Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2002: Proceedings of the International Conference in Innsbruck, Austria, 2002

th The 9 ENTER Conference will follow a tradition of sharing knowledge among re searchers in the fields of tourism and information and communication technologies. The key objective of this conference are to disseminate findings, to learn more about each other and to exchange experiences on the development of new research theories and methodologies. For almost ten years, the ENTER Conference has centralized new information and conveyed the latest thinking in this interdisciplinary field. It is the annual highlight for all information technology interested practitioners and research ers in the broad tourism domain. Choosing the theme of a conference is never a simple affair. When the Organizing Committee chose 'MultiChannel Strategies' it was also in the context ofthe emerging new forms and standards in mobile communications that will have a lasting impact on economic and social prospects. Consumers, who are increasingly mobile and better informed, are becoming more demanding in the eTourism world. However, what role will mobile devices play in the communication process with marketing, strategy and other functions? How do online consumers really behave in this globalizing, con verging and consolidating tourism industry? How does their behavior differentiate them from other customers? New technologies, expert systems, new types of online available consumer or business databases and sophisticated models appear daily.