Introduction

Information and communication technology (ICT) has profound implications for the tourism industry and is being used extensively in a great variety of functions. Contemporary ICTs have radically altered the way in which information is conveyed throughout the industry (B-to-B) and to customers (B-to-C) with the effect of bridging the distance between all those involved in this market. The uses of ICTs are driven by the interaction between users' demand requests, and the rapid expansion and sophistication of new products and services (both hardware and software) offer new ways of delivering old products and services. In this chapter we discuss the role of ICTs in the tourism world. The general structure of the Internet will then be examined. Finally, the examination of a case study will show how network analysis methods can be used in this context.

Among the modern ICTs, the Internet has become, in less than two decades, the most significant development in communications since the invention of the printing press. The Net, as it is called, has revolutionised deeply the way in which we communicate, conduct business or research, and study; in a word, the way we live. The number of users connecting to the Internet worldwide is estimated at almost one billion, almost 20% of world's population, and in some areas the percentage reaches 70% (IWSTAT, 2006). Its rate of diffusion, still growing, has been much faster than radio in the 1920s, television in the 1950s or mobile phones in the 1980s (Odlyzko, 2000).

The Internet and its most renowned service, the World Wide Web (WWW), provide features that are especially relevant to the marketing of tourism. Travel is considered to be an experiential practice; travellers are not simply buying packages, stays, seats, or food and beverages, they are fulfilling fantasies (Archdale, 1995).