Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE TTC3107

 
TITLE Web 2.0 and its Applications in Tourism, Culture and Heritage

 
UM LEVEL 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 6

 
ECTS CREDITS 4

 
DEPARTMENT Tourism Management

 
DESCRIPTION This study-unit intends to expose students to the latest developments in Web 2.0 and their potential application in tourism, hospitality and cultural heritage. In an industry where experience means everything, the user-generated content revolution has opened up a whole new area of opportunities for the travel industry. Travel consumers have until now relied heavily on travel journalism and traditional media to help guide them through the best places to go and most exciting things to do.

This has changed with the advent of web technology. It has now become more easily accessible and the creation of good content has shifted to the customer and the traveller using blogs, podcasts, wikis and map mashups the consumer can share, experience and research their own travel adventure.

A special reference must be made for the youth market as it has whole-heartedly embraced online social communities to share experiences and collaborate with peers from other countries, religions and backgrounds. They can now use Web 2.0 applications to blog about their adventure, to plan their flights, look up their friends using mapping technology, and our customers can even subscribe to the latest travel events and flight offers using RSS.

Web 2.0 enables tourism/hospitality service providers to allow potential travellers/customers to decide how they want to create, read or consume information and as a result receive a more personal online experience. This is a complete departure from the 'traditional' package tour approach and being able to take advantage of the potential offered by Web 2.0 applications would give operators a strategic advantage.

Study-unit Aims:

The aim of this study-unit is to illustrate the potential and practical usage of Web 2.0 technologies in Tourism.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding
By the end of the study-unit the student will:

- Have a clear understanding of what constitutes the web 2.0. That is the ‘second generation’ of web-based services;
- Be able to appreciate the fundamental characteristic of Web 2.0 – the notion of people being able to collaborate and share information in previously unavailable ways. There is also the possibility for users to generate new information on the web which needs to be analysed by (tourism) organisations and use it to market specific products and services to specific groups if not individual users;
- Be able to distinguish the characteristics of typical Web 2.0 applications such as social networking sites, wikis, blogs, podcasts, RSS, Google. (Specific examples related to the fields of hospitality and heritage will be illustrated);
- Be able to define the ‘Web 2.0 tourist’, which in many ways represents a different group of persons when comparing their characteristics to the more classical tourist;
- Be aware of the ways that the Web 2.0 tourist uses some of these tools in order to obtain information (prices, reviews, travel tips...) and how these may influence the actual choice of a destination and associated services;
- Be able to appreciate the potential the Web2.0 has for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) operating in the field of Tourism, Travel and Cultural Heritage;
- Be able to acquire and understand the fundamental principles required to develop a Web 2.0 strategy applicable to the tourism/hospitality sector;
- Be able to acquire and understand the ideas behind the notion of the Internet of Things (IoT) or Web 3.0 and its potential in tourism and hospitality.

2. Skills
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Learn to use various Web2.0 tools in order to extract information relevant to tourism, travel and cultural heritage;
- Evaluate the potential use of diverse Web2.0 tools when applied to specific case study scenarios (e.g. a Boutique Hotel, a restaurant, a museum, a diving centre, etc.);
- Develop and apply a web 2.0 strategy to a given case study and evaluate its effectiveness within the (tourism) business environment.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Main text

- Shuen, A. (2008) Web 2.0 A Strategy Guide: Business thinking and strategies behind Web 2.0 implementations.

Supplementary readings

- Singala, M. Et. al., (2012), Social Media in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality. (New Directions in Tourism Analysis).
- De Saulles, M., (2012), Information 2.0. New models of information production, distribution and consumption.

Other references and case studies will be provided by the lecturer.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture, Seminar & Independent Study

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Assignment SEM2 Yes 100%

 
LECTURER/S Simon Caruana

 

 
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It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

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