasure used to be a family thing or something that couples did together. While this is still true for many, an increasing number of people are opting to go it alone. Taking a solo vacation is no longer rare, and tourism patterns reflect this. Solo travelers have a wide range of requirements. Some people simply prefer to travel alone, without the distraction of a partner. Others are young singles seeking social activities or romantic relationships. These travel trends are expected to continue. Contactless Payments Contactless payments have been a regular feature of tourism technology for some time now, but the rise of options such as Google Pay and Phone Pay has helped to take this to the next level, meaning customers no longer need to carry around a debit or credit card to pay for meals, hotel stays, transportation, and other services. Allowing contactless payments has allowed tourist businesses to minimize barriers and speed up check-ins and check-outs. It also implies that products may be paid for very quickly, which encourages unplanned buying. With the Corona Virus, contactless payments are more popular than ever, since employees and consumers often want to avoid dealing with cash. People Will Keep Traveling Because of Curiosity Despite the best efforts, we are creatures of habit and of ever-shrinking visual attention. And COVID-19 has shown us how little we can say with certainty about tomorrow or even tonight. But, for better or worse, I believe people will be traveling, living, and enjoying in the same way they did before COVID 19. Healthy and Organic Food 155 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

In the minds of many travelers, healthy eating and the type of food enjoyed by visitors used to be opposites, with vacations typically symbolizing an opportunity to interrupt one's diet and indulge in prohibited delights. Today's travelers understand that tasty and healthful are not mutually exclusive ideas. New tourist trends are being driven by the demand for outstanding cuisine in order to improve one's nutrition. The contemporary visitor wants to know that the cuisine they're consuming is as nutritious as it is tasty. The organic food movement is also having an impact on travel patterns, as more restaurants and hotels are offering organic options. Other special diets are also available. The travel sector is experiencing a downturn. All insecurities and worries will be removed with time, and people will be going to various areas throughout the world in no time. Traveling will become more convenient and comfortable as technology advances. Our holiday experience will be enhanced through innovation. Traveling to new locations and meeting new people expands our perspective and viewpoint. It brings people much closer together. Humans' constant curiosity to learn new things will never die. 9.3 TRAVEL BLOGS A blog is a type of website that is updated regularly in the form of posts. These posts can be stories and/or snippets of information, reviews, photographs, images, podcasts and other types of content that can be uploaded online. More often than not, a blog is written from the perspective of one person or a couple/small group. Large companies are embedding blogs into their main website to explain products/services in more detail and to attract internet traffic to their main website. Zurich Life’s Cost of Education blog the best example of such a strategy. Further information on standalone versus embedded blogs can be found in my Introduction to Blogging post. A travel blog is simply a blog where the entire focus is on the world of travel. To see where blogging fits into the online marketing world, check out my Introduction to Digital Marketing post. A blogger is a person who writes blogs…right? Correct…sort of. A blogger is someone who creates a blog, regularly uploads content to that blog and subsequently publishes it as a post. Blogging is a multimedia endeavour, involving more than just writing which is why bloggers are often called Content Creators. Content is King is the most popular phrase in a blogger’s lexicon and most bloggers use a mix of content in their posts. 156 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

A vlogger is a blogger who posts their content as video logs, with YouTube as the most popular platform used. Blogging doesn’t stop with publishing a post as most bloggers market their posts using social media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter etc.) and engage in online discussions to promote it further. Many bloggers sell products on their site and some are lucky enough to be invited to events as paid speakers. Along with Content Creators, bloggers are often called Social Influencers, Digital Influencers and Digital Nomads. Having been influenced by traditional print journalism and travel literature, I consider myself a content creator and an observer bearing witness to places, people and their stories, and subsequently curating that experience in the form of a blog. How to start a travel blog Firstly, have something meaningful to write about. If you want to stand out from the crowd then focus on a niche (i.e. the travel topic which you’re an expert on or passionate about). Popular travel blog niches include adventure travel, culinary/food travel, travelling with children. There’s no such thing as a narrow niche. My niche looks at the cultural and historical aspect of destinations for solo female travellers and I still get readers. Trust me, there are people out there in cyberspace who have the same interest and passion as you. You’ll never be alone on the internet! Study SEO. Surely a typo for CEO? No, SEO is Search Engine Optimisation and is the ability to create and manage a website so that it ranks well on search engines. Attention is the currency of the internet so if you want to appear on page 1 of a Google search then learning and applying SEO is essential. Choose a blogging platform. A blogging platform is a service which enables you to store and publish your content. Popular blogging platforms include WordPress.com, WordPress.org, Joomla, and Tumblr. Decide what you want from your blog and how your needs are met by the blogging platform companies. Choose a domain name which reflects your content. A domain name is basically part of your blog’s website address. For example, the domain name of Arrivals Hall is arrivalshall.com. Domain name matters a lot for SEO…which is why you should study SEO before setting up your site. Blogging platforms will assist with the technical aspects of domain name set-up. Create the blog using the blogging platform chosen. Create pages on your blog to give readers a background to you and your content. The following pages are essential for travel blogging: 157 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Home Destinations/Regions About Contact If you want to take blogging seriously then ensure your blogging platform has a statistics facility. If not, attach Google Analytics to your blog. Beware, some blogging platforms don’t allow you to attach Google Analytics unless you pay a high subscription fee. Frequently Asked Questions about blogs and blogging Do you have to be rich to start a travel blog? It depends on your definition of rich! Money will buy you everything including the services of a professional website designer and digital marketing expert. For DIY bloggers, setting up a domain name and a basic blog should cost no more than €50 per annum on most blogging platforms. Does a travel blog have to be written in English? If you want to make money, write it in the language of your target audience. If it’s a hobby blog, write it in whatever language you feel like expressing yourself in. Do you have to have a qualification in computers/IT to create and manage a blog? Neither I nor any blogger I know has an IT qualification. If you want to monetise your blog then a marketing qualification would be an advantage. I find the following bloggers are excellent for keeping up to date with developments in the blogging, social media and IT world: Neil Patel, Brian Dean at Backlinko, Arfa Nazeer at SheMeansBlogging and Moss Clement at Moss Media. What challenges does a travel blogger face? The same challenge every blogger faces…getting attention to build an audience. The internet is full of cats and Kardashians so competing with them for an appearance on Google page 1 is the Holy Grail of blogging. I’ve never actively courted attention in my pre-blog life so managing the attention my blog has both attracted and requires has been a learning curve. Challenges aside, blogging is empowering individuals by giving them a voice. Blogging empowers their audience by delivering relatable content. Blogging empowers businesses by increasing their market reach. And bloggers can make money through activities such as 158 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

sponsored posts and affiliate marketing – My booking.com partnership is an example of the latter. According to Killarney-based digital marketer, Anthony Keogh of SiliconIrish, “Once Google opens the world of opportunities it gives anyone, anywhere a chance to write about their travel experience online and with a little online marketing know-how, you could reach an audience you couldn’t imagine you would”. Role of blogs in the travel and tourism industry Travel blogs are an effective digital marketing tool for travel industry businesses by directing internet traffic to their websites and thus increasing bookings/sales opportunities. Travel blogs can equally inspire travel to a region which is why tourism authorities are increasingly working in partnership with travel bloggers. But most of all, the internet has empowered customers to research and buy independently. Statista’s research shows a considerable year-on-year growth in online travel sales. By engaging with travel bloggers the travel industry is simply adapting to the changing environment it’s presented with. 9.4 E-MARKETING Web marketing, digital marketing, internet marketing or online marketing; all of these words are synonymously used for E-Marketing. What it means is the marketing of products or services by using the internet. E-mails and wireless marketing also fall into the category of e-marketing. We can say that it uses different technologies and media to connect customers and businesses. Especially in this era of technology, e-marketing has become a very important part of the marketing strategy of different companies. Features of E-Marketing Big or small, many businesses are using e-marketing because of various features and multiple advantages. Some of the important features are as follows; E-marketing is Cheaper than Traditional Marketing If you compare its cost with traditional marketing media such as newspaper ads and billboards, then it’s much cheaper and efficient. You can reach a wide range of audience with very limited resources. 159 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Tangible ROI Small business owners can now check the turnover rate or ‘‘action taken’’ with the help of Infusionsoft. It analyzes multiple things like views of videos, number of emails opened, and per click on the link. Most importantly, it tells us how much sales the business has been made as a result of e-marketing. 24/7/365 Approach It works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days of the year. It doesn’t matter whether you’re homesick, sleeping, or attending a casual meetings; but e-marketing is always hard at work. Eliminate Follow-up Failure Elimination of follow-up-failure is the main secrete behind the success of small business. It is done by entering your business figures into the Infusionsoft, and then its automated marketing system will provide you the custom-tailored information about your business, which areas to improve and what product to discontinue. E-Marketing Advantages Some of the important advantages of e-marketing are given below; Instant Response. The response rate of internet marketing is instantaneous; for instance, you upload something and it goes viral. Then it’d reach millions of people overnight. Cost-Efficient. Compared to the other media of advertising, it’s much cheaper. If you’re using the unpaid methods, then there’s almost zero cost. Less Risky. When your cost is zero and the instant rate is high; then what one has to loos. No risk at all. Greater Data Collection. In this way, you have a great ability to collect a wide range of data about your customers. This customer data can be used later. Interactive. One of the important aspects of digital marketing is that it’s very interactive. People can leave their comments, and you’ll get feedback from your target market. Way to Personalized Marketing. Online marketing opens the door to personalized marketing with the right planning and marketing strategy, customers can be made to feel that this ad is directly talking to him/her. Greater Exposure of your Product. Going viral with one post can deliver greater exposure to your product or service. 160 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Accessibility. The beauty of the online world and e-marketing is that it’s accessible from everywhere across the globe. Disadvantages of E-Marketing E-Marketing is not without disadvantages, some of them are as follows; Technology Dependent. E-Marketing is completely dependent on technology and the internet; a slight disconnection can jeopardize your whole business. Worldwide Competition. When you launch your product online, then you face a global competition because it’s accessible from everywhere. Privacy & Security Issues. Privacy and security issues are very high because your data is accessible to everyone; therefore, one has to be very cautious about what goes online. Higher Transparency & Price Competition. When privacy and security issues are high, then you have to spend a lot to be transparent. Price competition also increases with higher transparency. Maintenance Cost. With the fast-changing technological environment, you have to be consistently evolved with the pace of technology and the maintenance cost is very high. Types of E-Marketing When we talk about digital and email marketing, then there are different type and methods of e-marketing which are as follows; Email Marketing Email marketing is considered very efficient and effective because you already have a database of your targeting customer. Now, sending emails about your product or service to your exact targeted market is not only cheap but also very effective. Social Media Marketing Social media is a great source of directly communicating with your customers to increase your product awareness. It could be done by any or all of the social media channels such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google, and YouTube. Some of the important advantages of social media are as follows; Increase product awareness and reputation means more sales. Directly communicating with your customers can increase brand loyalty. You can increase the number of visits to your website and rank it up in the search engine. 161 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Targeting the exact audience will help you to know more about your customers’ needs. Video Marketing It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and a video is worth thousands of pictures. You can catch the attention and emotions of your target market by showing them a video clip about your product or service. Video marketing is very effective if it conveys the right message to the right audience. Article Marketing Engaging quality content by providing valuable information to your targeted market, what people are looking for over the internet to solve a certain problem? It is a consistent and ongoing process of delivering quality content to your readers. It is not always about selling; you’re educating your audience and helping them by adding some value in their lives. Affiliate Marketing Affiliate marketing is the process of promoting some products of certain brands and earning your commission out of every sale. It works for everyone; win, win situation. It doesn’t matter whatever type of marketing methods you’re using; it has to be well focused and researched about your target market. Customer’s needs and demands should also be kept in mind; there should be consistency and coherency between the market and your product. Anything out of ordinary will make your customers suspicious. It has to be realistic. 9.5 PROMOTION OF TOURISM PRODUCTS The tourism industry as a whole survives because of various tourism products and services. Tourism industry is flexible. The products of tourism cannot be easily standardized as they are created for the customers of varied interests and demands. As the tourism products are mainly the tourists’ experience, they can be stored only in the tourists’ memories. Let us understand more about tourism products and services − Types of Tourism Products The tourism products are grouped into the following types − Tourism Oriented Products (TOP) These are the products and services created primarily for the tourists and also for the locals. These products need a great share of investments in private sector. A few of them are − 162 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

 Accommodations; For example, Taj, ITC Hotels.  Transportation; For example, Owning taxis, luxury buses, and boats.  Retail Travel Agents  Tour Operators  Shopping Centers such as malls  Cinema Theatres such as PVR  Restaurants for Food and Beverages  Tourism Information Centers  Souvenirs Outlets  Museums, Temples, Gardens, and Theme parks Residents Oriented Products (ROP) Here, the products and services are created mainly for the local residents staying at a particular tourist destination. This category requires investment in public sectors more. Some of them are −  Hospitals  Public Parks  Banks and ATMs  Petrol Pumps  Postal Service Intangible Products of Tourism They include −  Bookings of accommodations, theatres, and at various sites.  Tourists’ experience by visiting a destination, eating at a restaurant, or performing an activity.  Tourists’ memory which is created by storing the details of events and experience on the tour. The high degree of satisfaction or dissatisfaction is often stored as a long term memory.  Transportation of tourists and their luggage from one place to another. Tour Operator’s Products and Services To realize the facilities and experience a tourism product offers, service is required by skilled and qualified staff. The tour operator provides the following typical products and services − 163 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Accommodations The tourist destinations are equipped with different types of accommodations. They cater for tourists’ stay at the destination.  Serviced − This type of accommodation is supported by skilled staff such as housekeepers, drivers, guides, and cooks.  Self-catering − This accommodation offers staying facilities but dining is required to be self-catered. It is equipped with cooking, fuel and facility, some basic supplies such as tea/coffee/sugar sachets, and a drinking water source.  Hotels − Budget rooms to 7* hotels with classy amenities. The hotels contribute a major share of imparting the experience to the tourists by providing best services and amenities.  Guest Houses − Owned by business or government organizations, which can be used by its staff and staff relatives.  Camping Sites − They are open sites often located in areas of lush greenery. They are equipped with clean place to pitch the personal tent, a water supply, and electric supply. Camp sites have common rest rooms. Reservations The tour operator is responsible for making reservations for special events or activities the tourists are interested in. At some places, the reservations are required to be done well in advance to avoid last minute hassles. The events or activities such as a music concert or a theatre show, visiting a theme park or a zoo, require people to secure seats or avail entry with prior reservations. Guided Tours The tour operators can arrange guided tours. Some qualified staff who can get access to the place, explain the importance of the place, support, and guide the participants through the entire visit. The guide is arranged to accompany the tour participants as a part of tour. Transport Facilities These facilities are for travelling from one place to another. Surface Transport − It includes support of transport by road or water. Air Transport − This is the support of transport by air, generally given for long distance travel. Many times the tours include a halt of a couple of hours at transit destinations. Today the airports are built and maintained as engaging tourist terminals by providing amenities such as spas, lounges, food joints, bars, and book shops, retail shops for selling authentic local food, clothes, and souvenirs. 164 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Today the Airlines are no more backstage when it comes to caring for their customers. They offer loyalty programs to their customers under Frequent Flyer Program to encourage the customers to travel more and accumulate points and redeem them against travel or rewards. Dining Facilities The tour operators can book accommodation that provides dining facilities or it can tie up with the local restaurants which are ready to entertain groups. If the tour package is all inclusive, the tour operator pays for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If not, the tourists need to pay from their own pocket. 9.6 SUMMARY  Tourism can be a source of opportunity and empowerment. It must centre the needs of host communities and provide decent jobs for all, especially for youth, women and the most vulnerable groups in our societies. The tourism of the future must embrace local values, respect cultures and preserve and celebrate our unique and shared heritage, while at the same time adapting to digitalization and supporting new jobs skills.  The UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, provides a framework against which tourism can develop and grow while always putting people first, while the UNWTO International Code for the Protection of Tourists makes clear the sector’s responsibilities to individuals, providing reassurance and restoring trust in travel.  Travel blogging is blogging about amazing places in the world or around you. Travel blogger is someone who runs the blog. He/she visits different places and write in brief description about the places. Blog also give you to specification of describing any place with Audio visual and photographs.  Overall, Travel blogging is an amazing work to do. I am blogging since last few months and I am having great fun. You can also earn money through blogs if your blog is most famous with a lot of followers.  E- marketing is the mix of modern communication technology and traditional principles that marketers usually apply. When we talk about modern communication technology, this is electronic media, more known as the internet (in the realm of e- marketing, the terms of online marketing and internet marketing are usually interchangeable). 165 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

9.7 KEYWORDS  Reservations: An expression of doubt qualifying overall approval of a plan or statement  Tourism Oriented Products (TOP): Tourism Oriented Products (TOP) These are the products and services created primarily for the tourists and also for the locals. These products need a great share of investments in private sector  Residents Oriented Products (ROP): Residents Oriented Products (ROP) Here, the products and services are made predominantly for the local residents’ remaining at a specific tourist’s goal. This classification requires interest in public sectors more.  Blogging: Blogging refers to writing, photography, and other media that's self- published online. Blogging started as an opportunity for individuals to write diary- style entries, but it has since been incorporated into websites for many businesses.  Personalized Marketing: Personalized marketing is a marketing strategy that focuses on targeting marketing initiatives and messaging to an individual current or prospective customer. 9.8 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1. What do you mean by blog? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 2. Explain the term tourism product. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 166 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

9.9 UNIT END QUESTIONS A. Descriptive Questions Short Questions: 1. Who is a blogger? 2. Future of tourism is ____________? Complete the statement and give reason for the same. 3. How to start a travel blog? 4. List pages essential for travel blogging 5. What challenges does a travel blogger face? Long Questions: 1. Tourism plays a major contribution to the promotion of national integrity and international understanding. Comment 2. List few recent trends in tourism. 3. write some features of E-Marketing 4. Mention advantages and disadvantages of E-marketing 5. Mention all Types of Tourism Products B. Multiple Choice Questions 1. The most essential advantage of __________ is that it provides individuals with a sense of comfort and relaxation when they are tired and exhausted from their busy schedules and the hustle-bustle of city life. a. Tourism b. Service c. Job d. Income 167 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

2. A ___________blog is simply a blog where the entire focus is on the world of travel. a. Service b. Travel c. Summer d. Personal 3.____________ words are synonymously used for E-Marketing. a. Web marketing b. digital marketing c. internet marketing d. All of these 4. ___________Transport includes support of transport by road or water. a. Air b. Railway c. Surface d. All of above 5. Residents Oriented Products (ROP) includes _______________ a. Public Parks b. Banks and ATMs c. Petrol Pumps d. All of above Answers: A-a, B-b, C-d, D-c, E-d 168 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

9.10 REFERENCES  Blogging For Dummies, 6ed Paperback – 1 January 2016 by Amy Lupold Bair (Author)  How To Make Money Blogging: How I Replaced My Day-Job and How You Can Start A Blog Today (Blogging Guide Book 1) Kindle Edition by Bob Lotich (Author)  Digital Marketing Paperback – 10 August 2022 by Seema Gupta (Author)  THE 22 IMMUTABLE LAWS OF MARKETING Paperback – 24 October 1994 by Al Ries (Author), Jack Trout (Author) 169 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

UNIT – 10 FUTURE OF E-TOURISM-II STRUCTURE 10.0 Learning Objectives 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Meaning and significance 10.3 Challenges for conventional business models 10.4 Competitive strategies. 10.5 Summary 10.6 Keywords 10.7 Learning Activity 10.8 Unit End Questions 10.9 References 10.0 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After studying this unit, you will be able to:  Understand the concept of conventional business models  Identify different competitive strategies  List some challenges related to business models 10.1 INTRODUCTION Tourism is the bundle of tangible products and intangible services that can help to bring most profound experience one can get. With respect to time, tourism has been changing from the ancient form of religious tourism to a few new forms. Tourism industry contributes to 9% of the global GDP and offers one from every 11 jobs. In addition, the number of tourists have doubled over the past 20 years and a propelling growth is expected in coming few years among all market segments. Tourism industry has an intense potential to grow and generate revenues. Let us see, the new shaping trends in tourism today. 170 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Digital Technology in Tourism Today, tour operators and tourists, both are equipped with latest technology. It has empowered the tourism business managers and tourists to explore, discover and reach new places by facilitating online travel and accommodation bookings, and more. The tourists use various mobile apps as simple as a compass app, online booking apps, currency converter apps, world time apps, language translation apps, weather apps, google maps, and restaurant or accommodation locating services on their mobile device. The tourists can also add their own data to create overlay on the Google Map and explore all possibilities in visiting a location by using Google Maps API. Some apps help to plan the tour, find out cheap flights, local transport hubs, eating joints, and destination attractions. The apps enhance the tourist experience before, during, and after the tour. Fig 10.1 apps 10.2 MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE Today, the large tour operators invest finances to create their own mobile apps. They are inclined to use as less papers as they can and prefer to send pdf documents of itinerary to their customers and insurance documents to insurance service providing clients. They also use most of the apps the tourists use; plus, they highly rely on some apps such as Trafalgar app, Passport to Tour app, mTrip app, which can connect them with the tourists on the trip, track the itinerary, and get on-the-fly information of the tour. Since technology is making tour operators reach their customers and clients at the speed of light, the tour operators use it for promoting their business and various products, increasing their brand awareness, knowing tourists’ preferences, and providing easy access to their products and services. New Trends in Tourism 171 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Tourism is an ever-changing industry. A few previously unknown or unnoted forms of tourism are establishing today. Some of them are − Polar Tourism Arctic and Antarctic polar regions have always attracted tourists. Polar tourism is a dynamically growing industry due to the efforts tour operators take to provide various attractions, destinations, and activities for their customers. Adventure tourists and common tourists who long for unique weather experience, solitude, and view of wild life in its natural habitat opt for polar tourism. Space Tourism It includes orbital and suborbital rocket flights into the space. Riding into the space for recreation and unique experience was the idea behind this tourism. Till date, only very rich tourists paying very large sum of money could possibly realize the dream to see beyond the blue planet. In coming years, this extravagant tourism can be made available for common people too. Dark Tourism Dark tourism is the oldest form of tourism developed recently. Due to the fear and natural attraction to uncover mystery of death human beings always have, some tourists prefer to visit the destinations such as battlefields, places of violent homicides, or any places where large number of people lost their lives naturally or forcefully in the span of last 100 to 125 years. For example, tourists visit Pompeii to see the corpses of the victims of the volcanic disaster literally turned into plaster casts. The volcano on Mt. Vesuvius had destroyed the ancient town of Pompeii. Though the disaster occurred and claimed thousands of lives long ago, the threat of more such volcanic eruptions still exist today. Hence, Pompeii is an archeological and also a dark tourism site. Some more places the tourists visit for dark tourism are − Chernobyl and Prypiat, Ukraine − Tourists visit this place to see the ruins of the nuclear disaster that took place on 26 Apr 1986. Ground Zero, USA − It is The World Trade Centre site attracting tourists since the 9/11 attacks that took place in 2001. 172 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Auschwitz, Poland − This dark site is famous for Nazi concentration camps with various rooms piled with thousands of pairs of glasses, shoes, and human hair. It displays the walls of the corridor exerting the lists of their victims' names and the dates of their death, and the house of the camp commandant. Costa Concordia − On the coasts of Tuscany, Italy; the site of this wrecked ship attracted tourists for around two years. Voluntourism It is taking volunteered vacation and touring for charity. People do not just go touring for recreation and fun but also to serve the community dealing with natural calamities. In case of flash floods or cyclones, the people in the affected areas need support. Some tourists voluntarily visit such places and extend their hands for help in whichever possible way they can. Also, tourists are travelling to care for orphans, for plantation, protecting wildlife, and similar other tasks. Luxury Tourism It mainly pertains to the rich business tourists, who strongly believe that time is of prime importance and they must pay to save time at any cost. Wealthy tourists are inclined to undergo unique experience such as staying at a private island, personal attention from the service providers and access to elite class attractions and amenities. Culinary Tourism The tourists who like to receive local culinary experience, like to tour for this purpose. They attend food festivals, food competitions, visit local farms, vineries, and cheese manufacturing companies, interact with local community or cooks for special culinary experience. BRIC Tourism The four major developing countries namely Brazil, Russia, India, and China have a great potential for driving global economy through hospitality and tourism industry. These countries are important for both inbound and outbound tourism. Global tour operators are adapting their tourism businesses to exploit the huge market these countries provide. Future of Tourism 173 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

It is quite obvious that tomorrow’s tourists and tour operators will tend to rely more on technology. With the introduction of the next generation apps and online services, tourism is going to get further accessible and enjoyable. According to Ari Steinbuerg, the founder of a travel startup Vamo, the tourists will tend to spend less time planning in advance. Efficient booking services and apps will enable the tourists to create versatile itineraries with reasonable price. Future tourists would not prefer to be confined to packaged tours. With the availability of large number of options, the tourists would prefer to realize every possible wish regarding tourism. With more flight connectivity, travelling modes and accommodations introducing more comfort, technology helping mankind progressively, the tourism will continue to bring momentum in its sector. 10.3 CHALLENGES FOR CONVENTIONAL BUSINESS MODELS In those cases where a new business model has been successfully developed, companies gain on average, a 6% increase in return on investment, compared to other forms of innovation, such in product or process innovation (BCG 2008). Therefore, the innovation of the business model plays a key role in the current and future success of companies. That is why many managers think that to achieve competitive advantages, business model innovation is more important than other types of innovation. More than 90% of the CEOs surveyed in a study conducted by IBM (2012) stated that they planned to innovate the business model over the next three years. However, good intentions are not enough. When it comes to moving to action, problems surface. Few managers can explain their company’s business model off the top of their head and, even less so, define what a business model really is. It is still very rare to find companies with teams dedicated to innovating the business model, or to have established processes for that purpose. Given the relevance of this issue, the lack of institutionalization is surprising, although if you consider the complexity and confusion surrounding the issue, it is understandable. Business model Essentially, we can say that a business model is the way in which companies create, deliver and capture value. Hence, this is the business logic, and it is always the result of a series of strategic reflections and decisions. To describe a business model, we can use conceptualization based on five components: customer segments, value proposition, value configuration, value network and value capture. 174 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

 Customer segments: together with the customer segments a company targets alongside these customers’ needs, this includes the interactions and relationships established with these customer segments.  Value proposal: to do with the products and / or services that a company offers. It also describes the benefits that the company brings to its customers or users (for example, design, trust, user-friendliness, performance, durability, etc.)  Value configuration: refers to the set of resources, capacities, processes and activities that are required to next create and deliver the value proposal to the customer segment.  Value network: identifies the network of collaborators that cooperate with a company with the aim of achieving a goal (for example, economies of scale, contribute resources or knowledge, reduce risk, etc.)  Value capture: describes how, and in what way, customers pay for the products and / or services offered, as well as the quantity of value a company captures, bearing in mind the costs incurred to create and deliver the value proposal. Transforming the business model In recent times, especially over the last decade, changes in the environment have accelerated dramatically. Some of the drivers of these changes are factors, such as digitization, changes in customer preferences, regulatory changes, the entry of new competitors, or globalization. All this has generated a transformation in the way many companies or their business models compete. Therefore, the transformation, or innovation, of established business models is becoming a fundamental aspect to guarantee the competitiveness of companies. However, companies portray different attitudes towards this phenomenon. There are various approaches on how an established company initiates an innovation process of its current business model:  Reactive: undergo a crisis that the current business model cannot respond to  Adaptive: adjust, improve, or defend the current business model  Expansive: launch a new technology, product or service  Proactive: prepare for the future. It is important to highlight that when we talk about creating new business models, we must differentiate between two different situations: 1) designing a business model from scratch, 2) transforming an existing business model. These two situations entail considerable differences. For example, for transformation, it is assumed that previous business model exists, so the challenges that arise are for existing organizations, such as organizational inertia, resistance to change, internal vision, fear of 175 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

cannibalization, or aversion to risk; whereas such challenges are not relevant for start-ups. This means that many transformation attempts do not achieve the expected objectives. These challenges arise throughout the innovation process of the business model, either in the design stage or in the implementation stage. Taking them into account and responding to them is vital for a successful initiative.  Internal vision: the company must be able to understand the needs of the most relevant actors for a successful initiative and identify the factors of change that can have a greater impact on the current business model (digital transformation, globalization, circular economy …) For this, it is essential for the organization to look beyond its walls.  Organizational inertia: the difficulty of overcoming the prevailing logic of the company limits the ability to generate ideas, which questions the conventions on which the current business model is based. To overcome this challenge, critical questioning and using analogies are key.  Product-focused vision: companies tend to have a very product-oriented approach, which makes it difficult to think in terms of the business model. Introducing the notion that the company is a system, that the product is a key part of this system, but not the only one, may contribute towards a more systemic vision of the company.  Fear of cannibalization: sometimes the new business model requires dropping some current source of income to replace it with another. This spurs misgivings and delays decision-making. A clear example is Kodak, the company that postponed its transition to digital photography, as a large part of its income came from photography reels, while other companies seized the opportunity. The outcome led to Kodak losing its leadership position. It’s worth remembering that when the moment comes, if you don’t cannibalize yourself, someone else will do it for you.  Resistance to change: any transformation of the current business model implies, to a greater or lesser extent, changes. There are many reasons why people in the organization may be reluctant to change and may even have incentives to boycott the new initiative. This is one of the aspects that can cause the implementation of the new business model to fail. Transparency, empathy, communication and personalized responses are essential to overcome this scenario.  Risk aversion: during the implementation phase, one of the greatest challenges is to launch the new business model in phases to avoid damaging the company’s image, in case something does not go according to plan. Care must be taken to meticulously plan in which customer segments or geographical territories to start the implementation. 176 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

10.4 COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES. The competitive strategy consists of the business approaches and initiatives undertaken by a company to attract customers and to deliver superior value to them through fulfilling their expectations as well as to strengthen its market position. This definition of Thompson and Strickland emphasizes on ‘approaches and initiatives’ of managers in defining strategy. This means that competitive strategy is concerned with actions that managers undertake to improve the market position of the company through satisfying the customers. Improving market position implies undertaking actions against competitors in the industry. Thus, the concept of competitive strategy (as opposed to cooperative strategy) has a competitor-orientation. The competitive strategy includes those approaches that prescribe various ways to build sustainable competitive advantage. Management’s action plan is the focus of the competitive strategy. management adopts an action-plan to compete successfully with the competitors in the market. It also aims at providing superior value to customers. The objective of competitive strategy is to win the customers’ hearts through satisfying their needs and finally to attain competitive advantage as well as out-compete the competitors (or rival companies.). Four Types of Competitive Strategy: Michael Porter’s Four Generic Strategies Michael Porter has identified four types of competitive strategies that can be applied in any business organization irrespective of the size and nature of products. Because of their susceptibility to common use by all business enterprises, they are labeled as generic strategies. These are, in fact, basic types of competitive strategies. In addition to these, there are also other strategies that a company can employ when deemed necessary, such as strategic alliance, collaborative partnerships, merger, acquisition, vertical integration, outsourcing strategies, etc. 177 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Fig 10.2 strategy 4 competitive strategy are as follows: 1. Cost Leadership Strategy or Low-cost strategy. 2. Differentiation strategy. 3. Best-cost strategy. 4. Market-niche or focus strategy. Competitive Advantage: Ultimate Goal of Competitive Strategy Competitive advantage is the special edge over the competitors. A question is often asked by managers: “What is the duration of competitive advantage?” How long it will be sustained primarily depends on; 178 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Fig 10.3 marketing barriers to imitation, i. the capability of competitors and ii. the general dynamism of an industry’s environment. ‘Barriers to imitation’ create obstacles for the competitors to copy a company’s distinctive competencies easily. Competitors will always try to imitate a company’s resources and capabilities. Evidence indicates that capabilities are more difficult to imitate than resources. Of the resources, tangible resources (e.g., plant and machinery equipment, buildings) are easier to imitate than intangible resources (e.g., patents, goodwill, brand names, technological know-how, marketing techniques). There is, thus, a need to build up distinctive competence based on unique capabilities rather than on tangible resources. This would help the company enjoy the distinctive competence for a longer period. The capability of competitors to imitate a company’s distinctive competency needs to be given due consideration. If the competitors are strongly committed to doing business in a particular way, they will not suddenly imitate a company’s innovation. In such a situation, its distinctive competency will be sustainable for longer. 179 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

The third factor of sustainability of distinctive competency – that is, industry dynamism – is also an important determinant of competitive advantages. Frequent product innovation makes an industry environment dynamic. For example, the software industry, electronics industry, and PC industry are highly dynamic because of the high rate of innovation. In such industries, competitive advantages are short-lived. How to sustain competitive advantage? Since achieving and maintaining a competitive advantage is the primary aim of competitive strategies, managers should undertake measures to sustain competitive advantage once they are achieved. Managers can build sustainable competitive advantage by adopting the following measures. 1. Focusing on building blocks of competitive advantages. 2. Developing distinctive competencies. 3. Creating an environment of organizational learning. 4. Instituting continuous improvement mechanism. 5. Instituting best practices. 6. Overcoming barriers to change. A brief discussion of these issues follows; Focusing on building blocks of competitive advantages As stated earlier, a company has a sustained competitive advantage when it can maintain a higher than industry average profit rate over several years. This becomes possible when the company emphasizes the four generic building blocks of competitive advantage, such as; a. efficiency, b. quality, c. innovation, and d. customer responsiveness. Because of its focus on these building blocks, Apple Computer Company enjoyed sustained competitive advantage over a long period from 1987 to 1993. These are called ‘generic’ because any organization can adopt them irrespective of its products (or industry in which it operates its business). 180 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Superior efficiency enables a company to lower its costs; superior quality allows it both to lower costs and charges a higher price; superior customer responsiveness allows it to charge a higher price, and superior innovation can lead to higher prices or lower unit costs. Together these four building blocks help a company create more value than the competitors. Thus, a company can enjoy a sustained competitive advantage. Developing distinctive competencies Managers have to develop distinctive competencies to sustain a competitive advantage. When distinctive competencies are developed, they help in improving performance in all the areas of four building blocks. Distinctive competencies should be developed in all required areas – never in some areas at the cost of other important areas. Companies need to be balanced in their pursuit of distinctive competencies. Creating an environment of organizational learning Sustaining competitive advantage requires a congenial environment in the organization that promotes learning within the organization (commonly known as organization learning). Learning organizations can keep themselves at the top of all competitors because they are always in search of knowledge. In the process of seeking and disseminating knowledge, they learn from prior mistakes and improve their work-processes over time. Instituting continuous improvement mechanism Continuous improvement of the quality of both products and services (in fact, of everything that a company does) in sine qua non for sustaining competitive advantage over a longer period. Managers need to devise dynamic ways to improve quality continuously. Some organizations have been successful in their endeavor to improve quality through instituting total quality management (TQM) programs and business process reengineering. Instituting best practices The adoption of ‘industrial best practices’ helps in developing distinctive competencies and thereby sustaining competitive advantage. Organizations can benchmark (search out) the successful business-practices of other competitors/companies in other industries and then adopt them after necessary fine-tuning. Thus, they can build and maintain resources and capabilities – that are essential to achieve excellence in efficiency, quality, innovation, and customer responsiveness. Overcoming barriers to change 181 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Companies fail to sustain a competitive advantage because they are unable to adapt to changes in the organization. They need to overcome the resistance to change so that they can maintain a competitive advantage. Companies can overcome the barriers to change through providing effective leadership, necessary changes in organization structure, creating appropriate control systems and involving employees in decision making. Distinctive Competency an Essential Requirement for Achieving Competitive Advantage A business organization must have distinctive competency in one or more areas of its activities to be competitive in the marketplace. Distinctive competencies refer to those strengths of the organization that allow it to attain a competitive advantage in the market. These strengths are unique for the organization and they help it achieve superior efficiency, quality, innovation, and customer responsiveness. It can be argued that PepsiCo has distinctive competencies in the case of manufacturing bottled drinking water – Aquafina. Distinctive competencies have helped PepsiCo achieve lower costs and make product differentiation better than its competitors. Thus, distinctive competencies have helped attain distinctive advantages through the achievement of superior efficiency and quality. Unique organizational resources and capabilities constitute an organization’s distinctive competencies. However, the resources of the organization must be unique (i.e., no other companies have these resources) to be regarded as distinctive competencies. The resources comprise physical, human, financial, informational, and technological resources. An organization’s capabilities are the skills necessary to exploit the resources for productive use. Capabilities are intangible. It may be noted that an organization may not need unique resources to establish a distinctive competence as long as no other competitors possess such resources. An organization can create distinctive competencies only when it simultaneously has unique resources and can use those resources effectively. Successful strategies often either build on a company’s existing competitive competencies or help a company develop new ones. Competitive Strategy Versus Business Strategy 182 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Business strategy has a wider scope than a competitive strategy. The business strategy encompasses all the actions and approaches for competing against the competitors and the ways management addresses various strategic issues. As Hill and Jones have remarked, the business strategy consists of plans of action that strategic managers adopt to use a company’s resources and distinctive competencies to gain a competitive advantage over its rivals in a market. In doing business, companies confront a lot of strategic issues. Management has to address all these issues effectively to survive in the marketplace. Business strategy deals with these issues, in addition to ‘how to compete.’ The competitive strategy, on the other hand, deals with “management’s action plan for competing successfully and providing superior value to customers.” 10.5 SUMMARY  The events of 2020 influenced all industries and brought new business challenges that companies had to overcome. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted plans of numerous companies and forced businesses to take urgent measures. According to McKinsey & Company, the average share of customer digital interactions grew from 36% to 58% between December 2019 and July 2020. This tendency didn’t go unnoticed and all companies ventured into digital space. Consequently, the competition in every niche became extremely high.  It can be difficult to find the right competitive market in today’s saturated business landscape. With the continued growth of e-commerce, customers are no longer tied to specific geographical locations. We can shop worldwide with just our fingertips and an internet connection — quick, easy, and instantaneous.  Having a solid, well-thought-out business model is essential for both new and established companies. These models work to attract new customers and anticipate any upcoming trends or unseen challenges. It also can allow the company to differentiate itself from competitors. Potential investors use business models to quickly and effectively analyze a company’s plans and flesh out information such as how they plan to generate income. Even if you are a small business with no plans of taking on investment, knowing and understanding your business model is crucial to your success. 183 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

10.6 KEYWORDS  Culinary Tourism: Culinary tourism or food tourism or gastronomy tourism is the exploration of food as the purpose of tourism. It is considered a vital component of the tourism experience  Competitive Advantage: A condition or circumstance that puts a company in a favourable or superior business position.  Business model: The term business model refers to a company's plan for making a profit. It identifies the products or services the business plans to sell, its identified target market, and any anticipated expenses.  Strategy: A plan of action designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim.  Space Tourism: Space tourism is human space travel for recreational purposes. There are several different types of space tourism, including orbital, suborbital and lunar space tourism. To date, orbital space tourism has been performed only by the Russian Space Agency. 10.7 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1. What do you mean by conventional Business model? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 2. Explain the term Business strategy. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 184 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

10.8 UNIT END QUESTIONS A. Descriptive Questions Short Questions: 1. Explain Digital Technology in Tourism. 2. Mention New Trends in Tourism 3. Explain BRIC Tourism 4. Describe main components of Business model 5. Distinctive Competency an Essential Requirement for Achieving Competitive Advantage. Comment Long Questions: 1. Mention some more places the tourists visit for dark tourism. 2. Explain four types of competitive strategies 3. Define conventional business model 4. How to sustain competitive advantage? 5. Competitive Strategy Versus Business Strategy B. Multiple Choice Questions 1. Tourism is an ever-changing industry. a. Tourism b. Marketing c. Mining d. Business 2. _______tourism is the oldest form of tourism developed recently. a. Light b. Dark c. Brown d. Site 185 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

3. __________ Tourism mainly pertains to the rich business tourists, who strongly believe that time is of prime importance and they must pay to save time at any cost. a. Free b. Luxury c. Cheap d. Economic 4. Improving market position implies undertaking actions against ___________in the industry. a. Friends b. Family c. Colleagues d. Competitors 5. __________have to develop distinctive competencies to sustain a competitive advantage. a. Friends b. Opposition c. Managers d. Clients Answers: A-a, B-b, C-b, D-d, E-c 10.9 REFERENCES  Business Strategy Essentials You Always Wanted To Know (Second Edition) (Self- Learning Management Series) Paperback – 1 January 2020 by Vibrant Publishers (Author), Callie Daum (Author)  Tourism: Concepts, Theory and Practice Paperback – 1 February 2020 by M.R. Dileep (Author)  The Impact of Five Competitive Models on Business Strategy (Competitive Factors and Strategic Business Decisions Book 1) Kindle Edition by Geraldine Ilevbabor (Author) 186 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

UNIT – 11 UNDERSTANDING API-I STRUCTURE 11.0 Learning Objectives 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Meaning and significance 11.3 Concept of Application Program Interface (API), 11.4 Summary 11.5 Keywords 11.6 Learning Activity 11.7 Unit End Questions 11.8 References 11.0 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After studying this unit, you will be able to:  Understand the concept of API  Understand the Programming Interface 11.1 INTRODUCTION API stands for Application Programming Interface. It is a set of programming code that allows data transmission between multiple applications. For example, when you use an application the application can send data to the server, the server then retrieves the data, interprets it, performs the necessary operation and send it back to the client which is the application. The application then interprets the data and present it in a readable format to the client. All of this process happens via API. Simply API is the messenger that takes the requests and tells the system what you want to do and then returns the response to you. If you still can’t understand what is an API let me explain a familiar example. Imagine that you have gone to a restaurant and you need to order some foods on the menu card. How will you order? Do you directly go to the kitchen and prepare your food? No, isn’t it? You order it through the waiter. The waiter will write down your order and will inform it to the kitchen 187 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

and after the food is ready the waiter will serve you the food. So, API is similar to the waiter, that takes your request and tells the server (Here it is the Kitchen) what to do and once the request is processed the API delivers the response back to you. 11.2 MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE API consists of 2 components: 1. Technical Documentation explaining the options for data sharing between applications. 2. Software Interface coded according to the technical documentation If software needs to access information from another software, it calls its API by providing the necessary information as mentioned in the technical document. So the other software responds with the information requested. The software calling the API doesn’t need to know the implementation of the server, what it needs is the response, not the implementation and processing of the response. APIs serve as a layer of abstraction for two structures, covering the latter’s complexities and operating information. Purposes of API 1. APIs makes life easier for developers — Developers can easily add functionality to existing solutions using service by third party providers. They can easily connect their software with another one. 2. APIs control access to resources — APIs play a major role in security. APIs are often used to limit access to hardware devices and software features that an application might not be allowed to use. 3. APIs are used for communication between services — We can use APIs to access many online services from our application. For example, if we need details about the weather for our application we can easily use the Weather API to get information about the weather. 11.3 CONCEPT OF APPLICATION PROGRAM INTERFACE (API), Applications these days are witnessing a meteoric rise in the number of functionalities and microservices. And with this rush to add more and more functionalities and build more applications at an unprecedented rate, the dependence on APIs (application programming interfaces) has also skyrocketed. This beginner’s guide to APIs covers API basics, such as common types of web-based APIs and the future of APIs. 188 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

First of all, what is an API? An API is an intermediate software agent that allows dependent applications to communicate with each other. APIs provide a set of protocols, routines, and developer tools enabling software developers to extract and share information and let applications interact in an accessible manner. Be it web APIs that connect web applications to other platforms or APIs used by IoT devices to collect and process data, the use of APIs has expanded like never before. One prominent example of the APIs which we encounter in our day-to-day life is the “log in to your account with Google/Facebook/Twitter” functionality that you may find on several internet platforms. These APIs let the host application interact with the user’s social media account and make the login process much easier than before. Types of APIs Based on the release policies APIs can be divided into 3 as: 1. Private 2. Public 3. Partner Private APIs These APIs are designed for improving solutions and services within an organization. These APIs are accessible only by the developers who work in the organization. These developers may use these APIs to integrate an organization’s IT systems or applications or create a new system using existing resources. The use of private APIs enables an organization to have total control over how the API is used. Partner APIs These APIs are used by business partners who have reached an agreement with the publisher. Software integration between two parties is a common use case. A company offers its partners access to data or functions to accomplish their tasks. Public APIs These are external APIs. They are available for third-party developers. These Public APIs can be Free and Commercial. Commercial API users must pay an amount to use the APIs. Use cases of APIs 1. Database APIs — These APIs allow communication between an application and a database management system. 2. Operating System APIs — This collection of APIs specifies how programs interact with operating system tools and services. Every operating system has its own series of APIs, such as the Windows API or the Linux API. These APIs allow developers to develop applications using the resources and services of the Operating system. 189 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

3. Remote APIs — Remote APIs allow developers to communicate with remote services using protocols, which are communication specifications that allow various technologies to communicate with one another regardless of language or platform. These APIs describe interaction requirements for applications that operate on various devices. Two examples of remote application programming interfaces are the Java Database Connectivity API and the Java Remote Method Invocation API. 4. Web APIs — This is the most common use case of APIs. Developers use these Web APIs to increase the functionality of their applications. These APIs represent Client-Server architecture. These APIs predominantly use Hypertext Transfer Protocol to deliver requests from web applications and responses from servers. API Specifications At present, there are many programming languages, operating systems and technologies. The number of programming languages and frameworks increase day by day. It is not possible for a developer to know all these languages. Therefore in order to handle the API requests and response, there should be some specifications or protocols. These API specifications provide the ability for diverse systems to seamlessly communicate with each other. There are 4 main protocols. They are : 1. Remote Procedure Calls (RPC) 2. Service Object Access Protocol (SOAP) 3. Representational State Transfer Protocol (REST) 4. GraphQL 1. Remote Procedure Calls (RPC) It has a straight forward interaction between a client and a server. The client remotely calls a method in the server and the server executes the method. 2. Service Object Access Protocol (SOAP) SOAP is a simple protocol for sharing structured data in a distributed, decentralized environment. It enables XML messaging between systems through HTTP. SOAP is most widely used in corporate web-based applications to guarantee the security of data. Payment gateways, identity protection, and CRM solutions, as well as financial and telecommunication services, all prefer SOAP APIs. 3. Representational State Transfer (REST) REST is a software architecture style that has six constraints for creating HTTP-based programs, such as web services. REST is seen as a more user-friendly alternative to SOAP, which many developers find challenging to use because it necessitates writing a lot of code to complete each mission and 190 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

adhering to an XML format for each message received. REST makes data available as resources. Each resource has a unique URI and one can use this resource by specifying the URL. These resources can be modified by using the HTTP verbs such as GET to retrieve information, PATCH to update information, POST to insert data and DELETE to delete the resource. One of the reasons REST is a popular option for creating public APIs these days is its ability to accommodate several data formats for storage and exchange. RESTful systems can send messages in a range of formats, including plain text, Javascript, YAML, XML, and JSON, while SOAP can only send messages in XML. REST is schemaless and the server decides how the data is returned, therefore we can’t retrieve only certain information from the resources. When we request information from a resource we get every detail about the resource and we have to filter the response and get the required information. For example, assume that we need only the full name of the user but using REST you can’t get only the name what you can get is every detail of the user and then you will have to filter out the name. So if the resource is very huge it can increase the response time unnecessarily. 4. GraphQL It has a schema and the client decides how the data is returned which means that the client can retrieve only the required data. GraphQL is initially created by Facebook for its internal use and it has a more efficient data loading due to increased mobile adoption. GraphQL is an API query language. It enables the client to choose the exact data it requires and simplifies data aggregation from various sources, allowing the developer to make only one API call to obtain all of the information required. Apps using GraphQL control what data they need to fetch from a server, which allows them to run fast even when the mobile connection is slow. 11.4 SUMMARY  Instead of focusing on isolated programs and applications, organizations are now shifting their focus towards building scalable and interactive solutions with the help of APIs. They have become an essential part of all the applications that we see today. Because of their widespread capabilities, APIs can make development faster, increase customer reach, enhance business value, and also reduce time-to-market without hampering the quality of the final product. Based on these facts, it’s safe to 191 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

assume that the API-centered development approach will continue to grow and prosper in the upcoming future.  There are some APIs that are free to use, but there are also APIs for which you have to pay. For example, if you want to deliver SMS to your users when they register on your website or send them an OTP to verify their mobile number, you will have to use a third-party service to send these SMSs. Most of these third-party services these days, have APIs, which you can use to send SMS, but you have to pay for it. 11.5 KEYWORDS  Programming code: Programming is writing instructions for a computer to perform. The instructions, called source code, are written in special languages that are unlike natural human languages. It also involves planning, testing, and debugging source code.  Database: A structured set of data held in a computer, especially one that is accessible in various way  Technical Documentation: Technical documentation is any piece of writing that describes the application, purpose, creation or architecture of a product or service. Its goal is to explain something that an organization offers.  Software Interface: The languages and codes that the applications use to communicate with each other and with the hardware.  Operating System: The low-level software that supports a computer's basic functions, such as scheduling tasks and controlling peripherals. 11.6 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1. What do you mean by Program application? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 2. Define API. 192 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 11.7 UNIT END QUESTIONS A. Descriptive Questions Short Questions: 1. Mention the components of API 2. Explain the term private and public API 3. APIs makes life easier for developers. Comment 4. Differentiate between Remote and web API. 5. State uses of API. Long Questions: 1. Explain the term API in detail. 2. State some important purposes of API 3. What are the different types of API? 4. Mention some Use cases of APIs 5. What are the API Specifications? B. Multiple Choice Questions 1. API stands for ___________________ a. Application Programming Interface. b. Automatic Programming Interface. c. Actual Programming Interface. d. Autocratic Programming Interface. 193 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

2. ____________is the messenger that takes the requests and tells the system what you want to do and then returns the response to you. a. BPI b. API c. PPI d. CPI 3. APIs control access to _____________. a. Service b. Files c. Resources d. Data 4. __________APIs are designed for improving solutions and services within an organization. a. Public b. Partner c. Competitor d. Private 5. _____________API are external APIs. a. Public b. Partner c. Competitor d. Private Answers: 194 A-a, B-b, C-c, D-d, E-a CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

11.8 REFERENCES  An Introduction to APIs Kindle Edition by Brian Cooksey (Author), Stephanie Briones (Illustrator), Danny Schreiber (Editor), Bryan Landers (Editor)  API Testing and Development with Postman: A practical guide to creating, testing, and managing APIs for automated software testing Paperback – Import, 7 May 2021 by Dave Westerveld (Author)  Enterprise API Management: Design and deliver valuable business APIs Paperback – Import, 23 July 2019 by Luis Weir (Author) 195 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

UNIT – 12 UNDERSTANDING API-II STRUCTURE 12.0 Learning Objectives 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Meaning and significance 12.3 API setup and process 12.4 Summary 12.5 Keywords 12.6 Learning Activity 12.7 Unit End Questions 12.8 References 12.0 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After studying this unit, you will be able to:  Understand the concept of API setup and process  Understand the programming interface 12.1 INTRODUCTION An application programming interface, or API, enables companies to open up their applications’ data and functionality to external third-party developers, business partners, and internal departments within their companies. This allows services and products to communicate with each other and leverage each other’s data and functionality through a documented interface. Developers don't need to know how an API is implemented; they simply use the interface to communicate with other products and services. API use has surged over the past decade, to the degree that many of the most popular web applications today would not be possible without APIs. 196 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

12.2 MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE An API is a set of defined rules that explain how computers or applications communicate with one another. APIs sit between an application and the web server, acting as an intermediary layer that processes data transfer between systems. Here’s how an API works: A client application initiates an API call to retrieve information—also known as a request. This request is processed from an application to the web server via the API’s Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) and includes a request verb, headers, and sometimes, a request body. After receiving a valid request, the API makes a call to the external program or web server. The server sends a response to the API with the requested information. The API transfers the data to the initial requesting application. While the data transfer will differ depending on the web service being used, this process of requests and response all happens through an API. Whereas a user interface is designed for use by humans, APIs are designed for use by a computer or application. APIs offer security by design because their position as middleman facilitates the abstraction of functionality between two systems—the API endpoint decouples the consuming application from the infrastructure providing the service. API calls usually include authorization credentials to reduce the risk of attacks on the server, and an API gateway can limit access to minimize security threats. Also, during the exchange, HTTP headers, cookies, or query string parameters provide additional security layers to the data. For example, consider an API offered by a payment processing service. Customers can enter their card details on the frontend of an application for an ecommerce store. The payment processor doesn’t require access to the user’s bank account; the API creates a unique token for this transaction and includes it in the API call to the server. This ensures a higher level of security against potential hacking threats. Why we need APIs Whether you’re managing existing tools or designing new ones, you can use an application programming interface to simplify the process. Some of the main benefits of APIs include the following: Improved collaboration: The average enterprise uses almost 1,200 cloud applications (link resides outside of IBM), many of which are disconnected. APIs enable integration so that these platforms and apps can seamlessly communicate with one another. Through this integration, companies can automate workflows and improve workplace collaboration. 197 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Without APIs, many enterprises would lack connectivity and would suffer from informational silos that compromise productivity and performance. Easier innovation: APIs offer flexibility, allowing companies to make connections with new business partners, offer new services to their existing market, and, ultimately, access new markets that can generate massive returns and drive digital transformation. For example, the company Stripe began as an API with just seven lines of code. The company has since partnered with many of the biggest enterprises in the world, diversified to offer loans and corporate cards, and was recently valued at USD 36 billion (link resides outside of IBM). Data monetization: Many companies choose to offer APIs for free, at least initially, so that they can build an audience of developers around their brand and forge relationships with potential business partners. However, if the API grants access to valuable digital assets, you can monetize it by selling access (this is referred to as the API economy). When AccuWeather (link resides outside of IBM) launched its self-service developer portal to sell a wide range of API packages, it took just 10 months to attract 24,000 developers, selling 11,000 API keys and building a thriving community in the process. Added security: As noted above, APIs create an added layer of protection between your data and a server. Developers can further strengthen API security by using tokens, signatures, and Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption; by implementing API gateways to manage and authenticate traffic; and by practicing effective API management. Common API examples Because APIs allow companies to open up access to their resources while maintaining security and control, they have become a valuable aspect of modern business. Here are some popular examples of application programming interfaces you may encounter: Universal logins: A popular API example is the function that enables people to log in to websites by using their Facebook, Twitter, or Google profile login details. This convenient feature allows any website to leverage an API from one of the more popular services to quickly authenticate the user, saving them the time and hassle of setting up a new profile for every website service or new membership. Third-party payment processing: For example, the now-ubiquitous \"Pay with PayPal\" function you see on ecommerce websites works through an API. This allows people to pay for products online without exposing any sensitive data or granting access to unauthorized individuals. Travel booking comparisons: Travel booking sites aggregate thousands of flights, showcasing the cheapest options for every date and destination. This service is made possible through APIs that provide application users with access to the latest information about availability from hotels and airlines. With an autonomous exchange of data and 198 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

requests, APIs dramatically reduce the time and effort involved in checking for available flights or accommodation. Google Maps: One of the most common examples of a good API is the Google Maps service. In addition to the core APIs that display static or interactive maps, the app utilizes other APIs and features to provide users with directions or points of interest. Through geolocation and multiple data layers, you can communicate with the Maps API when plotting travel routes or tracking items on the move, such as a delivery vehicle. Twitter: Each Tweet contains descriptive core attributes, including an author, a unique ID, a message, a timestamp when it was posted, and geolocation metadata. Twitter makes public Tweets and replies available to developers and allows developers to post Tweets via the company's API. Types of API protocols As the use of web APIs has increased, certain protocols have been developed to provide users with a set of defined rules that specifies the accepted data types and commands. In effect, these API protocols facilitate standardized information exchange: SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is an API protocol built with XML, enabling users to send and receive data through SMTP and HTTP. With SOAP APIs, it is easier to share information between apps or software components that are running in different environments or written in different languages. XML-RPC is a protocol that relies on a specific format of XML to transfer data, whereas SOAP uses a proprietary XML format. XML-RPC is older than SOAP, but much simpler, and relatively lightweight in that it uses minimum bandwidth. JSON-RPC is a protocol similar to XML-RPC, as they are both remote procedure calls (RPCs), but this one uses JSON instead of XML format to transfer data. Both protocols are simple. While calls may contain multiple parameters, they only expect one result. REST (Representational State Transfer) is a set of web API architecture principles, which means there are no official standards (unlike those with a protocol). To be a REST API (also known as a RESTful API), the interface must adhere to certain architectural constraints. It’s possible to build RESTful APIs with SOAP protocols, but the two standards are usually viewed as competing specifications. 199 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

12.3 API SETUP AND PROCESS Application Programming Interfaces, or APIs, are the interfaces that help us integrate third- party features, connect enterprise systems, and exchange data between apps. Learning how to build an API lays the foundation for modern web development. At MindK, we develop internal APIs for almost all of our projects. We believe a robust API brings a number of advantages, like higher development speed, better scalability, better security, and even easier GDPR compliance. Based on our 12 years of experience, we want to share a detailed 5-step guide on how to make an API. Start with your goals and intended users Design the API architecture Develop your API Test your API Monitor your API and iterate on feedback Step #1. Start with your goals and intended users Planning your API strategy is essential for its long-term success. The API should bring value to both its intended users and your organization. For example, a private API will only get used by the engineers inside of your company. In this case, you have a better understanding of its target audience. Public APIs, on the other hand, can be used by anybody who has a key to your API. To satisfy their needs, you’ll need more information about your target audience: Who are the developers that could benefit from your API (their domain, needs, goals, and so on)? How can you incorporate their needs into your API? How can you provide a better developer experience? Tools you need to provide along with your API (developer programs, SDKs, documentation, educational resources, and so forth). Understanding the needs of users will help define the API requirements. There are two types of requirements to consider. Functional requirements will determine the things your API will be able to do — they are the business capabilities your API will make available to its users. By contrast, your non-functional requirements will deal with things like performance, reliability, and security. Step #2. Design the API 200 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)