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Knowledge management in tourism

Tourism refers to a comprehensive industry that targets tourists, creates convenient conditions for their tourism activities, and provides the goods and services they need. Tourism industry refers to a comprehensive industry that specializes or is mainly engaged in soliciting, receiving tourists, and providing them with six links: transportation, sightseeing, accommodation, catering, shopping, and entertainment. Tourism can therefore be viewed as a complex socioeconomic system with many actors creating, transferring and using knowledge.

Knowledge management research in tourism can be conducted from several perspectives. According to  research1 by Anand and colleagues, there are currently five main research topics on tourism knowledge management: knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer, role of absorptive capacity in the tourism sector, knowledge management and tourism lifestyle entrepreneurship, knowledge management-driven leadership in tourism, and customer knowledge management.

Tourism is a knowledge-based industry that provides a large amount of information and technology and needs to manage, share, store, and generate new knowledge2. Knowledge management can help tourism organizations solve internal governance problems and at the same time it is conducive to meeting various challenges and promoting the sustainable development of tourism. Tourists’ behavior during the tourism process is also a process of knowledge creation and sharing.

1. Knowledge creation and knowledge acquisition

Online travel platforms, such as Ctrip, Airbnb, and other centralized platforms or websites, provide tourists and suppliers with comprehensive and up-to-date information about destinations, attractions, accommodation and activities, including user reviews, ratings and other information. At the same time, online platforms use algorithms and artificial intelligence to provide personalized recommendations to travelers based on information such as user preferences, past behavior and demographic data. This is the process of knowledge creation by tourism organizations using digital technologies. In order to formulate travel plans, tourists will inquire about information including transportation, accommodation and attractions. This is the tourist’s knowledge acquisition process.

Travel agencies cannot have complete knowledge of every tourist destination, so they must rely on external sources of knowledge. Travel agencies need to have the ability to absorb external knowledge, including tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge. In the process of providing services to tourists, service personnel should pay attention to tourists’ tacit knowledge such as satisfaction, emotion, and cognition. All types of travel service providers provide travel agencies with a wealth of knowledge, including explicit knowledge, such as travel destination routes and local policies, as well as tacit knowledge, such as service experience. Tourism organizations need the ability to acquire and create knowledge and use this knowledge to design service offerings and improve customer relationship management.

Tourism organizations need to understand and implement knowledge management to enhance innovation capabilities. The tourism industry is closely related to the environment, but many hotels do not have the means or experience to conduct environmental surveys3, so they must rely on external sources of knowledge. Therefore, tourism organizations need to conduct knowledge management, cultivate employees’ ability to acquire external knowledge, and form a complete process of knowledge creation and sharing within the organization.

2. Knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer

Knowledge transfer in the tourism industry refers to the sharing and dissemination of information, skills, and expertise between tourism organizations. This knowledge transfer involves various stakeholders such as tourists, professionals, local communities, and governments. Shaw and Williams proposed three tourism knowledge transfer tools: foreign direct investment, clusters/learning regions, and communities of practice4.

Firstly, the knowledge transfer channel of foreign direct investment refers to the knowledge advantage of multinational corporations. Transnational firms can transfer knowledge between home and host countries, and the mobility of managers can help with the transfer of tacit knowledge.

Secondly, knowledge sharing is realized through the cooperation and exchange of various subjects in learning regions. There are many ways to share knowledge within the tourism industry, such as industry conferences, corporate collaborations, and exhibitions. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese government introduced various policies to promote the recovery and development of tourism. In order to protect natural and cultural resources and achieve sustainable tourism development, the government disseminates knowledge about sustainable tourism among tourism enterprises and tourists. All provinces have held cultural tourism development conferences, and the state has issued training plans for employees of star-rated hotels. These measures aim to improve the ability of tourism employees and realize knowledge transfer from the government to enterprises.

Thirdly, communities of practice (CoPs) provide a platform where people with similar interests5 can discover and use knowledge, meet and interact with other like-minded people. CoPs are important organizations that promote innovative knowledge, and individuals in communities have the identity of knowledge transmitters. After the trip, travelers will share their travel experiences on social media, platforms and in face-to-face conversations. Some tourists will post their travel notes, photos, and videos on online platforms. Tourist information sharing is the process of knowledge sharing.

In the interaction between enterprises and tourists, tourism education is also a way of knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer. Through digital platforms and brochures, agencies and organizations inform tourists about the culture, activities and attractions of the tourist destination. Nowadays, with the development of digital technology, tourism enterprises have more perfect feedback channels for tourists. Through telephone interviews, online comments, and social media, tourists’ experience can be understood. Tourism enterprises and tourism destinations should also pay attention to the network public opinion, and use the feedback to constantly update the knowledge within the enterprise to achieve knowledge transfer.

During travel, tourists and residents inevitably communicate with each other. In the process of communication, tourists will learn about cultural customs, language expressions and residents’ lifestyle and other tacit knowledge. It is also a process of knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer.

Source: Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.

3. Knowledge application

After acquiring and assimilating knowledge, it is very important to be able to transform it into knowledge suitable for the organization itself. The tourism industry uses information technology to distribute information and knowledge to the right people at the appropriate time, which is to provide the right information to the right person at the right time6. The development of information technology has affected the tourism industry. Tourism e-commerce is an important part of the current tourism industry. Various online travel platforms, online reservation systems and geographical information systems are all implemented using electronic information technology. The application of this knowledge increases the efficiency of the tourism industry.

Smart tourism has become one of the important development directions of the tourism industry. Various tourist destinations use related technologies such as people flow monitoring and smart transportation. After the COVID-19 pandemic, many tourist destinations use VR virtual reality technology to develop “cloud tourism” projects, allowing tourists to visit at home.

Knowledge management has a positive impact on creativity among employees in the tourism industry. Employees improve themselves and create value by searching, collecting and storing information. In this process, employees’ creativity can be stimulated and organizational innovation promoted7.

Conclusion

Our lecturer, Rajesh Dhillon, emphases that applying acquired knowledge through information technology has transformed the tourism industry. Post-COVID-19, the development in application of VR and other technologies may be a deciding factor to tourists who are still sitting on the fence on travel to their destination.

In short, every aspect of tourism and knowledge management is closely connected. Knowledge management has positive significance for the development of the tourism industry. However, there are currently relatively few studies on knowledge management in the tourism industry, and most of them focus on the hotel industry. We need to increase research on tourism knowledge management. Knowledge management can promote tourism organizational changes and employee progress, and more importantly, can promote sustainable development of tourism.

Article source: Adapted from Knowledge management in tourism prepared as part of the requirements for completion of course KM6304 Knowledge Management Strategies and Policies in the Nanyang Technological University Singapore Master of Science in Knowledge Management (KM).

Nanyang Technological University Singapore Master of Science in Knowledge Management (KM).

Header image source: Jo San Diego on Unsplash.

References:

  1. Anand, A., Shantakumar, V. P., Muskat, B., Singh, S. K., Dumazert, J. P., & Riahi, Y. (2022). The role of knowledge management in the tourism sector: a synthesis and way forward. Journal of Knowledge Management27(5), 1319-1342.
  2. Pyo, S., Uysal, M., & Chang, H. (2002). Knowledge discovery in database for tourist destinations. Journal of Travel Research40(4), 374-384.
  3. Martínez-Martínez, A., Zumel-Jiménez, C., & Cegarra-Navarro, J. G. (2018). A theoretical framework for key processes on environmental knowledge management. Anatolia29(4), 605-613.
  4. Shaw, G., & Williams, A. (2009). Knowledge transfer and management in tourism organisations: An emerging research agenda. Tourism management30(3), 325-335.
  5. Suraya, H., & Ahmad, H. (2008). Knowledge management in tourism industry: KMS for tourist information counter in Malaysia. Journal of Information & Knowledge Management7(03), 159-172.
  6. Xiao, H. (2006). Towards a research agenda for knowledge management in tourism. Tourism and Hospitality Planning & Development3(2), 143-157.
  7. Thomas, R., & Wood, E. (2014). Innovation in tourism: Re-conceptualising and measuring the absorptive capacity of the hotel sector. Tourism Management45, 39-48.
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Siyuan Fan

Siyuan Fan earned a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Management from Nankai University of China and is currently enhancing her academic credentials with a Master of Science in Knowledge Management at Nanyang Technological University. She is committed to exploring the sustainable development of tourism. She is constantly improving herself, perfecting her career plan through knowledge management and is always ready to meet new challenges.

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One Comment

  1. Great article Siyuan. I feel the six links that the tourism industry provide could be improved in the interests of promoting sustainability. Sightseeing is one aspect of linking tourists with nature, however, immersion in nature is a key driver in the tourism experience (thinking of hiking, snorkeling, diving, bungee jumping, camping, etc). Acknowledging this nature-based reliance as a key tourism role may help promote the sustainable use of resources and care for nature that makes destinations alluring to tourists (who wants to see a littered beach, broken coral reefs, etc). The language used in the industry can be powerful in influencing perceptions. In my opinion a term such as “immersion in nature” or “nature appreciation” as opposed to “sightseeing” would have a greater impact on how industry proponents view the industry, after all it is everybody’s responsibility to care for the resources on which we all depend for our well-being and productivity.

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