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Application. The special issue aims to discuss the problems of unfulfilled business forecasts and related stock market plunges. However, despite these problems, online transactions are increasing—at least in some sectors, such as the travel and tourism industry. In fact, tourism is the leading application in the B2C (business-to-consumer) arena. Although the slow economy and current political developments have negatively influenced ecommerce, it is still flourishing in the tourism sector.

In the first quarter of 2002, travel and tourism accounted for a total turnover of approximately US $7 billion—an increase of 87 percent from the same quarter in 2001 (see www. comscore. com/news/online_travel_q1_041602. htm). Consumers made 46.7 million hotel reservations worldwide in 2001, netting US $12.9 billion in revenue, according to the Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association (see www. hedna. org). In addition, 32 percent of US travelers this year have used the Internet to book travel arrangements (see www. nua. com/surveys/index. cgi? f= VS&art_id= 905357908&rel= true), and further growth is expected.