Internet Adoption in Gulf Cooperation Council’s Tourism Industry

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of internet applications and their effects in the tourism industry of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). As a platform for e-commerce, the internet remains a reliable tool for use in the tourism industry, a conception that continues to win increased acceptance among major players in the industry. Despite evidence of slow rates of internet adoption in the tourism sectors of some nations, the future of tourism seems heavily dependent on this technology. This exploration is conducted based on available theoretical models which have been used on the subject in other countries, with the findings forming the basis in asserting the future of the tourism industry in the GCC.  Conservativeness was found to be a major setback to the sustained competitive exploitation of internet value in GCC’s tourism industry.

Key Words: e-commerce, internet, GCC, tourism