Modelling Tourism Impacts Using IT Based Destination Management Systems.

There is a tradition of destination management research which recognises the value in taking a holistic view of the Destination Management System and using IT to 'manage' tourism activity within a destination. However the reality is that the concept of a holistic DMS for tourism becomes subsumed into one of the many Destination Marketing Systems found worldwide. These limitations have been recognised and such systems undermine the core principles of a DMS, (Buhalis, 2001) This research demonstrates a field method for auditing and appraising the Urban environment with could lead to the development of DMS for the City of Sheffield. A spatial analysis identifies areas of 'enclave' business tourism in the City and the operations of hospitality businesses are analysed. The conclusion discusses the utility of a more holistic approach to Destination Management Systems using an IT based database. However adopting this approach comes at a price since it challenges core principles held by destination stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]