Ozi's Bed and Breakfast a Case of Translation
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Date
2006
Authors
Duim, René van der
Marwijk, Ramona van
Ndubi, Edgar
Fetene, Getinet
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Suomen matkailututkimuksen seura
Abstract
Following actor-network theory, this paper analyses the way a tourism entrepreneur called Ozi tried to collectively promote Malindi (Kenya) as a tourist destination by adopting information and communication technology (ICT). Ozi started his business, Ozi's Bed and Breakfast, in 1985. After
a successful start, ethnic violence in the coast region in 1997
and subsequent negative publicity, crumbling infrastructure
and inadequate marketing led to a decline in tourist numbers
in Kenya in general and at Ozi's Bed and Breakfast in
particular. To overcome these drawbacks, Ozi took the
initiative to join forces with other entrepreneurs to promote
Malindi cooperatively using ICT. However, to translate ICT
into the network of Malindi's tourism entrepreneurs a lot of
(new) actors and entities had to be enrolled in the network.
This paper shows how the introduction of ICT, just like any
other new technological development, unfolds alongside
social, political and economic dynamics. Poor
telecommunication links, conflicts of interests, inadequate
information management and sharing, poor relations
between key stakeholders, and lack of trust and investors
are just a few of the factors explaining the failure of the
project. In other words, the entrepreneurs in Malindi were
not yet able to fine-tune their activities to create convergence
that will enable the collective use of ICT to promote Malindi
and themselves. The case study illustrates the obstacles small
entrepreneurs encounter in effectively introducing ICT in
tourism, as well as the complex ways tourism unfolds as
the result of processes of ordering, negotiation,
representation and displacement between actors, entities and
places.
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Citation
van der Duim, R., van Marwijk, R., Ndubi, E., & Fetene, G. (2006). Ozi ́s Bed and Breakfast: A case of translation. Matkailututkimus, 2(1), 41-56.