eVisa’s impacts on travel and tourism: the case of Turkey

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate eVisa applications. eVisa is a service that falls under eTourism, whose growing use can be attributed to its ability to simplify the process of obtaining a visa. The objectives of this study were twofold: to explore the eVisa experience of tourists who have previously visited Turkey by using the service and to analyse the perceptions of stakeholders who have contributed to eVisa. Design/methodology/approach: The present research has utilised two methodologies within the context of qualitative research methods. Data were gathered from tourists by using reviews (n = 1690) and in-depth interviews key actors (n = 4), which represent consumers and contributors’ perspectives on the eVisa system, respectively. While consumers dictate the demand of the service, contributors control its supply. The contributors referenced herein are relevant eVisa stakeholders in Antalya. Findings: The research findings revealed eVisa facilitation’s positive effects on a destination’s image and tourists’ intentions to revisit destinations compared to when they use traditional visa-obtaining processes. The research findings then present suitable data for destination managers and policymakers regarding eVisa facilitation, followed by this study’s conclusions and implications. Research limitations/implications: eVisa facilitation can foster demand for travel and tourism while maintaining bureaucratic elements of the traditional visa procedure. From a psychological perspective, eVisa facilitation can positively affect travel motivation to certain destinations where eVisas are applicable, as well as positively influence intentions to revisit tourist destinations. Originality/value: The originality and uniqueness of the present study lies in its contribution to the increasing recognition of the significance and positive impacts of eVisa facilitation on travel and tourism demand. © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

When digital government matters for tourism: a stakeholder analysis

Despite the importance of governance processes for destination management and the impact of digital technology on such processes, surprisingly little academic research has explored the use of digital technology to transform public governance in the tourism sector. This conceptual paper fills this gap by conducting a digital government stakeholder analysis for the tourism sector using the digital government evolution model as its theoretical foundation. The analysis identifies six relevant stakeholder groups: governments, businesses, non-profits, citizens, visitors and employees. It examines six types of technology-enabled interactions between government and other stakeholders: government-to-government, government-to-business, government-to-non-profit, government-to-citizen, government-to-visitor and government-to-employee. These interactions are illustrated with real-life examples. The analysis contributes to identifying pressures on tourism authorities and determining how the authorities respond to such pressures, how they innovate their operations and policies with digital technologies, and how these innovations are institutionalized over time. The results contribute to building the theoretical foundations for sector-specific digital government and enable strategic discussion on the use of commercially viable and socially responsible digital innovation to advance the tourism sector.Fil: Kalbaska, Nadzeya. Università Della Svizzera Italiana; SuizaFil: Janowski, Tomasz. Gdansk Technical University of Technology; Polonia. Danube University Krems; AustriaFil: Estevez, Elsa Clara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Ciencias e Ingeniería de la Computación. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Ciencias e Ingeniería de la Computación. Instituto de Ciencias e Ingeniería de la Computación; ArgentinaFil: Cantoni, Lorenzo. Università Della Svizzzera Italiana; Suiz