Usages of the internet and e-tourism. Towards a new economy of tourism

This paper analyses the impact of internet on the organization of industry and the market<br />dynamics in the tourism activities, focusing in the European scene. Tourism incorporates many features of<br />the contemporaneous information and communication economy. Even if e-tourism still stands for a small<br />share of the whole tourism activity, the paper establishes that the internet basically explains the<br />organization of the activities and markets that emerge today. A relevant analytical framework able to<br />apprehend these dynamics is first defined. The concept of sectoral system of production and innovation is<br />shown to provide a relevant analytical framework to grasp the basic changes of the tourism industry. The<br />paper enlightens on this basis the evolution resulting from the emergence of e-tourism and the uses of<br />internet, their impacts on the coordination of the activities and the markets, with a special focus on the<br />European cas