I will be attending the 4th ICTL in Bangkok next month and, so far, we have I think submitted three abstracts and one completed paper (you can imagine the completed paper was not mine). This is the abstract for the paper that Thavorn Thitthongkam and myself will be presenting:
Language and Computer Programs for Tourism Industry Competitiveness
Thavorn Thitthongkam[1] and John Walsh2,
Abstract
Both language skills and computer programs can play a crucial role in promoting the competitiveness of the Thai tourism industry competitiveness. They provide learners with the opportunity to learn to operate computer programs conveniently and effectively, while develop language skills at the same time. To address this issue, curriculum writers of tourism educational institutions and employers have to pay attention to the importance of both English and computer-mediated educational methods. Instructors who are involved directly with students attempt to assist their students to understand the computer program used (in the case of this paper, the program considered is called Amadeus). However, the instructors face some barriers, specifically that programmers may have technical skills but not necessarily content skills and knowledge. This paper aims to study the connection between English language and the computer program used for promoting the competitiveness of the Thai tourism industry and to investigate the benefits, problems and solutions arising from the use of Amadeus. In-depth interviews of 80 students, 3 instructors and 10 programmers were used to explore these subjects and a semi-structured interview form was created to obtain the information required to answer the research questions. The ways in which these skills can help competitiveness are discussed, as well as the problems associated with them. To maximise improvements in the quality of service, it is recommended that tour companies should also organize training sessions for their employees.
Keywords – Amadeus, Quality of service, Roles of computer program, Roles of language, Tourism industry
[1]Thavorn Thitthongkam is a PhD candidate at the School of Management, Shinawatra International University, Thailand. Contact: thavorn.th@spu.ac.th
2 Dr John Walsh is Assistant Professor in Marketing and Communication, School of Management, Shinawatra International University, Thailand. Contact: jcwalsh@siu.ac.th
