Quality Issues in Hospitality Web Site Design and Operation

Abstract

In order to attract and retain online visitors, a hospitality enterprise needs to be mindful of and consider the quality of web site design and interactivity. The fact that the Internet development cycle has given rise to the concept of an “Internet Year” as a three-month period, illustrates the rapidity of technological advancement and underscores the need for benchmarks of quality. Although web sites debuted as a static display of text and images, advanced web authoring tools offer designers an array of dynamic, interactive, and multimedia techniques. The hospitality business web site, once developed as an electronic brochure, has likewise emerged into an interactive collection of important business productivity applications designed to complement the firm's strategic plan. A web site is deemed more effective if it: avoids clutter, restricts extraneous and irrelevant content, and minimizes download time. As the industry seeks to solidify one-to-one customer relationships, through invigorated brand loyalty, web sites are being expected to play a central role. It is for these reasons that quality benchmarks of web site design and operation assume an increasingly important role in corporate strategic planning.     

Selling Tourism on the Internet: Analysis of the Balance of Power Between Seller and Consumer During Information Exchange and Negotiation

Abstract

Business on the Internet is experiencing rapid development. Numerous companies in the tourism industry are setting up sites on the “World Wide Web” in order to create virtual shopping, to promote their product lines and to offer a service or to make direct sales. However, the exploitation of this new communication medium works regardless of the consequences of such an evolution on consumer behavior, in particular during the phase of commercial research and negotiation. This article is an analysis of the balance of power between seller and consumer within the framework of Computer-Mediated Communication. The result of this commercial research will make it possible to assess the different degrees of influence on retailers that are competing within the framework of network communication. Recommendations regarding the development of direct sales on the Web will be made.     

Tourism Education and the Internet

Abstract

Using the Internet in the teaching and learning environment assists tourism students in achieving two criteria increasingly being expected by employers. These are an understanding of the applications of the Internet to the industry, and a set of operational Internet skills.

In this paper the benefits and challenges of integrating the Internet into the teaching and learning environment are discussed. In addition, the results of a small-scale survey of tourism academics are reported.     

Reviewing the Profile and Behaviour of Internet Users

SUMMARY

Despite the wide-spread discussion of e-commerce advantages, research of e-commerce business models in the tourism literature has, to date, focused primarily on organisational, business and technical factors. In contrast, social considerations, i.e., factors related to the general societal context influencing the shape and adoption of e-commerce models in practice, have not been adequately addressed. As the wide success of e-commerce heavily depends on its adoption by society, it is imperative to develop a better understanding of the profile and behaviour of Internet surfers and shoppers. Thus, robust research on the adoption of e-commerce needs to consider the societal issues/factors affecting people and their environment. In this vein, by reviewing a great amount of literature from different disciplines, this paper aims to develop a holistic perspective for examining online tourists by integrating the study of individual, organisational, industrial, societal, and technological aspects of e-business. By consolidating and synthesizing a great number of studies, the paper also aims to identify and discuss future research opportunities and directions aiming to further examine Internet users and their behaviour.     

因特网上的英语新词汇及其特征分析

随着因特网的发展与普及,英语作为因特网上的主要语言也随之发展变化。因特网上的英语新词汇有描述新事物的新词汇,有为便于输入而形成的缩略词,还有走向世界通用的符号语言。这些英语新词汇具有词义通俗易懂,生动贴切,简洁易记,输入快捷的特征,还具有一定的隐喻性。网络英语新词的语义呈现和更新速度快、数量多。     

The Impact of the Internet on Travel Agencies in Hong Kong

Abstract

In recent years, the travel and tourism industry has begun to develop Internet applications more extensively. Many travel service suppliers, such as hotels and airline companies, already use the Internet as a direct channel for customer reservations. The integration of the Internet into the travel and tourism industry, however, presents a challenge towards the traditional role of travel agencies. The purpose of this study is to find out what impact the Internet has on travel agencies in Hong Kong. Outcomes of this research indicate that travel agents generally have positive attitudes towards Internet applications, and the potential threat-disintermediation-has not yet affected the travel industry. Travel agents believe that they can take advantage of the Internet technology to provide value-added services for their customers. Outcomes of the present study also indicate that there are significant relationships between company size, age and some Internet attributes. Travel agencies should therefore pay more attention to these attributes when adopting Internet technology.     

The Opportunities and Limitations of the Internet in Providing a Quality Tourist Experience

ABSTRACT

It is more than a decade since hyped stories about the impact of Internet Technology in the tourism industry have caused much of a stir in the minds of academics, practitioners and public policy makers, among others. Most of the discourses figured throughout around the theme painted pictures of a myriad shades and hues of the days to come. Internet-based marketing and e-commerce are two major, interrelated areas of development impacting the sector. The former reduces information asymmetry between tourists and ultimate service providers in destinations. The latter was predicted to eliminate intermediaries who are either information brokers or those guaranteeing services at the destination. This is true all the more in an environment where tourism is a global industry (with some part of the value chain in the country of origin of the tourist and the remaining in the countries that are destinations) and extremely dependent on information and communication industries. Today, the consumer has more information to make decisions and to access sellers globally, with almost real-time market information providing him with new quality service and experience. With this fundamental power shift of producers to consumers, the way in which marketers think needs to adapt (Corfu, Laranja & Costa, 2003). This paper is focused on the case-study “Solares de Portugal” and basically aims to find out: (1) the importance given by the manor house owners to specific features of travel-related websites' design and their global evaluation of the “Solares de Portugal” website; (2) the perceptions of Internet users on the before mentioned features' website effectiveness as well as their global evaluation of the “Solares de Portugal” website; (3) the correspondence between the two perspectives. The study has provided conclusive evidence about the relevance of efficient website services, as well as other practically employable findings. Thus, it seems reasonable to conclude that society is becoming more familiar with technology, in particular with the PCs and the Internet. This means that the travel industry has now the opportunity to deploy the Web in a more accurate, agile and innovative way. The tourist experience begins with its planning and anticipation stage (Liebman Parrinello, 1993) in the context of which the Internet may provide new quality experiences. From the perspective of the demand side, this may lead to new opportunities of improving the quality of operations and services through the Internet. However, further research will be necessary to dig deeper into those business implications.     

Big Five Factors of Personality and Tourists' Internet Search Behavior

This study aimed at relating tourists' Internet search behaviors and the Big Five Factors (BFF) of personality to identify personality items that better predict tourists' Internet search behaviors. Survey data from domestic tourists to a metropolitan city in South Korea was used to empirically examine the relationships. Results indicate that travel information sought through the Internet vary with the BFF with the exception of extraversion, and the Internet channels used for travel information search also varied with the BFF with the exception of conscientiousness. The Internet is more widely used as a source of travel information but less for travel purchases. The results also suggest that the responses to some BFF items can substantially improve the predictability of tourists' Internet search behaviors. Implications for the use of the BFF in designing travel information systems are addressed.     

基于互联网的旅游教育应用模式研究

全球信息化浪潮的大举推进给传统的旅游教育人才培养体系提出了挑战 ,如何将互联网更好地应用到旅游教育是值得深思的问题。该文从我国互联网旅游教育现状入手 ,提出了基于互联网旅游教育应用的三大支撑体系、四大教育模式 ,最后提出了优化该模式的一些对策和建议。     

Modelling E-Marketing Strategies: Internet Presence and Exploitation of Greek Hotels

Abstract

Despite the wide use of the Internet in the tourism industry and the exponential growth of e-commerce, little is still known on how the new medium is transforming marketing practices and concepts. The purpose of this empirical study is to fill in this gap. Specifically, the study first analyses Internet's capabilities as well as the Virtual Marketspace and the marketing transformations that the Internet is creating. After reviewing models and strategies for Internet marketing, an e-marketing mix is proposed that exploits Internet capabilities. The latter is used in order to investigate and provide suggestions on the development of Internet strategies of hotels in Greece.     

Meeting Planners' Use of the Internet to Plan Group Meetings

Abstract

Despite the fact that hospitality web sites are proliferating and opportunities to complete sales transactions via the Internet increase daily, no research exists on meeting planners' use of the Internet to plan group meetings. Guided by Hoffman and Novak's (1994) Model of Planned Behavior this study focused on determining what variables are related to a meeting planners' intent to use and current use of the Internet to plan group meetings. Three hundred sixty-two planners of the Chicago Chapter of Meeting Professionals International were surveyed via a faxed instrument. Planners' attitudes, beliefs about norms, and perceived behavioral control were found to be significantly related to their usage of the Internet. Additionally, results confirmed that meeting planners view the Internet as having positive qualities and benefits in planning group meetings and that it is a cost effective planning tool.     

保护与开发:遗产地数字化管理协同功效实证研究——以"数字九寨"为例

一旦进入《世界遗产名录》,遗产地旅游迅速升温,遗产保护与旅游发展的矛盾随即凸显.如何协调保护与开发关系,促进旅游可持续发展,成为理论与实践不断探讨的主要问题."数字九寨"是我国世界遗产地,也是国家级风景名胜区中率先自主创新、通过数字化管理进行实践探索的典型个案.在数字化建设中,彰显出"协同"保护与开发的管理功效端倪.本文基于协同理论,分析了"数字九寨"的协同原理及效果,并针对存在的问题提出强化数字化协同功效的保障措施.拟从"保护-开发"视角,为我国世界遗产地、旅游景区在数字化建设和管理中增强持续发展能力提供实践参考.     

The Impact of Internet Travel Advertising Design,Tourists' Attitude,and Internet Travel Advertising Effect on Tourists' Purchase Intention: The Moderating Role of Involvement

Nowadays, Internet advertising has a great potential in increasing customer's purchase intention. According to the literature, involvement significantly influences customer's online behavior and purchasing process; however, much of the present literature concentrates on independent and/or dependent effect of involvement on online shopping. This study focuses on the moderating role of involvement to explore the relationships among Internet travel advertising content design, Internet travel advertising attitude, Internet travel advertising effect, and purchase intention. The study collects a total of 386 responses and the data are examined with structural equation modeling. The results demonstrate that involvement as a moderator had the greatest effect on the relationship between Internet travel advertising attitude and Internet travel advertising effect. Involvement also influenced the relationship between Internet travel advertising content design and Internet travel advertising attitude followed by the relationship between Internet travel advertising effect and purchase intention. In addition, several practical implications have been discussed.     

Assessing the Use of Internet Surveys in the Context of Advertisement Tracking Studies: A Case Study of Tourism Yukon's Winter Promotion Campaign

Abstract

As interest in the varying applications of Internet technology has expanded in recent years, so have discussions concerning the relative merits of this medium as a credible means for conducting market survey research. Proponents of this form of on-line surveying claim that as the Internet becomes more universally accepted as a means of communication, its utility for survey purposes will be largely related to its ability to conduct some forms of research faster, better, and more conclusively than other more traditional methods of interviewing. Other supporters highlight the approach's potential research advantages with respect to gaining access to especially difficult-to-find populations, its cost effectiveness from a data collection perspective, and its speed of interaction with respondent populations. Conversely, other researchers express more cautionary perspectives and emphasize that Internet survey methods tend to suffer many of the same shortcomings as those associated with more traditional survey methods: inappropriateness for communication with specific audiences, control over sample representativeness, “self-selection” biases and response turn-around time. As with other emerging market survey research tools, there is a need to systematically explore the strengths and weaknesses of these perspectives in the context of specific research situations. This research examines issues of sample representativeness, “self selection” or non-response bias, and appropriateness of the survey techniques in the context of advertising tracking research. It does this by comparing the socio-economic and behavioral traits of Internet and traditional (telephone and mail) survey respondents participating in a tourism advertisement tracking study in Canada.     

An overview of tourism and planning in the Federal Republic of Germany

German tourism research is an integral part of landuse and economic planning. This has led to the development and implementation of site attractivity and economic efficiency measures. Attractivity models incorporating a site's natural and artificial features are used to provide a comparative ranking of present and proposed tourist developments. Both cross-sectional and time studies indicate that the development of the tourist sector is not an efficient method whereby regional socio-economic disparties can be reduced.     

Information technology usage,motivation, and intention: a case of Chinese urban senior outbound travelers in the Yangtze River Delta region

Chinese outbound travel is thriving, with seniors taking an increasing market share. However, although outbound travel in general has been researched quite well, little is known specifically about the outbound travel behavior of Chinese seniors, or the effects of information technology (IT) on their vacation patterns. This study is an initial and exploratory attempt to understand the relation between IT usage and tourism behavior (travel motivation, travel intention, and sociodemographics) of Chinese senior outbound travelers. The results reveal four segments of IT usage, each with significantly different traveler profiles in terms of sociodemographics, travel motivation, and travel intention.     

Analysis of Hoteliers' E-Commerce and Information Technology Applications

ABSTRACT

Numerous research studies are being conducted that are related to e-commerce and information technology (IT) applications in the hospitality industry with regard to operational, profitability, productivity, and management perspective. The focus of this study is to examine current e-commerce and IT applications in the hospitality industry and to identify the business travelers' needs relative to advanced e-commerce and IT applications to improve customer service. Hoffman and Chung (1999) stated that what customers want most is not what restaurants and hotels are necessarily implementing. This study discusses the typical problems and obstacles of implementing e-commerce and IT applications in hospitality, using the lodging e-commerce and IT applications to satisfy customers, and developing the lodging e-commerce and IT applications as a corporate competitive advantage. Moreover, this study investigated a variety of e-commerce and IT applications related to customer service, satisfaction, and retention as well as e-commerce and IT applications as a distribution channel for receiving travelers' information and accommodation booking. This study provides valuable implications for the hospitality practitioners about customer needs relative to e-commerce and IT applications.     

An overview of Internet-based surveys in hospitality and tourism journals

Survey research has reached an era when the Internet is commonly used as a research tool in different fields of study. Yet, the use of this method in tourism and hospitality research has not been fully explored. This study provides a state-of-the-art assessment of journal publications in the past ten years to reveal how the Internet has been incorporated into tourism and hospitality research. Various aspects of online research in tourism and hospitality are identified via reviewing relevant articles retrieved from the EBSCOhost.     

The Past,Present, and Future Research of Online Information Search

SUMMARY

Information technology has rapidly developed and accordingly online information search is increasingly important to both travelers and travel marketers. Despite the importance, there has not been given much attention to online information search behavior in the travel and tourism field. To stress the importance and urge researchers in advancing this area of research, this study briefly reviews (1) traditional views of information search, (2) the distinct features of online information search, (3) online benefits to travelers and marketers, and (4) online concerns and opportunities. In addition, potential issues on future research are suggested.     

Examining the Factors Affecting Perceived Enjoyment and Usage Intention of Ubiquitous Tour Information Services: A Service Quality Perspective

With the advances in mobile technologies, the ubiquitous tour information service has been emerging as a new solution for providing tour information. This study examined the effects of ubiquitous tour information service on perceived enjoyment and usage intention by tourists. The study begins with a preliminary survey of mobile device users’ motives and perceptions of usage, followed by a review of the related literature. The measurements were derived from this process. The demonstrative analysis results classify the quality of ubiquitous tour information service into four categories: system quality, information quality, interface design, and convenience. Before analyzing the data, an exploratory factor analysis for reliability and validity assessment was conducted. Whereas the factors of interface design and convenience did not have a significant impact, the remaining two factors, system quality and information quality, impacted users’ perceived enjoyment to a much greater extent. The four categories of ubiquitous tour information service were shown to affect usage intention. Of the four factors, system quality was found to have the highest impact on usage intention, followed by convenience, interface design, and information quality, in that order. The association between perceived enjoyment and usage intention was also supported. Based on the results, academic and managerial implications are discussed.