Search results

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the weather and calendar effects on the usage pattern of a tourism web site.

This paper analyses data from a yearlong web log involving 21,655,089 visitors to a popular tourism web site. The weather factors include rain, snow, cloud cover, and the calendar factors include seasons and holidays in order to test the proposed model.

Using data from the Korea Tourism Organisation and the Korean Meteorological Administration, the results show that when it was rainy, cloudy, summer or a workday, the number of visitors to the tourism information web site was higher.

The results provide managers involved in the tourism industry with useful insights for effective use of web sites by running them more efficiently and setting up appropriate marketing strategies in terms of the weather and calendar variables.

The purpose of this paper is to identify whether travel and tourism related web sites derive a certain personality type.

This study employed the ten‐item personality inventory (TIPI) measure to assess personality dimensions of 188 tourism web sites including airlines, hotels, cruise lines, casinos, restaurants, and government funded travel web sites. Data analysis of 413 cases was conducted through mean comparisons and ANOVA.

Data identified web sites representing different segments of the hospitality and tourism industries do vary in relation to online personalities. More specifically, web sites for venues such as casinos were represented as extraverted while lodging web sites were deemed more conscientious.

While this study aimed to identify web site personalities of businesses within the tourism segment, not all categories were represented. Furthermore, response choices were limited only 20 of the personality objectives from the TIPI personality scale were examined.

This study demonstrated different personality characteristics are represented through tourism web sites, indicating providers may need to focus their web presence in a manner which engages potential travellers based on such features.

This paper adds to the body of scholarly research related to TIPI and further demonstrates consumer awareness and preference for web sites which augment their personality.

This paper aims to report on a study of wine regions in five countries that assessed whether and how wineries use their web sites to provide information to and attract wine tourists.

Content analysis of winery web sites from wine regions in five countries (Australia, Canada, Chile, France, USA) was conducted.

While the majority of wineries in the study utilized web sites to provide information to consumers, there were significant differences in the effectiveness with which they did so. Wineries desiring to attract tourist visitors should ensure that basic information content is present (e.g. hours of operation, directions to the winery). Although some wineries have begun to engage consumers on mobile platforms, more can be done to ensure access to information at all stages of the tourist visit process.

Due to time and budget constraints, the study evaluated the web sites in only some wine regions of five wine-producing countries. Future researchers can build on this study by evaluating winery web sites in additional wine regions and countries.

The authors identify practical ways in which wineries can enhance the information they provide via their web sites to attract winery visitors and augment cellar door sales.

Previous research has examined winery web sites at the level of the destination marketing organization or individual winery within a country; the authors look at individual winery web sites in international comparison. Wineries seeking to attract tourists to their cellar door operations can thus evaluate their online communications in comparison with national and international competitors and best practices.

The purpose of this paper is to establish the progress of information and communication technology (ICT) based on a review of papers published in tourism and hospitality journals between 2009 and 2013.

Based on three major databases, 107 journal papers were retrieved and reviewed. The papers were grouped into two major categories, consumer and supplier, which generally comprise the key players in the industries.

A content analysis showed that hospitality and tourism industries use ICT in different functional units and for different applications. This, in turn, indicates their wide adoption in the industry. Industrial implications are discussed.

On the basis of the content analysis, industry practitioners can learn about up-to-date practices and decide how to take advantage of recent technological developments.

A major contribution of this paper is the comprehensive review of recently published papers in tourism and hospitality journals from the perspectives of consumer and supplier.

This study seeks to focus on the following: discovering consumer preferences regarding package tours to China; revealing differences among consumers' cognition related to these package tours, travel advertisements on web sites and search engine results; identifying the similarities among travel agency web sites; and establishing a consumer cognitive structure to assist marketers in designing written content for display in search engine results.

The study adopted means‐end chain theory as a theoretical basis and used the written content of tourism web sites displayed in search engine results as an empirical object. By comparing the contents of tourism web sites and the search engine results, the researchers could analyse and compare similarities and differences among web site content, search results and consumer cognition.

Using the utility score of each attribute level to calculate the total utility can uncover the customers' preferred attribute level portfolio. The calculation results identified the most preferred tour package. The study found that the greater the variety of package tours to China provided by the web sites of a particular travel agent, the higher the possibility of that agent providing discount incentives. Furthermore, the text content of each web site provides more attribute information regarding package tours and less information about the consequences of travelling and value satisfaction.

This is one of the first studies to provide a methodology integrating conjoint analysis and the means‐end chain approach. Understanding the written content of web sites preferred by Chinese people can help marketers and web site designers design web sites attractive to this market.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the online presence of Italian destination management organizations (DMOs) by assessing the quality of their web sites through a demand‐side heuristic approach. Moreover, given the importance of a clear strategic vision for an efficient and effective use of online media, the paper examines the alignment between tourism development plans and practical implementation of information and communication technologies (ICT). Finally, the possible impact of the adoption of a strategic approach on the overall quality of the web sites under investigation is explored.

A double analysis was conducted. An assessment of the main quality features of the official tourism web sites and an evaluation of the statements of public authorities concerning strategic intentions and guidelines for developing ICT instruments. The two evaluations are compared in order to examine their relationships. A strategic matrix of the technological performance and attitude of Italian regional authorities is proposed.

The quality of the Italian DMOs' web sites is satisfactory, on average. Weaknesses are found in the offer of interactive services and Web 2.0 functions. Moreover, an improvement in the user evaluations with respect to the past demonstrates the attention given to ICTs by the DMOs. As a matter of fact, the strategic plans examined deal, in general, relatively well with ICT issues, while it is also shown that poor strategic vision, as expressed in the promotional plans, is related to poor performance of some web sites.

The paper assesses the quality of Italian DMOs' web sites quality as perceived by visitors and, for the first time, relates the evaluations to how ICT strategic plans deal with the issue.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the evolution and transformation of tourism distribution channels, focusing on the role the internet has played in such a process. It attempts to graphically illustrate, in a temporal manner, the evolving complexity of the tourism distribution systems.

This paper provides insights into the change of the structure of tourism distribution that has not been extensively explored. Indeed, the complexity of the tourism distribution structure has been diagrammatically depicted multiple times by previous researchers and each depiction has contributed to a fuller understanding of the body of knowledge by focusing on different aspects of that structure. This paper builds upon those valuable knowledge contributions by focusing on the evolution of the structure over time, systematically and diagrammatically revealing the progressively larger number of intermediation layers, in spite of concurrent disintermediation and reintermediation activity. This paper does not focus on every action of every participant in detail, but rather focuses on categories of intermediaries, looking at pioneering examples of each. Likewise, the comparative rates of technology adoption in different regions of the world are not investigated.

The complex network proposed in this paper indicates that the advance of information and communication technology has not reduced the number of intermediaries in the distribution channel, but rather resulted in an increasingly complex array of intermediaries. The structure of the tourism industry has taken the form of a complex global network. In the struggle to prosper in this environment, participants at various levels will continue to compete, cooperate, merge, form partnerships, and change relationships on a regular basis.

The extant literature has covered many aspects of intermediation, disintermediation, and reintermediation, albeit with differing terminologies. Most of these studies have adopted a static and cross‐sectional approach in examining the structure and use of tourism distribution channels. This paper examines the historical evolution and progression of tourism distribution channels which is not only important in understanding where we are now as an industry, but also where we came from and where we are heading to.

The purpose of this paper is to find out if Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs), in charge of promoting World Heritage Sites (WHS), use the World Heritage label in their electronic promotional tools, and if so, do promotional arguments include considerations linked to sustainable development.

A quantitative and qualitative study was conducted of web site content created by local, regional and national DMOs representing 120 organizations of World Heritage Cities member cities.

Results show that Western European cities are the primary users of the World Heritage label in their promotional material. Cities that obtained their label less than ten years ago use it more often for promoting tourism. Concurrently a significant theme associated with WHS categorisation is the presentation of a must‐see “tourism product”. Conversely the advertising contains little information about the protection of the site or sustainable development actions undertaken since the labelling.

Mostly a DMO communicates with tourists and visitors. It would be in the interest of WHS managers who work in partnership with these DMOs to convey why the site was labelled. Further, they need to demonstrate that obtaining the World Heritage status implies implementing sustainable development objectives. Finally, a better understanding of the economic, cultural, social and environmental issues associated with the label would help tourists appreciate their visit more.

The paper is the first insightful study of the World Heritage label usage as both a promotional argument and means of enhancing sustainable tourism practices.

A fundamental internet marketing challenge is that consumers can quickly move from seeks to one web site to another if they cannot easily find what they want on a given web site. This paper address the web site navigational design issues associated with internet marketing.

A two‐year participant observation study in a UK tourism marketing organisation is provided in order to demonstrate a web site design approach in action.

Existing web site design approaches such as hierarchy charts and storyboards can assist in structuring web site content but do not necessarily cater well for making web sites straightforward to use by consumers. Human computer interface web site design approaches typically relate more to style, appearance and functionality than to structuring web site content. Web site content ranking and grouping can allow straightforward access to web site content, by making frequently required content the most accessible and by grouping related content for ease of identification. From a web site marketing perspective, the more accessible web site content relating to products and services offered, the more likely that such products and services will be purchased by the consumer.

If consumers are to use a web site and use it again in the future they need to be able to find what they require in a straightforward manner. Ranking web site content to present frequently required content earlier in the web site, and grouping web site content so that similar content appears on the same web page or on closely linked web pages can make a web site more straightforward to navigate. In a marketing context, the more accessible a web site, the more likelihood there is of repeat business from the consumer.

The originality of the research reported in this paper concerns the use of web site content ranking and grouping to design web sites that can enable straightforward access to information and transactions by consumers, and thus potentially increase both current sales and future repeat business.

Measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of a website can be very difficult and subjective. These sites can be evaluated in different ways, depending on which factor is considered as the most important one in promoting a website. Theory suggests some key factors when evaluating the effectiveness of a Web site, such as the quantity of information provided, the design of the Web site, or the reciprocity created with the customer. This chapter focuses on these factors to evaluate effectiveness. However, to complete this evaluation, it is highly recommended using other traditional tools like survey methodology. Both online and email surveys are necessary to get a more detailed conclusion when investigating effectiveness of a tourism promotional Web site. Evaluation of Web site effectiveness is necessary because of the significant costs for setup, advertising, and maintenance.