Accessibility of Tourism Websites: Attitudes and Behaviors

While developed countries continue to shape an industry that has somehow become an integral part of the society, it only seems fair that the industry should provide equal access for every member of the society, recouping members of the market that is excluded without notice. The basic tier of service in the web interface is to provide information, before any booking systems and online purchasing (Siegel, 1997). In the travel industry, this basic tier is achieved in many different travel businesses, but consistently in destination marketing websites that solely promotes a tourism destination through delivering information about the specific location. Palmer & McCole (2000) claimed that information technology has created a portal whereby potential consumer can browse through the web interface to view what the destination offers and develop a picture that would contribute to imagining a supposed travel experience. This study will examine the behavior of a website user in assessing the accessibility of Destination Management Organization (DMO) websites. This also acts to suggest the level of complexity that DMO’s may solve by recognizing primary errors and consumer attitude in providing equal access

INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN USERS AND SYSTEM FLEXIBILITIES WITH PERCEIVED USABILITY OF ONLINE AIRLINE RESERVATION SYSTEMS

It is very critical for the organizations to design flexible systems that are easy to use and can accomplish all the requirements by way of offering customizability. Philosophers argue that users are good in adapting the systems; however, research shows users dissatisfaction with existing Online Airline Reservation Systems in terms of task completion. Therefore, researchers are eager to find out ways for improving online usability of the systems, how users' Perceived Usability of the system is formulated by its flexibility functions. This research therefore examines travelers' expectations, preferences and online behavior (Users' Flexibility) and aligns that with designing of flexible online airline reservation systems (System's Flexibility) and users' as evaluators of the online systems to determine its Perceived Usability through users' effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction (Perceived Usability). In this dissertation, both quantitative and qualitative techniques were used to analyze the data collected in the context of SF, lJF and PU of the systems. A redesign solution for enhanced usability was developed based on HCI guidelines and the flexibility tactics used in online travel agencies, which led to a proposed interface with the integration of opaque mechanism. The two interfaces were used in the experiment. Participants were requested to complete the evaluation of the existing and proposed interfaces. The findings suggested that users can be classified on the basis of their Flexible Traveling Behavior which led to the development of a Users' Flexibility measuring scale. It is further investigated that integration of opaque fares concept would increase the usability of the system. Since flexibility is referred to its ability to respond to internal or external changes, systems incorporated with opaque fares would serve the role of external change agent by way of providing flexibility in users' decision making and will also serve the role of internal change agent by way of providing the capability of accepting changed decisions

Dark Patterns: Effect on Overall User Experience and Site Revisitation

Dark patterns are user interfaces purposefully designed to manipulate users into doing something they might not otherwise do for the benefit of an online service. This study investigates the impact of dark patterns on overall user experience and site revisitation in the context of airline websites. In order to assess potential dark pattern effects, two versions of the same airline website were compared: a dark version containing dark pattern elements and a bright version free of manipulative interfaces. User experience for both websites were assessed quantitatively through a survey containing a User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) and a System Usability Scale (SUS). Site revisitation i.e. users’ willingness to revisit a website was assessed qualitatively through semi-structured interviews. Dark pattern awareness was also investigated through the survey and interviews. For the UEQ, a significant difference was observed for Attractiveness. There was no significant difference observed for the rest of the scales, namely Perspicuity, Efficiency, Dependability Stimulation and Novelty. Additionally, there was no significant difference between the SUS scores of the two sites. Thus, dark pattern application was found to have no significant effect on overall user experience. Despite this, the bright website was found to have a higher rating for all scales of the UEQ as well as for the average SUS score compared to the dark website. The semi-structured interviews revealed that dark pattern also had no effect on site revisitation. Lastly, questions assessing dark pattern awareness revealed that the majority of participants were moderately aware of dark patterns despite not knowing the term

E-commerce in the travel and tourism industry in Sub-Saharan Africa

The e-commerce revolution in business can help African countries expand their tourism industry. Africa, with its great wealth in wildlife and unique resorts, can benefit from the ever increasing user population of the Internet, particularly in the USA and Western Europe where most of the tourists to Africa come from (Internet World Stats, 2004). E-commerce which runs on the backbone of the Internet can help the African tourism industry break into international tourism, thus increasing the flows of the much needed foreign currency. As there was little empirical data on the e-commerce activities in the African tourism industry the researcher first and foremost examined a large number of websites in order to paint a picture of the nature and extent of the e-commerce activities in four -African countries. For comparison, websites of tourism organisations from USA and Western Europe were also examined. The surveys revealed that few of the African organisations are embracing e-commerce and that although some websites were comparable to those of their western counterparts the majority had room for considerable improvement. After examining the websites another survey was carried out to find the current progress of e-commerce adoption and usage from the perspective of the African tourism organisations. Analysis of the data collected showed that e-commerce adoption among the tourism organisations was slow. This led to more surveys being carried out to find the barriers to e-commerce among tourism organisations with information-only websites and those whose websites had limited interactive facilities. These surveys revealed that tourism organisations with information-only websites faced more barriers than those with websites which had limited interactive features. They also revealed that the most common barriers were technological and security and legal barriers. The ultimate survey involved finding out from tourism organisations with fully-fledged e-commerce websites how they overcame the e-commerce barriers. The methods used by these organisations to overcome e-commerce barriers together with recommendations made in the surveys carried out earlier were used to formulate recommendations and guidelines for those organisations intending to adopt and e-commerce. The recommendations and guidelines were tested and results showed that they are helpful and easy to follow

Perceptions of airline website credibility: an Egyptian perspective

A website’s perceived credibility is a critical issue for consumers when making an online purchase. In general, customers prefer not to purchase items on websites until they feel confident in their credibility. This is critical for Egyptian users as they perceive a high level of risk when internet shopping in Egypt. Perceptions of the credibility of websites vary based on an individual’s unique attributes and experiences (Lazar, Meiselwitz & Feng, 2007), and thus it seems logical that factors derived from one context might not be equally important for users in other contexts. Credibility is a crucial especially for airlines because booking airline ticket entails the disclosure of more personal and financial information than any other online transaction. Airline companies need to consider how they should improve the websites to make them credible for consumers.This study sought to develop an integrated model for the credibility of airline websites. The study had several aims. First, it aimed to explore the antecedents of airline website credibility as perceived by Egyptian online users. Second, it aimed to explore the extent to which users’ perceptions of website credibility is affected by their residence in an online-based country such as the UK compared with a face-to-face-based country such as Egypt. Third, it aimed to explore the relative importance of the antecedents of airline website credibility for Egyptian users and determine the relationship between Egyptian users’ demographics and perceptions of these antecedents. Fourth, by combining study finding, the study aimed to conceptualize a framework linking the antecedents of airline website credibility in the Egyptian context with the relationship between users’ perceptions of these antecedents and their demographics.To achieve the above objectives, this qualitative study adopts an interpretive approach mixed methods under the interpretive approach. An exploratory sequential strategy, in which 20 semi-structured interviews preceded a survey phase involving 200 respondents, was conducted to achieve the research objectives.The antecedents affecting perceptions of the credibility of airline websites were identified as a combination of factors related to the online presence of the airline company, factors related to the physical presence of the airline company and infrastructure factors in Egypt. The findings also highlighted the fact that credibility antecedents are not all of equal importance for Egyptians. The findings also revealed that Egyptians who reside in Egypt perceive the credibility of airline websites differently from Egyptians who reside in the UK. The age, gender, income, education and internet experience of users was found to impact on perceptions of the credibility of airline websites.The main contribution of this study is to enhance the understanding of the credibility of airline websites. This is important because there is inconclusive evidence about website credibility, especially with regard to airline websites

Sistemas de gestão de destinos turísticos: contribuições para a sua adoção e implementação

The growing competition between tourist destinations, the progressively demanding tourist source markets, as well the complexity of the strategies to attract them, has led Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) to expand their attributions to assume themselves as central actors in the coordination of the stakeholders of respective destinations. Thus, some DMOs have implemented collaborative online networks, referred to as Destination Management Systems (DMSs), which connect all relevant tourist agents in a destination, facilitating communication and cooperation between them. These systems also provide online tourist portals for tourist destinations that offer more personalised travel planning experiences, including the possibility to purchase tourist products. However, only a residual number of tourist destinations has ever tried to adopt a DMS and a considerable portion of the them were unsuccessful. The challenges to the success of a DMS require a careful analysis of the factors that influence the willingness of the tourist agents of a destination to adopt them, as well as of the factors that determine the importance that these agents attribute to the functionalities of those same DMSs. However, research in this area is still limited. The main objectives of this thesis are to obtain an in-depth knowledge about the factors mentioned above, as well as on the characteristics and role of DMSs, in order to promote the implementation of these systems in tourist destinations. To achieve these objectives, a mixed methodology was adopted, starting with an extensive review of the literature on DMSs, exploratory interviews with the main companies providing DMS solutions and with DMOs that have successfully implemented these systems. At content analysis of those same DMSs was undertaken. This qualitative approach provided an in-depth knowledge regarding the characteristics of DMSs, the current business and management models of these systems, as well as their recent developments and future perspectives. Then, a quantitative approach was used to identify the factors that explain the willingness of destination-based stakeholders to adopt a DMS, as well as those influencing the importance attributed by these agents to the specific functionalities of DMSs. Thus, a questionnaire survey was applied to different types of tourist agents from a regional destination lacking a DMS: The Portuguese Centre region. The results of the quantitative investigation indicate that the predisposition to adopt a DMS is positively influenced by factors such as: (i) cooperation within the destination; (ii) pressure from the external environment (e.g. from competing destinations); (iii) perceived benefits and usefulness of the DMS; (iv) DMO's leadership and strategic vision; (v) resources and strategic vision of the tourist actors in the destination. On the other hand, two factors which are still absent from research on this topic were found to negatively influence the predisposition to adopt a DMS, namely: (i) alternative online platforms and (ii) the lack of a DMS in neighbouring regions or at the national level. The results also demonstrate that the importance attributed to the specific functionalities of a DMS by destination-based stakeholders is positively influenced (i) by its resources and strategic vision, (ii) by its knowledge on the DMO’s initiatives in the field of the Information and Communication and Technologies, (iii) the condition of affiliated member of a DMO; and (iv) by the tourist agent sub-sector, since it was found that tourism accommodation providers value collaborative functionalities of a DMS less than others. The thesis ends with conclusions and implications for the tourism sector, mainly for agents responsible for the development of tourist destinations.A crescente competição entre destinos turísticos, bem como a progressiva exigência da procura turística e da complexidade das estratégias para a atrair, levou as Organizações de Gestão de Destinos (OGD) a ampliarem as suas atribuições para se assumirem como atores centrais na coordenação dos stakeholders dos respetivos destinos. Assim, algumas OGDs implementaram redes colaborativas online, designadas de Sistemas de Gestão de Destinos (SGDs), que interligam todos os agentes turísticos relevantes de um destino, facilitando a comunicação e a cooperação entre eles. Estes sistemas também proporcionam à procura turística portais online de destinos turísticos que oferecem experiências de planeamento de viagens mais personalizadas, incluindo a possibilidade de comprar produtos turísticos. Porém, apenas um número residual de destinos turísticos tentou adotar um SGD e uma parcela considerável dos SGDs não tiveram sucesso. Os desafios para garantir o sucesso dos SGD exigem uma análise cuidada dos fatores que influenciam a predisposição dos agentes turísticos de um destino para os adotar, bem como dos fatores que determinam a importância que estes agentes atribuem às funcionalidades dos SGD. No entanto, a investigação neste âmbito é ainda limitada. A presente tese tem como principais objetivos obter um conhecimento aprofundado sobre os fatores anteriormente referidos, bem como sobre as características e papel dos SGD, no sentido de promover a implementação destes sistemas nos destinos. Para alcançar os objetivos estabelecidos, adotou-se uma metodologia mista, começando com uma extensiva revisão da literatura sobre SGD, entrevistas exploratórias às principais empresas fornecedoras de soluções de SGD e a OGD que implementaram estes sistemas com sucesso, bem como análises de conteúdo de SGD. Esta abordagem qualitativa permitiu um conhecimento mais aprofundado relativamente às características dos SGD, aos atuais modelos de negócios e de gestão destes sistemas, bem como aos seus recentes desenvolvimentos e perspetivas futuras. Seguidamente uma abordagem quantitativa foi utlizada para identificar os fatores que explicam a predisposição dos agentes turísticos de um destino para adotar um SGD, bem como os fatores que influenciam a importância atribuída por estes agentes às funcionalidades específicas dos SGD. Assim, um inquérito por questionário foi aplicado a diferentes tipos de agentes turísticos de um destino regional que não dispõe de um SGD: a região Centro de Portugal. Os resultados da investigação quantitativa indicam que a predisposição para adotar um SGD é influenciada positivamente por fatores como: (i) cooperação no destino; (ii) pressão do ambiente externo (ex. de destinos concorrentes); (iii) benefícios percebidos e utilidade do SGD; (iv) liderança e visão estratégica da OGD; (v) recursos e visão estratégica dos atores turísticos do destino. Por outro lado, dois fatores até agora ausentes da investigação influenciam negativamente a predisposição para adotar um SGD, nomeadamente: (i) as plataformas alternativas online e (ii) a falta de um SGD em regiões vizinhas ou a nível nacional. Os resultados demonstram ainda que a importância atribuída às funcionalidades específicas de um SGD pelos agentes turísticos de um destino é influenciada positivamente (i) pelos seus recursos e visão estratégica, (ii) pelo seu conhecimento sobre as iniciativas da OGD no âmbito das Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação, (iii) por ser membro afiliado da OGD; e (iv) pelo subsetor do agente turístico, observando-se que os fornecedores de alojamento turístico valorizam menos as funcionalidades de cariz colaborativo do que outro tipo de agentes. A tese termina com conclusões e implicações para o setor do turismo, principalmente para agentes responsáveis pelo desenvolvimento turístico.Programa Doutoral em Turism

An effective evaluation model and improvement analysis for national park websites: A case study of Taiwan

[[abstract]]Taiwanese National Park Headquarters employ advanced information technologies to attract travellers, researchers, and other visitors, but it is likely that not all Headquarters have clear knowledge about how successful their websites are. This study proposes an effective model for evaluating national park websites. The model first applies the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) to cope with the interdependencies between evaluation criteria. Next, it uses the Analytic Network Process (ANP) to compute weights for each criterion. Finally, it uses the VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) to rank Taiwanese national park websites. Overall, the results show that each national park website must be improved in order to become a high quality website. Furthermore, the weight-variance analysis suggests managerial actions based on two-dimensional maps for improving website quality. Therefore, this study not only provides a comprehensive and systematic approach that quantitatively measures a website's overall performance, but also contributes to practical applications in terms of providing worthwhile recommendations for building an ideal website

The E-Cultural Adaption Framework (E-CAF) : adapting the local travel interface for Egyptian consumers

Although the Internet has become a global medium, which companies use to access individuals worldwide, it is argued in this thesis that cultural issues still need to be taken into account when designing Web sites. In fact, international marketers agree that culture in terms of consumers‘ values and beliefs remains a significant constraint for reaching international consumers. Professional analysts and designers generally agree that well-designed user interfaces improve the performance and appeal of the Web and help in reaching large numbers of consumers across cultures. Therefore, one way of improving the user-interface is by paying attention to users' culture, which means developing culturally adapted Web sites. The Web localisation literature addresses the users' ultural concerns by utilising some of the popular cultural models like those of Hofstede and Hall; however these tools are not appropriate for handling the cultural values affecting the online behaviour of consumers. Effective Web localisation can be achieved through an appropriate cultural framework that incorporates the cultural values that affect the online behaviour of consumers. This thesis introduces the electronic cultural adaption framework or E-CAF, as a structure for adapting local Web interfaces. The E-CAF, constructed for the travel domain, uses six cultural dimensions derived from the observation of behaviour and identifies unique cultural variables that affect online consumer behaviour. The E-CAF is constructed using grounded theory methodology and is then evaluated as a tool for adapting local Web interfaces. This includes discussing the applicability of the E-CAF as a tool for identifying online marketing strategies suitable for targeting consumers across cultures and using the E-CAF to assess and evaluate the cultural adaptation of three Egyptian local travel interfaces. Finally, the E-CAF is utilized as a means for developing questions that can help designers to collect the clients' designing requirements. This helps the designers to build an effective local interface based on an understanding of each client‘s special design requirements.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

The E-Cultural Adaption Framework (E-CAF) : adapting the local travel interface for Egyptian consumers

Although the Internet has become a global medium, which companies use to access individuals worldwide, it is argued in this thesis that cultural issues still need to be taken into account when designing Web sites. In fact, international marketers agree that culture in terms of consumers‘ values and beliefs remains a significant constraint for reaching international consumers. Professional analysts and designers generally agree that well-designed user interfaces improve the performance and appeal of the Web and help in reaching large numbers of consumers across cultures. Therefore, one way of improving the user-interface is by paying attention to users' culture, which means developing culturally adapted Web sites. The Web localisation literature addresses the users' ultural concerns by utilising some of the popular cultural models like those of Hofstede and Hall; however these tools are not appropriate for handling the cultural values affecting the online behaviour of consumers. Effective Web localisation can be achieved through an appropriate cultural framework that incorporates the cultural values that affect the online behaviour of consumers. This thesis introduces the electronic cultural adaption framework or E-CAF, as a structure for adapting local Web interfaces. The E-CAF, constructed for the travel domain, uses six cultural dimensions derived from the observation of behaviour and identifies unique cultural variables that affect online consumer behaviour. The E-CAF is constructed using grounded theory methodology and is then evaluated as a tool for adapting local Web interfaces. This includes discussing the applicability of the E-CAF as a tool for identifying online marketing strategies suitable for targeting consumers across cultures and using the E-CAF to assess and evaluate the cultural adaptation of three Egyptian local travel interfaces. Finally, the E-CAF is utilized as a means for developing questions that can help designers to collect the clients' designing requirements. This helps the designers to build an effective local interface based on an understanding of each client‘s special design requirements.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Dynamic packaging

Das Erfolgsmodell von Online-Tourismusunternehmen wird von zwei Faktoren bestimmt: vom Kunden und von der Technologie. Der Kunde repräsentiert die Nachfrage des Marktes und somit den Push-Faktor, die Technologie den Anbietermarkt und den Push-Faktor. Gemeinsam entscheiden sie über den Erfolg eines E-Business. Das «Dynamic Packaging» kombiniert beide Faktoren zu einem Maßnahmenbündel. Das Ziel ist ein auf Kundenbedürfnisse zugeschnittenes Produkt, das sich die neusten IT-Technologien zunutze macht. Der erste Abschnitt dieser Arbeit liefert einen Überblick der Tourismusindustrie, die aufgrund der neu verfügbaren Informationstechnologien einen signifikanten Wandel vollzogen hat. Die Veränderungen werden im Folgenden bezogen auf die unterschiedlichen Anbieter von Reisedienstleistungen und -produkten diskutiert. Diese Vorgehensweise soll nicht nur das spezifische Umfeld veranschaulichen, in dem die Anbieter agieren, sondern auch die Herausforderungen, mit denen sie konfrontiert werden. Die Akteure, die in Betracht gezogen werden, sind Fluggesellschaften, Hoteliers, Kreuzfahrtgesellschaften und Autovermietungsgesellschaften. Der Übergang von der Offline- zur Online-Präsenz hatte primär eine Disintermediation zur Folge. Die wachsende Nachfrage nach einer besseren Organisation und Integration der Informationsfülle führte später dann jedoch wieder zu einer Reintermediation des Produktangebots.Die Online-Reisebüros, die den erkennbaren Trend der Reintermediation adoptiert haben, stellen eine neue Zustellmethode für das Tourismusprodukt dar. Ihr Erfolg ist jedoch von der Mitwirkung aller Anbieter abhängig. Touristische Unternehmen nutzen normalerweise eine weit gefächerte Auswahl an Distributionskanälen. Diese können jedoch nicht ad Infinitum vermehrt werden. Die Alternativen werden deshalb sorgfältig durch das Management ausgewertet mit dem Ziel, die tangiblen und intangiblen Vorteile zu maximieren und zugleich die Kosten zu minimieren. Die hier vollzogene Analyse bezieht drei Entscheidungsebenen mit ein: die operationale, die taktische und die strategische. Dabei werden drei verschiedene Distributionskanäle einander gegenüber gestellt: traditionelle Reisebüros, eigene Webseiten der Anbieter und Online-Reisebüros. Um die Diskussion von Online-Reisebüros als Distributionskanal auch im Hinblick auf mögliche Chancen und Risiken zu vervollständigen, wird abschließend eine Kosten-Nutzen-Analyse aus der Kundenperspektive präsentiert.The success model of the e-tourism company could be defined as driven forward by two dominating forces: customer and technology. The customer, who works as the market pull factor and the technology as the push factor, both determine the e-business’s success. Dynamic packaging reflects the combination of these two factors: delivery of a highly customized product based on advanced information technologies. First section of the thesis gives an overview of the current tourism industry which has been significantly changed due to the emerging information technologies. The changes occurred in the last years are discussed separately for the various suppliers of the travel product. This should better illustrate the specific environment in which they operate as well as the challenges they face. The players taken into consideration include airlines, hotels, cruise lines and car rental companies. The transition from the offline to the online environment contributed in the first stage to the disintermediation process. Later, the need for the organization and integration of the information initiated a return to the reintermediation of the travel products. Online travel agencies, due to the reintermediation, present a new delivery channel for the travel product. Their success depends on a high participation level of the various tourism players. The tourism companies most usually use a portfolio of distribution channels. However the channels cannot be ad infinitum added as they emerge. The alternative choices will be carefully evaluated by the management to maximize the tangible and intangible benefits as well as to minimize the costs. The conducted analysis takes into consideration three decisions areas: operational, tactical and strategic. Every conducted analysis includes the comparison of three different distribution channels: the traditional agency, the own suppliers’ web page and the online travel agency. Finally, the cost/benefit analysis will be presented from the customer’s perspective to ensure the comprehensive presentation of Online Travel Agencies (OTA) as a distribution channel, taking into consideration the possible threads and opportunities