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Publication date: 24 September 2010

Lauren M. Fryc

Numerous travel websites have become popular in the past decade. Some destination websites allow travelers to book flights, hotels, restaurant visits, and tours. They also provide…

Abstract

Numerous travel websites have become popular in the past decade. Some destination websites allow travelers to book flights, hotels, restaurant visits, and tours. They also provide a great way for other tourists to leave feedback on the visits they had to specific travel destinations and provide other customers with reliable accounts. In this case, the theory proposes that unique offerings on a website have a greater affect on getting website visitors who are potential tourists to actually visit the website's destination. The findings show that interactive tourism websites that keep up with current technology will translate into attracting the most visitors to that specific city location. This study is unique and valuable as the analysis of the three tourism websites indicates the uniqueness of each of the three specific cities located on the Mediterranean Sea: Valencia, Marseille, and Genoa. This study provides a detailed analysis of each of the three cities’ travel websites and ranks each of the websites to evaluate which is the most reliable and most appealing to today's busy travelers. Valencia's tourism website earns “Best” of the three tourism destination websites. Marseille and Genoa's website do not offer the same caliber of information and lack the detail of Valencia's website. Valencia's website is easy to use, has the most up-to-date technology sources, and is physically the most appealing.

Details

Tourism-Marketing Performance Metrics and Usefulness Auditing of Destination Websites
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-901-5

Article
Publication date: 28 August 2023

Lázaro Florido-Benítez

The nuclear purpose of this research paper is to analyse representative bridges around the world as a tourist attraction and iconic element through destination marketing…

Abstract

Purpose

The nuclear purpose of this research paper is to analyse representative bridges around the world as a tourist attraction and iconic element through destination marketing organisations’ (DMOs’) tourism official websites where these are localised and three online travel agencies’ (OTAs’) websites.

Design/methodology/approach

This research used a mixed method. The author carried out Google research (13 March 2023) that included the following search word string “iconic bridges around the world” and “the most famous bridges worldwide” to select the most relevant bridges around the globe. Moreover, this research used a content analysis to examine how Expedia, Booking and Orbitz OTAs promote the bridges through their websites in terms of a tourist attraction, iconic element, tourist package, images and information.

Findings

Findings suggest that the most representative bridges analysed in this study are promoted as iconic element and tourist attraction through DMOs’ websites. Nevertheless, Booking, Expedia and Orbitz OTAs promote and sell products and services related to bridges selected, except in the case of the Millau Viaduct in France, the Si-O-Se-Pol bridge in Iran, the Danyang Kunshan Grand bridge in China and the Royal Gorge in the USA. Furthermore, results support that OTAs need to enhance the quality and variety of products and services that are linked to iconic bridges sightseeing tours because at the moment, there is a great uniformity in the promotion of products and services provided.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to broader debates in the importance of bridges as a tourist attraction and iconic element to attract tourists through tourism promotion websites.

Details

International Journal of Tourism Cities, vol. 9 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-5607

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 September 2018

Sotiroula Liasidou

Culture is an important motivation force to people within the context of tourism. It provides new opportunities for destinations to promote cultural elements and attract more…

1014

Abstract

Purpose

Culture is an important motivation force to people within the context of tourism. It provides new opportunities for destinations to promote cultural elements and attract more travellers. This study aims to investigate how the cultural heritage of Cyprus is promoted online and to identify whether the needs of travellers who focus on experiential aspects and prioritise culture can be fulfilled.

Design/methodology/approach

The research aim is fulfilled through a critical discourse analysis of selected WebPages concerning representation of the culture of Cyprus within the tourism context.

Findings

Eighteen websites were included, and the results suggest that Cyprus has Web exposure specifically promoting its cultural heritage. However, the websites have been established with different tourism scopes, with culture comprising just one part of the content. Thus, the development of specialised websites is dedicated exclusively to culture and tourism, and it seems appropriate to attract travellers interested in more educational activities with cultural and historical value. This approach would bring many benefits because this cohort of travellers is in an upper-scale tourist market.

Originality/value

This study is original in nature because it brings together the case of Cyprus, an island destination highly depended on tourism in relation to cultural tourism Web discourse. The promotion of cultural parameters will provide more opportunities for the island and escape from the 3S’s (sea, sun and sand) image to be positioned as a culturally sustainable destination.

Details

International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6182

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 August 2020

Ranjit Singh, Abid Ismail, Sibi PS and Dipendra Singh

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the US states and territories’ official tourism information websites based on the Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG) and Section…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the US states and territories’ official tourism information websites based on the Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG) and Section 508 guidelines to identify the compliance of websites towards disabilities policies and their behaviour pattern.

Design/methodology/approach

The official tourism websites of 57 states and territories were analysed through the TAW tool for WCAG 2.0 and AChecker for Section 508. Cluster analysis was used to produce a group of websites underlying the accessibility issues obtained from the online tool to understand the common pattern of behaviour.

Findings

The result revealed that websites have serious and significant accessibility issues underlying the prescribed guidelines that would interfere with the use of the website by disabled people. The main issues that make the website least accessible focussed on the following guideline of WCAG 2.0: compatible, navigable, text alternative, distinguishable and adaptable.

Research limitations/implications

The empirical results provide the US states and territories’ tourism authority to better understand web accessibility in their websites and its impact on disabled people.

Originality/value

As the web plays an important role in individual lives, this study highlights the accessibility issues which need immediately focussed and technically planned actions from the respective states and territories to ensure that designed web content should communicate effectively and universally.

Details

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, vol. 4 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9792

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 January 2017

Sunny Sun, Davis Ka Chio Fong, Rob Law and Shan He

This study aims to review published articles on website evaluation in hospitality and tourism for the period of 2000-2015 to provide a comprehensive updated review, as well as to…

3017

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to review published articles on website evaluation in hospitality and tourism for the period of 2000-2015 to provide a comprehensive updated review, as well as to offer implications for academic researchers and industry practitioners.

Design/methodology/approach

Content analysis was adopted by this study to review retrieved articles on website evaluation in hospitality and tourism. Articles were then analyzed from consumers’ perspective, suppliers’ perspective, and both consumers and suppliers’ perspectives using a systematic approach.

Findings

Major findings of this study showed that a majority of articles focused on either hospitality or tourism. Moreover, most of the articles generally discussed user interface, marketing effectiveness and website quality. However, these articles did not discuss in detail the implications of website evaluation and ignore the connections between suppliers and consumers to some extent.

Research limitations/implications

This study can be used as a reference for academic researchers to extend previous frameworks and for industry practitioners to reconstruct the traditional organizational chart and implementing e-strategic management strategies, including m-marketing.

Originality/value

This study updates website evaluation development in hospitality and tourism in the new millennium. The findings of this study provide significant implications for hospitality and tourism researchers and practitioners to encourage supplier-consumer engagement.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 29 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 18 November 2022

Sheila Stela Matusse, Xi Xi and Isaque Manteiga Joaquim

The purpose of the present paper was to explore the best practices of destination management in promoting tourist destinations through the Mozambique government website (INATUR…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the present paper was to explore the best practices of destination management in promoting tourist destinations through the Mozambique government website (INATUR) and identify strategies that enhance its visibility and online presence. This was only possible by (1) exploring if people are aware of the government website’s existence; (2) examining the existence of indicators of the engagement behaviors for the web-users (visitors) in their searching process on the government website; (3) exploring if the engagement behavior and website features have influence on the government website visitors’ satisfaction and (4) providing measures to enhance the popularity of the government website at INATUR.

Design/methodology/approach

The study combined a qualitative and quantitative methodological approach from the primary data collected via an online questionnaire survey of 269 random respondents, and the selected data was analyzed and processed using Stata 13 with the descriptive statistic and ANOVA [Analysis of Variance (an econometric model)] technique. The data was collected from secondary sources and from the interview, a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis was applied with an interpretive approach.

Findings

The government website presents the minimum of relevant information to respond to the users’ needs and expectations. There is little knowledge regarding the existence of the government website for tourism destination marketing. Few respondents were surprised about this website’s existence. The optimistic side of responses came from those peple who used the website and it helped their expectation. The correlation analysis showed a significant positive relationship between the government website features and the visitors’ searching satisfaction; the interview outputs noted that the shortage of staff at INATUR with knowledge of digital marketing engagement plays a role in solving the problem of the visibility and online presence of the website.

Research limitations/implications

One of the apparent limitations of this research was the world pandemic situation (Covid-19), which influenced to make abrupt arrangements in conducting the questionnaire survey and interview compared to the planned schedule. The interview was supposed to be a field research to have direct contact with her respondents and collect nonverbal information through the respondents’ body language, but unfortunately, it was not possible. Improvising was one of the solutions and had to design an online questionnaire survey for national and international tourist respondents and an emailed interview with INATUR director. Because of that, the results showed a very significant gap between African nationals and international respondents in number of 264 and 5, respectively (about in 98,14%) caused by the lockdown and traveling limitation.

Practical implications

The adoption of the contents in “Recommendations for policy and decision-making” can help in synergizing an integrative marketing communication strategy that enables all actors to maximize local economic benefits without spending many financial resources, and support sustainability, different tourist destination suppliers, authorities and local communities’ development. Ensuring effective and efficient communication, and above all, enhancing the provision of reliable information. Reinforce the importance of the practical teaching and learning of digital platforms in tourism schools and universities; offer a thematic tool to serve as an analytical basis in future studies, encouraging continuous scientific research on the subject under study.

Social implications

Raising the awareness of the government website among tourist consumers; promoting Mozambique as a reference destination and its tourist diversity through the use of the government website; capitalizing tourists’ enterprises for communities’ development; improving the competitiveness of destinations through greater exposure of tourism products and services on the government website boosts the economic gains for the development of the tourism sector in the country. Accessibility to the information channel of Mozambican tourist destinations via the government website, and stimulating the desire to visit; improve and enrich the visitor’s experience quality on the government website in the tourist information consultation.

Originality/value

It is the first research in the country about tourism destination marketing using indicators like customers’ behavioral engagement levels based on social interactions such as likes, shares and comments on the government website, as well as its awareness and performance aspects, to analyze if the INATUR government website is being successful on its tourism destination marketer role. The research was also done to bring solutions to the current trends of the Covid-19 pandemic that has affected and disrupted the tourism industry.

Details

International Trade, Politics and Development, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2586-3932

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 April 2021

Mercedes Marzo-Navarro and Marta Pedraja-Iglesias

The purpose of this paper is to define and analyse not only the main categories of online marketing strategies used by Rioja wine producers but also how wineries use their…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to define and analyse not only the main categories of online marketing strategies used by Rioja wine producers but also how wineries use their websites to provide information about wine tourism.

Design/methodology/approach

The content of websites corresponding to the Rioja designation of origin (Spain) is analysed, and the types of websites are determined according to significant differences in their content.

Findings

The websites used by Rioja wineries can be improved. The elements developed the best are those related to contact information and interactive communication, although interactive communication can also be enhanced through properly managed social networks. The study concludes that the websites can be further improved by including more information about the wines of the wineries, by improving their e-commerce platforms and interactivity and by including more information about other companies at the wine tourism destination. Two distinct types of websites were observed, differentiated by greater or lesser orientation towards the development of the region as a wine tourism destination.

Research limitations/implications

This study should be conducted for other designations of origin, both national and international, thereby allowing a comparison of not only the elements that are present on websites but also their orientation.

Practical implications

An outline is provided regarding the information that a winery's website must have to generate interest in a region as a wine tourism destination. The indicators that must be developed for a region to be tourism oriented are shown.

Social implications

The study highlights the importance of including wine tourism information on websites to improve social cohesion among wine tourism players and to contribute to both a stronger wine tourism identity and improved economic outcomes.

Originality/value

The proposed scheme is a diagnostic tool that allows determining the areas of improvement of one of the main sources of information used by tourists when selecting a destination. This tool can be applied by any winery regardless of its location.

Details

International Journal of Wine Business Research, vol. 33 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1062

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 November 2015

Paolo Mura and Saeed Pahlevan Sharif

The purpose of this study is to report the findings of a benchmarking exercise among official tourism websites of five Southeast Asian countries. website benchmarking, namely, a…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to report the findings of a benchmarking exercise among official tourism websites of five Southeast Asian countries. website benchmarking, namely, a strategy used to evaluate and compare website quality, has been widely used within the context of tourism studies. Yet there is a relative lack of information concerning best practices for official tourism websites as a form of promoting rural tourism and sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

By using a qualitative approach, a group of six tourism researchers were invited to evaluate official tourism websites of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines for user-friendliness, site attractiveness, marketing attractiveness and provision of information on rural tourism and sustainability.

Findings

Overall, the evaluations provided by the researchers indicated that in general, the Indonesian and Malaysian websites were always perceived as the best options compared to the Thai, Philippine and Vietnamese online platforms, mainly due to their visual appeal. However, this study also highlighted that the information about rural tourism products in all the websites evaluated was regarded as being very limited. Furthermore, the variety and diversity of respondents’ opinions showed that subjective components played a role in the interpretation of the websites.

Practical implications

Based on the findings of this study, three main recommendations have been suggested to assist tourism websites’ designers to design more impactful websites.

Originality/value

The novelty of this study lies in the consideration of websites as interactional and dialectical narratives whose meanings are produced, negotiated or challenged by the users.

Details

Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, vol. 7 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-4217

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 April 2019

Chun-Der Chen, Edward C.S. Ku and Chien Chi Yeh

Customers who engage in impulsive online shopping make immediate, unplanned and ill-thought-out purchases online. The purpose of this paper is to present a model to illustrate how…

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Abstract

Purpose

Customers who engage in impulsive online shopping make immediate, unplanned and ill-thought-out purchases online. The purpose of this paper is to present a model to illustrate how website quality (moderated by hedonic value) influences impulsive shopping behaviors in the context of online tourism.

Design/methodology/approach

The model and hypotheses presented here were tested by structural equation modeling. Empirical data were collected by conducting a questionnaire survey, in total, 3,000 invitation messages were mailed to the members of the two travel communities (1,500 invitation messages for each one), of which, 402 were returned completed (a return rate of 13.4 percent).

Findings

Visually appealing websites are more likely to attract customer attention and illicit pleasurable emotional responses. In addition, effective tourism websites also maintain good service quality and ensure accuracy of information. Finally, good functional benefits can help customers reduce the time and effort spent searching for a specific service and can also serve as a stimulus triggering impulse buying.

Research limitations/implications

This study used a reliable multidimensional measure of factors that influence the relational benefit of initiators and buyers to help elucidate which factors encourage impulsive online shopping. From a theoretical perspective, the authors determined that website quality is positively associated with functional benefits, and thereby influences impulsive shopping behaviors; in addition, the functional benefits conferred by websites have a strong and direct influence on impulsive shopping behavior. However, this effect is moderated by hedonic value.

Practical implications

Online tourism retailers should continually seek to enhance this function because it is the primary motivation behind customer use of online shopping websites. Effective tourism websites also maintain good service quality and ensure accuracy of information. Finally, navigation systems should be designed to meet the needs of new users, for example by offering help pages that address a variety of topics. Therefore, tourism websites should feature an adequate number of images, a colorful design, and well-described services and products.

Originality/value

In recent years, the popularity of online shopping websites has continued to rise. In seeking to elucidate impulsive online shopping behaviors, this study focused on online-to-offline applications, the uses-and-gratifications perspective and service-dominant logic. The authors also discussed the important influence of website quality on impulse buying and how this is moderated by hedonic value. The research model presented in this study provides a reliable instrument to operationalize key constructs in the analysis of impulsive shopping behavior and has important implications for the online tourism industry.

Details

Internet Research, vol. 29 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 June 2023

Da Van Huynh, Brigitte Stangl and Dieu Thi Tran

This research aims to investigate how emerging destinations cope with digitalization of information, where they are in the process and how digitalization of information takes…

Abstract

Purpose

This research aims to investigate how emerging destinations cope with digitalization of information, where they are in the process and how digitalization of information takes place in destination marketing organizations (DMOs). As a case for emerging destinations that must deal with the negative consequences of the digital divide, the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) will be examined. A new framework, solutions in general, and potential innovative approaches will be presented.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed methods approach was used. Firstly, a content analysis comprising 68 criteria to examine 10 destination websites was conducted to evaluate the performance of provincial destination websites of VMD. Secondly, the authors interviewed five managers from VMD DMOs to reveal the strategy, status quo and their challenges with digitalization.

Findings

Some digitalization is evident in VMD DMOs, with the digitization of tourist information provision developing from analog formats to digital modes. The content analysis of the websites shows that provincial destination websites of VMD perform well with regard to communication but need improvements for transaction, and especially relationship aspects. Emerging destinations like VMD DMOs are reaching the second or third level in the digitalization process. Yet they face challenges with human and financial resources.

Practical implications

This research provides recommendations concerning destination website performance, the process of digitalization and how to promote digitalization and apply more digital instruments to move to the next stages of destination digitalization. Also, suggestions on how to overcome existing challenges/barriers in similar areas of the world are provided.

Originality/value

A new, extended more granulated version of the digitalization framework by Karpova et al. (2019) has been developed. The new model acknowledges the continued importance of printed information, provides information about the sequence of steps how to implement website dimensions, and which instruments are realistic to implement in different levels of digitalization considering the challenges and barriers developing destinations face.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

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