Abstract

The degree and extent to which the concept of knowledge management is used in travel agencies may be the determining factor in the possibilities of obtaining a competitive advantage and thus in the development prospects of this group of tourist enterprises. The main research issue in the article is the use of the concept of knowledge management in travel agencies. The article shows the extent of the use of this concept among tour operators from the Opole province.

The first part of the paper presents the process of knowledge management and characterizes IT tools for creating, codification and transfer of knowledge. In the second part a brief description of the travel agency as an entity of the tourist economy is provided. The third part presents the results of the survey. In the last section summary and conclusions are described.

In the paper two main methods of research were used: documentary method and the method of diagnostic survey. After the inventory of travel agencies located in the Opole province, a diagnostic survey was conducted regarding the scope of the use of knowledge management. Survey research was conducted in January 2015 among owners or managers of 28 travel agencies located in the Opole province.

The majority of the respondents said that in their companies this concept is applicable. The most commonly used knowledge management processes are: the use, preservation and acquisition of knowledge, and tools for supporting these processes: documentation management systems and workflow systems.

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