ECOCLUB, Issue 90
7
intermediate step from ‘computer’ to ‘ambient’ era. Some of these games (e.g. World of Warcraft) develop around a theme
defining the goals of the game, while other games such as Second Life encourage a free-style of playing, allowing the users to
make what they want out of it. Although it is difficult to measure the size and growth of such games, it is estimated that the
market for massively multiplayer online games is now worth more than $1bn in the West world. For example, one can simply
consider the size of and growth of Second Life itself. Second Life has more than 5 million users (April 2007), while about half a
billion US$ are being transacted every year on Second Life’s website.
Impact on tourism demand
Tourists and travellers participate in such games either for fun and-or for ways of expression of oneself and for task –
accomplishment satisfaction. For example, many people dream and try to become and excel on a profession that they could not
achieve in the real life, try to design a new product and service hoping that somebody that is looking for new talents will find
and recruit them.
Impact on tourism supply
Many tourism and travel related companies have already created their representative offices and headquarters in Second Life.
Embassies and Tourism Authorities of many countries have created their offices conducting marketing and promotions, famous
Islands have created their Second Life virtual islands, Hyatt used Second Life for consulting architects and their guests on how
to improve their hotel design and architecture, while Second Life users created and designed the first Aloft hotel which in real
life will open and operate in 2008. The use of Second Life for market research and exploitation of users for generating and
testing new product ideas and new advertisement campaigns is huge, e.g. Toyota first tested the campaign of its new brand
Scion on Second Life and then broadcasted widely in real life. Other companies, e.g. CNN, are recruiting and identifying new
talents (e.g. journalists) in Second Life.
Tagging
Tagging represents a new way for categorising information. Users tag a piece of content (e.g. an audio, a picture, a word) with a
meaning (a word or phrase) and then this information is categorised in categories based on this meaning. Tagging can be used
for saving and sorting ones content as well as sharing with others. For example, one can save its favourites websites in
deli.cious.com, tag website with some meaning based on which they are sorted in categories, while others can use these users’
generated categories of favourites and tags for identifying appropriate websites. In this vein, tagging has a great effect on how
search engines identify and present information results in keyword searches to users.
Impact on tourism demand
More and more users are using collaborative tools for identifying and sorting content. The new economic situation that is being
created is called folsconomy, since user define how to sort information which in turn defines how others search and find
information. For some, tagging helps and boosts the creation of the semantic web (Web 3.0) whereby web content and search is
directly related to its meaning for the users.
Impact on tourism suppliers
Several websites offer the capability for users to sort, share and categorise content based on tagging, e.g. flickr.com (for pictures
sorting and sharing), travbuddy.com 9for travel experiences sharing). Because of the folsconomy power of such websites many
companies nowadays include and consider them when designing their search engine optimisation strategy. For example,
Thomson’s website provides an affiliate link to deli.cious.com so that its users can tag and sort its website through this
technology.
Mash – ups
Mash ups describe the seamlessly combination of two or more different sources of content and-or software for creating a new
value added service to users. For example, based on a project amongst Google Earth, Carnegie Mellon University, NASA, the
Pennsylvania Tourism Office and the National Civil War Museum, virtual tourists would have the chance to view
Pennsylvania's Civil War trails online. In traintimes.org.uk one can see on real time where trains are located and when they will
arrive at destinations, since the website combines information from Google maps, and information from the British rail website
about train time tables, delays etc.
Impact on tourism demand
Tourists more and more demand and expect to combine and cross check information from different sources so that they can
better and easier make a holistic decision. For example, tourists may not be able to clearly understand where a hotel may be
located when the description of the hotel writes that is located on the beach. And what is the difference if the hotel is located at
the beach, near the beach, along the beach etc? Tourists easily get confused from different descriptions found in different
websites. On the contrary, mash up websites, e.g. earthbooker.com, tripmojo.com, enable users to see where exactly a hotel is
located (sometimes even locate the exact orientation and view of a room) and then decide whether to book a room at this hotel.
Many mash ups are enriching their services with Google maps and other related geographical information.
Impact on tourism suppliers
Apart from the rise of new cyberintermediaries such as the ones described before, many tourism suppliers enrich their website
content with maps. Moreover, many companies leave their software as an Open API so that users can create limitless
combinations of their services. For example, backstage.bbc.co.uk is the services whereby users can take content of BBC
