Significance of Webcasting for Promoting Tourism and Knowledge Transfer

Webcasting in its basic definition means distributing digital content over Internet so that a large audience can access it concurrently. This web-based solution can be used in various sectors such as marketing, education and training, including promotion of tourism. It can be conducted in two ways - “live feed” or “on-demand feed”. For both types of solutions, high speed Internet connectivity is a prerequisite. In order to host high end webcasts, prominent organisations in Malaysia need to create digital registration and evaluation forms for the participants. These will help them to track the number of attendees as well as profiling of demographic. A live feed webcast means a large number of audiences can get access to simultaneous broadcast of audio andvideo content. For security purposes, the presentation can be password protected. Hence, leakages of sensitive information and data are rare, and service providers encrypt the feed as per the highest security protocols to ensure total confidentiality. “On-demand” feed on the other hand means downloading the content which can be played as per convenience. Since there is no streaming involved, the video presentation can be played on any mp3 player or iPod without Internet connectivity. Tourism is a major source of foreign exchange income for Malaysia. In 2010, the country was ranked 9th globally as top visited destination by World Tourism rankings compiled by United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). Webcasting can be efficiently used to further promote tourism in the country amongst foreign nationals. On-demand webcast enables global audience to go through images and videos concerning prominent tourism spots in Malaysia. As a result, anyone who is planning to visit the country can get detailed information about the tourist attractions and can create the travel plan accordingly. The advantages of effective webcasting are not only limited to tourism sector. Education sector in the country can also utilise this technological innovation to make classroom coaching more effective. For example, an Indian University, Manipal has its offshore medical campus established in Malaysia. It may not be possible for Indian faculties to visit the offshore campus often or vice versa owing to costs and hassles involved. However, efficient transfer of information is still possible via webcasting. Students can attend lectures, raise questions and post comments while being miles away from the actual classroom. The live video steaming can also be recorded and archived so that students can view these as on-demand feed, as and when required. A trusted webcasting service provider renders its services via two steps. The first step is to develop content while the second one is the production phase. The professionals at organisations rendering such services develop content for webcast. While doing so, they develop easy-to-understand content, keeping the comprehension level of large audiences in mind without compromising on depth of the script. In the next phase, the content is reviewed, edited and uploaded to the web server, which can be accessed easily by the attendees. Whether it is for promoting tourism or conducting knowledge transfer, webcasting can always serve the targeted purpose with optimum results.