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This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

A METHOD OF ASSESSMENT OF WORLD WIDE WEB SITES WITH
APPLICATION TO TOURISM

presented by
Renee Dopplick

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

Master of Science degree in ParkL Recreation and
Tourism Resources

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A METHOD OF ASSESSMENT OF WORLD WIDE WEB
SITES WITH APPLICATION TO TOURISM

By
Reneé Dopplick

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF SCIENCE

Department of Park, Recreation and Tourism Resources
1996

ABSTRACT

A METHOD OF ASSESSMENT OF WORLD WIDE WEB
SITES WITH APPLICATION TO TOURISM

By
Reneé Dopplick

A method of assessment was developed to ascertain the ability to find, identify,
and access information and the utility of information on the World Wide Web. The
method was applied to five Web sites provided by National Tourism Organizations in
Asia and in existence in July, 1995. Three variables, Arrangement, Behavior and
Content, consisted of the elements of the Uniform Resource Locator, Title/Bookmark,
the layout of nodes and linkages, multi-media components and the home page.
Analysis of the quantitative and qualitative units of observation contained within the
elements of the three variables demonstrated that sites limited the ability to find and
access information, the interactivity with the sponsor, and coordination with external
entities. The method was determined to be successful at discerning strategic features of
a Web site within the control of the sponsor. Future research that incorporates the

uniqueness of the presentation format of the Web is recommended.

Copyright by
RENEE DOPPLICK
1996

To my phenomenal family, inspiring friends, and all travelers
who seek unexplored environments - on land, in the waters,
deep in space and online.

iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The [aging publication of this thesis and the development of a Web site would
not have been possible without the remarkable support, understanding and assistance
of Professor Betty van der Smissen; Associate Professor Gail Vander Stoep,

Professor Thomas Muth, Department of Telecommunications; Michele Malamey at the
Michigan Office of National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Sanctuaries and
Reserves Division; and Ken Vrana at the Center for Maritime and Underwater
Resource Management. Gratitude is also extended to Patrick Dickson and Mark
Gillingham, Co-Directors of the Technology Exploration Center, for creating an

environment of opportunity.

Throughout this study, I was continually amazed and refreshingly encouraged
by the cooperative spirit of the online community and am thankful for the numerous

online interactions and emails that informed, encouraged, clarified and entertained.

As the youngest child, I thank my parents, brother and sister (and rescue dog
Shandi) for providing vision, guidance, insightful wisdom and inspiration throughout

the years. Have I earned my slide rule and pocket protector yet?

To my friends both near and far, I thank you and implore you to stay online
such that our friendship may continue regardless of time and locality. My first choice

is, and will always be, to see you in person, but in the absence of that possibility, the

magic of computer-mediated environments keeps you as close as a “click” away. What

a connection!

To those of you who find yourself immersed in these pages of pulp, I thank
you for taking the time to explore a section of what I researched. If you are interested
in the data and analysis that do not appear in print, you can use the search engines to
find me, inquire at the International Institute of Tourism Studies, Washington, DC. or
visit my “virtual home” in the tropics, which if still in existence for early

“homesteaders,” can be found at URL: http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/4ll1.

Thank you again one and all for everything you have done! I look forward to

continuing the interchange of ideas, thoughts, cultures and travel stories.

vi

REFLECTIONS
FROM THE COMMITTEE

What started as a student effort to explore how to improve the quality of sites
on the World Wide Web resulted in an effort to demonstrate, to teach, and to
contribute to the possibilities evolving at Michigan State University. This thesis was
confined to print because the exception of format for a Web site was rendered without
compromise to the existing guidelines. The value of this document in printed form is
greatly diminished in regard to the quality and content of the research that was done in
Web format. However, the value of this document as a basis for future discussion and
opportunity is unprecedented at this university.

This thesis is neither the first nor the last of either print or electronic format.
The researcher expressed that, in the end, the Web will not replace traditional forms of
communication, but rather, will serve to complement existing forms by allowing for
new options of information processing, analysis and distribution.

The creative pursuit of a technical challenge became both a philosophical
challenge and a vision of distinction. As her Committee, we enjoyed critiquing,
questioning, scrutinizing, doubting and shaping the method of assessment, inclusive
of that information not represented in print. With even greater satisfaction, we enjoyed
watching as she then in turn questioned the system, not of the computer but of the
academic institution that she found to have constraints to freedom of thought and

conveyance.

vii

If electronic communications are as persevering as she, networked
environments will not fade, but rather, will grow with time to become ubiquitous and

indistinguishable in competence and acceptance.

 

tty van derS/mrien/
/M /
/" l 3

 

Thomas A. lid/:utir

lie/id fink/flaw

Gail Vander Stoep

viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF FIGURES

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Introduction
Benefits of Tourism Information Delivery
Travel and Tourism Intraindustry Changes
Challenges of the Web
Provider-Tourist Interface

Statement of Problem
The Problem
Research Questions
Delimitations
Definitions
Basic Assumptions
Limitations

CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

Arrangement Variable
Uniform Resource Locator
Title/Bookmark
Structure of Nodes and Linkages

Behavior Variable

ix

10
16
20

32
32
34
35
35
36
36

38

38

42
42
44
45

47

Content Variable

CHAPTER 3
PROCEDURES

Introduction

Study Population Definition
Sponsorship

language
Geographical Location
Time Period

Study Population Web Site Identification

Data Analysis Procedures
Variables of Web Sites
Elements of the Variables
Units of Observation

CHAPTER 4
DATA ANALYSIS

Introduction

Arrangement Variable
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
Title/Bookmark
Nodes and Linkages

Behavior Variable

Content Variable

CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Introduction
Summary of Procedures

Summary of Findings

49

51

51

51
51
52
52
53

54

55
55
56
57

63

63

63
63
64
67

74

8O

85

85

85

86

Arrangement Variable 86

Behavior Variable 88
Content Variable 88
Discussion 89
Arrangement Variable 89
Behavior Variable 91
Content Variable 92
Research Questions 93
Conclusion 96
Implications 96
Suggested Future Research 102
LIST OF REFERENCES 105

xi

Table 1:
Table 2:
Table 3:
Table 4:
Table 5:
Table 6:
Table 7:
Table 8:

LIST OF TABLES

URL and URL Length by Country .............................................. 64
URL Units of Observation by Country .......................................... 65
Title/Bookmark and Length by Country ......................................... 65
Title/Bookmark Word Content by Country ..................................... 66
Presence of Multi-media Components by Country ............................. 75
Home Page Image File Data by Country ........................................ 78
Word Content of Home Pages by Country ..................................... 81
Qualitative Units of Observation of Home Page by Country ................. 84

xii

Figure 1:
Figure 2:
Figure 3:
Figure 4:
Figure 5:
Figure 6:
Figure 7:
Figure 8:
Figure 9:

LIST OF FIGURES

Nodes and Linkages of Japan's Tourism Site ................................. 68
Nodes and Linkages of Malaysia's Tourism Site ............................. 69
Nodes and Linkages of Singapore's Tourism Site ............................ 71
Nodes and Linkages of Taiwan's Tourism Site' .............................. 72
Nodes and Linkages of Thailand's Tourism Site ............................. 73
Presence of Multi-media by Country ........................................... 76
Total Pixels of Home Page Images by Country ............................... 79
Word Count on Home Page by Country ....................................... 81
Occurrence of Home Page Word Content by Country ....................... 82

xiii

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF THE
PROBLEM

The World Wide Web (WWW or Web), the multi-media area of the Internet,
offers tourism information providers worldwide the opportunity to become part of an
expanding network of information, products and services as diverse as the number of
users and Web site sponsors. Through the advent of graphical Web browsers, such as
the copyrighted browsers of W and W
1224), millions of Internet users can navigate, with the click of a button, through

tourism Web sites showcasing photos, stories, hotels, airlines, and reservation

systems.’ At the end of 1995, travel agents, tour operators, travel magazines and

tourism organizations were a few of the site sponsors who could be found on the Web.

The Web, as a channel of distribution, functionally delivers information nearly
instantaneously, regardless of locality or time zone. In 1995, over 100 countries were

connected to the Internet in a twenty-four hour, boundary-free computer networked

 

' All underlined words within this document indicate nodes or “pages” of information
made available on the World Wide Web. The addresses, known as Uniform Resource
Locators (URLs), take the place of page numbers and are given in the List of
References. Deviation from traditional stylistic citation, including but not limited to
capitalization and spacing, within this printed document ensures the retention of specific
textual characteristics determined by the site sponsors and which are necessary for
navigation and site identification.

environment. For managers and decision-makers, the resulting online benefits, such as
increasing the timeliness of information and quality of service, may or may not be
reflected concurrently in economic measures. The growth of businesses on the Web,
not just tourism-related, from 2,000 to over 20,000 during 1995 mm"
1296) indicates that electronic commerce may become a beneficial function, helping to
defray the costs for online connection, Web site development, site maintenance,
staffing and associated computer hardware and software; however, in the absence of a
ubiquitous secure encryption system, the fate of online financial transactions remained

uncertain in 1995 and into 1996.

The benefits of the Web are creating a situation that could be described as both
a threat and a source of opportunity for National Tourism Organizations (NTOs).
During the early 19903, NTOs were plagued with budget cuts or privatization (ex:
USA). The Web, as one tool to cut costs of distribution, allows tourism
organizations to reach global audiences, even those previously ignored due to targeted
marketing approaches, without the high costs of traditional media delivery. At the
same time, current text, audio and graphic online information can be delivered to
tourists who self-select to receive the information. Moreover, NTOs can provide
tourism information directly through the computer communications interface to the
tourist regardless of time, locality, and even language, although languages were still

limited in 1995 by software or language(s) of the provider.

Threats and opportunities also exist in structural changes within the Travel and
Tourism Industry. Through the communications alternative of the Web, tourism
suppliers can function independently of the intermediaries and deal directly with the
tourists. This intraindustry process of disinterrnediation, the breakdown of barriers

between supplier and consumer, is most evident in the direct airline ticket reservation

systems that were once of proprietary access by travel agents. Electronic collaboration
on the Web raises questions of information management and dissemination within and

across businesses and agencies (Downs and Lange, 25 Apr 1994).

Challenges of the Web, not just management changes in response to threats
and opportunities, are developing. Globalization and expansion of commercialization
are making the Web more accessible to more commercial providers, government
agencies and consumers than past means of communication (Eckhouse, 1 Jan 1996).
In the past, traditional media limited the range of sources of production through
barriers such as costs. Constraints of financial funding for Web site maintenance,
security, and standardized network protocols have served as barriers to a limited
extent, as have the constraints of equity and equal opportunity of access as applied to
countries as well as individuals. Uneven distribution of technical hardware and
inequities of economies in the global marketplace pose challenges for public
administration, management and policy. Of concern for nations seeking to diversify
weak economic bases through tourism is the ability to have equitable access or
representation to the global market on the Web, especially for those developing
countries with costly or inadequate telecommunications infrastructure, such as was

situation with most of Africa in 1995.

Even when a site on the Web exists, having that site does not denote quality of
information, adequate service to the tourist or even that the tourist can find the Web
site. A site on the Web merely indicates existence, an address among the other 19
million unique addresses as of January, 1996 MW). For some sites,
today’s site on the Web may be nothing more than a demonstration page awaiting

future development.

In order to maximize the features unique to the Web and create a provider-
tourist interface, two concerns must be addressed. First, there must be an identification
of the existence of Web sites, or by default the absence, of national destination tourism
information sources on the Web. In 1995, the Middle East had the highest tourism
growth rate, followed by South Asia and East Asia W
1226). The growth of these two regions might be reflected in the number of Web sites
for those regions. Second, a systematic assessement of the Arrangement, Behavior
and Content of each Web site needs to occur. Arrangement contains the elements of the
address, the title of the home page and the relationship of nodes or “pages” and
linkages. Behavior is a function of the multi-media components with which the tourist

interfaces. Content examines the textual nature of the home page.

Subsequent sections of this Chapter further develop the concepts of 1) benefits
of tourism information delivery, 2) intraindustry changes, 3) challenges of the Web,
and 4) provider-tourist interface, followed by the statement of the problem. Research
questions pertaining to the method of assessment are posed according to each of the

criteria used to define the variables of this study, Arrangement, Behavior and Content.

Benefits of Tourism Information Delivery

The Web functions as an alternative channel of information distribution. Based
on articles presented in the mass media, at professional serrrinars and at conferences,
information delivery on the World Wide Web offers four benefits:

1) communication, 2) economic, 3) public relations, and 4) quality of service.

0 Communication

Accessible 24 hours a day, the computer-mediated communication environment
of the Web distributes information almost instantaneously, regardless of time zones,
for both tourism information provider and tourists. The round-the-clock information
not only provides a “virtual” office but also has the potential to save time for tourists
by providing self-service information regardless of geographical origin delivery
(W ashbum, Dec 1995). In addition to the communication benefits produced without
regard to locality, another benefit has been the increased cormnunication within the

Travel and Tourism Industry.

As a global, decentralized network, the World Wide Web transforms national
borders to mere lines on maps. In the mid-19803, international tourism-related
businesses identified two obstacles imposed by nationalistic processes: 1) denial of
market access to foreign companies, and 2) restrictions on transborder data flows,
specifically reservation systems (Asher, 1984). The Web, as a boundary-free
environment, has the ability to overcome past limitations that were imposed by
restricted geographical distribution and reinforced by political policies, regulations and
proprietary systems within the Industry. For example, on the Web in 1995, tourism
information and reservation systems accessible to a tourist in North America also were
accessible to a tourist in any of the over 100 hundred countries connected to the
Internet W). In October, 1995, M
Web made available 3,000 hotel listings with “real time” access to rate and availability
at no charge to the online tourist and had no plans to charge the tourist in the future.
This information was formerly restricted to travel agents and typically contained within

the borders of a country.

Intraindustry relationships are changing as a result of the new information
flows. Disintermediation, the breakdown of traditional interactions between the tourist
and the intermediary, has created concerted efforts by the intermediaries to redefine or
retain roles and functions within the industry. For example, the Qenesisjmiggt was
developed to address the concerns, needs and functions of 46 thousand U.S.A. travel
agencies who, in 1995 after 30 years of stability, were facing competition from
electronic ticketing that allows the tourist to directly reserve and purchase an airline

ticket.

Other Industry players, such as regional tourism organizations, were using the
Web in January, 1996 to functionally realize the universal purpose of government
tourist offices to coordinate and foster activity within the Travel and Tourism Industry
(Crouch, 1991). For example, Maine State Government (U.S.A.) maintained the

_ .r- W that included

 

hyperlinkages to tourism-related intermediaries on the Web, as well as direct
hyperlinkages to attractions, lodging establishments, restaurants, and sporting stores.
Thus, the tourist was allowed to deal directly with the supplier. The New Brunswick
Department of Economic Development and Tourism developed an online mm;
Wide with hyperlinkages to local businesses that generated 3,000 inquiries
per day in late 1995 (Shewchuk, 1996). WWW
Quid: had a response form in December, 1995 upon which was written that the
sponsors of the site would be “....passing on your information to the correct party, . .
. as they may not be on email.” Thus, the network funneled the inquiries to local

businesses that otherwise would not have been able to reach the Web audience.

Fostering a sense of online community at a Web site through tourist-tourist

interaction, Maine’s Mahatma] and mm provided a platform for informal

information exchange. South Dakota (USA) Department of Tourism, as another
example, offered tour guide scripts (escort notes) for operators as part of the “South
WW.” Due to the nature of the Web, the guide was
equally available to any online user, including a tourist interested in bypassing the
intermediary and taking a self-directed tour.

Internal office communication may also benefit from a Web site. In July, 1995,
the South Dakota Department of Tourism’s online survey, which the researcher
completed, electronically generated user-submitted mailing addresses. This online
ability to capture a database of tourists’ addresses not only increases the capacity to
automate targeted mailings but also avoids the internal “little scraps of paper” record
keeping problem of some U.S.A. tourism organizations’ offices (Wicks, 1991).
Moreover, for an organization or business, the information flow can increase the
internal conveyance of information within a building or with regional offices (Loeb,
Sept 1995). Thus, overseas tourism offices can receive up-to-date information and

even current, real-time images and information from the home country.

0 Economic

The decreased costs of paper-intensive functions of items such as brochures
and tickets W) or mail-catalog intensive services W are
the beginning of a growing list of economic benefits being discussed in popular
literature and are the sources of disussions on the future direction of electronic
commerce. TravelNow’s Director of Marketing is among those travel professionals

who believe that the Web offers service at lower costs (W asson, 9 Oct 1995).

The potential of an online site to cost-effectively reach audiences never

considered (Rudyk, 15 Feb 1995) can allow for preservation or even expansion of

8

market share. W, manager of interactive services of 1-800—
FLOWERS, told reporter Katy M. Bachman that the vision of the Web site was

“. . . to make our services available anywhere and everywhere our customers want to
reach us.” W, President and CEO of TravelLOGIX, asserted a
similar corporate approach, refening to increased distribution points at minimum

COSIS.

Incorporating a new product with future plans for online revenue, Mamas
Magaaine began online publication in October, 1995. On the Home Page, a banner
advertisement that was externally hyperlinked to a travel agency announced “Win A
Disney Village Vacation." As of January, 1996, the specified classified advertisement

and sponsorship sections were under construction.

National Tourism Organizations (NT Os) have expanded the concept of
coordinating and fostering activities within the Travel and Tourism Industry to include
electronic commerce on the Web. In Fall, 1995, the Bermuda Department of Tourism
coordinated Wall, a centralized access platform for commercial
lodging and tourism related services. Also in Fall, 1995, Emcescapa, a cooperative
effort by the French Government Tourist Office in the USA. and France OnLine, had
a membership application for Club France to be printed from the screen and sent
through the regular mail with the membership fee. Francescape also provided

advertising space for operators and other tourism service providers.

Whether the future direction of the Web or for National Tourism Organizations
on the Web is towards commercialization is unclear. The unidentified authors of the
article entitled “Dollars & sense—mind your business: marketing, management and
advertising tips abound on these 15 sites” (NetGuide, 1 Apr 1995) began looking at

the growing list of Web benefits by pragmatically exarrrining 200 business resources.

9

As reported by John Markoff in the New York Times (20 Nov 1995, p. Al), “Few
experts are willing to conclude that the Web has taken its place in the mass media
because profitable business formulas have yet to be found.” A team of reporters from
Information Week and Interactive Age looked at electronic commerce case studies in
retrospect and concluded that “Yes, there really is business on the World Wide Web.
In fact, it’s probably a whole lot bigger than most people realize” (madam
W. According to the report, $25 million was earned by just eleven online
companies in the first seven months of 1995. Les Ottolenghi, Holiday’s Inn Director
of Emerging Technologies, told the reporters, “The company won’t disclose

reservations revenue from the Web; it’s too early in the game.”

0 Public Relations

Having a site on the Web to improve strategic positioning is referred to in

articles such as “WM” (Net 101)
and “WW” (Updated: 21 Sept 1995) by
Werbal, Advertising and Marketing Consultancy. Werbal’s list of who should be on

the Web included travel agents and tourism associations.

The Web’s potential as a public relations tool is attributed to the Web’s ability
to provide personalized information and interactive online communication as presented
in ‘W” by The Industry NET
Marketing and Research Group. The use of interactive areas and form-generated
information maximizes the features of the Web that allow for information to be
generated by a third party, a distinction between public relations and advertising

(Parrish, 15 Jun 1995).

10

0 Quality of Service

Beneficial gains in productivity due to a Web site may or may not occur, but
rather, the site may produce a beneficial increase in quality of service. In 1995, flaxel
WW boasted “ACCURACY, TIMELINESS AND
RESPONSIVENESS” at their Bon Voyage Travel Web site. W, Travel
Information Center, a full service agency, used the Web’s online ability to decrease
response time. Increasing consumer awareness of agent availability, office business
hours and phone contact numbers were posted online for tourists who wanted to talk
directly to an agent. IraxeLSeargqh took advantage of the interactive component of the
Web to incorporate the tourists and businesses into a process for finding errors and
updating information. The Travel Search databases were under constant reconstruction
as a result of external feedback received online. In February, 1996, at the “How to
Market and Sell Travel and Tourism on the Internet” seminar in San Francisco,
California, USA, Jeff Richards, senior consultant with Fleishman-Hillard,
discussed quality assurance on the Web, including case histories of national tourism

promotion.

Travel and Tourism Intraindustry Changes

The implementation and use of information technologies have impacted the
dynamics of the channels of information distribution within the Travel and Tourism
Industry, thereby causing intraindustry changes. Computer systems as external
communication alternatives are changing the supplier-tourist relationship through direct
electronic consumer interaction. In a restructuring of private-public roles, commercial
funds are being used to provide tourism information independently of and in

cooperation with publicly funded information sources. Three intraindustry changes

ll

applicable to the Web include: 1) computer systems as external communication
alternatives, 2) direct electronic consumer interaction, and 3) the restructuring of

private-public roles.

0 Computer Systems as External Communication Alternatives

In 1991, Morley asserted that potential tourists will restrict their destination
choices to those about which they have some information. Brochures were recognized
as a critical element of tourism marketing (Wicks and Schuett, 1991). In the United
Kingdom two years after Gilbert and Houghton (1991) investigated the content of
brochures and how the tourist filters information, Hodgson (1993) found that
brochures in the UK resulted in 90% “wastage” rate. Such a high “wastage” rate
challenged the effectiveness of investment and raised the question of whether

alternative distribution channels would be more cost—efficient and effective.

Prior to the growth of the Web, Crouch (1991) asserted that computer
information systems serve as determinants for competitive advantage. The ability of
the potential tourist to have interaction with virtual graphic and textual elements was
foreseen by Hrsuschka ( 1990) as being useful in delineating product attributes.
Computer-assisted travel counseling, one means to reduce the large printing costs of
brochures while increasing interaction with tourists, functioned and was analyzed
under the assumption that the tourist had no direct access to the computer (Hruschka,
1990). Prior to the graphical interface of the Web, expert computer reservation
systems were criticized for not providing information to travel agents or tourists on
where to go, how to get there and what to do once there (Crouch, 1991). Even when
the travel agent had access to informational computer databases, the role of the travel

agent as a filtering intermediary was scrutinized. Michie and Sullivan (1990) had data

12

to suggest that international travel agents were unfamiliar with customer preferences

and, as a result, were less effective as filtering intermediaries.

With the potential to overcome past criticisms of proprietary computer
information systems and limitations of information content on what-where-how, the
Web allows a tourist to navigate according to personal preferences. Textual, visual and
audio elements assist the tourist in self-directed travel with and through the
communications interface of the Web. The information search strategy is unique to the
individual tourist’s word choice, interests, and self-selected flow through the

hypermedia environment of the Web.

Snepenger et al. (1990) investigated search strategies of various media by
destination-naive tourists but this research was done prior to the introduction of the
Web. The role of the Web in tourism information search strategies and as an effective
alternative means for tourism information distribution offers areas of future research.
The assurance and deliverance of quality tourism information, products and services
on the Web are not automatic. As with any technology, the Web is a tool, subject to
variations of effectiveness for information distribution as related to the consumer,

intermediaries and businesses.

0 Direct Electronic Consumer Interaction

On the Web, not only is “anyone with a modem . . . potentially a global
pamphleteer” (Markoff, 20 Nov 1995), but also reservation systems are no longer
exclusive, proprietary or restricted. In June, 1994, W began online air
reservations and tickets with the Apollo system, allowing direct interaction with
reservation systems formerly accessible only by travel agents. Ticketless airline

reservation systems, such as used by M, are changing the means of

13

communication between travel supplier and customer, eliminating the role of the travel

agent

Disintermediation, the breakdown of barriers between supplier and customer as
evidenced in electronic ticketing, allows for direct interaction and freedom by the
tourist to choose elements of the trip itinerary, such as plane, hotel and restaurant. The
increased freedom and sense of control have been suggested to enhance the tourist’s
feeling of satisfaction, resulting in a positive travel experience (Smith, 1994). What
role traditional intermediaries, such as travel agents, will play in this global electronic
marketplace is unclear. Whether Mansfeld’s research (1992), which asserted that US.
travel agents play an important role when tourists only have a vague destination
preference, could be replicated with online customers would be for future study and

remains outside the scope of this research.

With anyone potentially delivering information through the new unregulated
and expanding channels of interaction of Web sites, how is a tourist assured of reliable
and accurate tourism information, products or services of a supplier when the criteria
of access to the Web is not restricted by size of company (WM ,
locality W), or experience in the Travel and Tourism Industry? Do the
official coordinating bodies, such as associations, organizations and consortia within
the Travel and Tourism Industry, have a role in protecting consumer interests in the
diversified computer-mediated environment of the Web, where broad, interactive
access is restricted only by voluntary standards of protocol? Likewise, how is a
country assured of producing and reinforcing a positive image necessary to attract

inward tourists and investors (Bramwell and Rawding, 1994) in the sea of 19 million

URLs indexed by W in January, 1996?

14

o Restructuring Private-Public Roles

Public-private merges occurring within tourism marketing organizations, such
as in Britain (Bramwell and Rawding, 1994) and in the USA, reflect a worldwide
trend towards privatizing government functions. Delegates at the White House
Conference on Travel and Tourism in October, 1995 voted in favor of the dissolution
of the publicly funded United States Travel and Tourism Administration and the
creation of a mandated, privately operated Visit USA, Inc., whose purpose would
be to promote international travel to the USA, potentially inclusive of Web site

management.

John Rafferty (26 Sept 1995) of the Gulliver system in Ireland disagrees with
the assertion that the private sector alone can successfully meet the needs of tourists,
especially online. He believes that NTOs need to lead Web development with the
purpose of coordination, definition of standards, removal of barriers and reduction of
costs. Costs are incurred in Internet connection charges, monthly fees,

telecommunications charges, staffing and maintenance of traditional marketing costs.

Even if the roles and functions of National Tourism Organizations are defined,
the external players active on the Web can contribute to an NTOs image and
information distribution process. For example, W on the
creation of an online “Tourist Guide to Greek Islands,” used information and pictures
scanned from official brochures provided by the Greek National Tourist Organization.
The dissertation appeared online and endorsement by the NTO was neither explicitly
stated nor denied. Thus, the appearance to a tourist who follows a linkage to the site
but fails to first access the “dissertation” preface node, is that the NTO provided the

site and information.

15

What role will National Tourism Organizations play in creating “national”
images given that Hunt (1975) stressed the potential significant influence of image
upon the viability of that area’s tourism development? Will National Tourism
Organizations seek to have proprietary, closed systems entirely within their control or
will the global marketplace favor coordinated, transnational approaches with multiple
linkages to tourism related products and services, as well as to other nations? Within
South America, some NTOs provide online linkages to neighboring countries but this
is not the rule worldwide. At the White House Conference on Technology and
Tourism, technology was referred to as a weapon to be used to increase competitive

positioning of the USA. as the international destination of choice.

In the political realm, the nation state is built upon a framework of treaties,
organizations and international laws of voluntary agreement. Voluntary cooperation
concerning electronic communications among National Tourism Organizations
representing nation states has been slow. The World Tourism Organization (WT 0) had
not yet established standards or a fundamental framework for electronic global
communication and cooperation in 1995. At the Eleventh General Assembly of the
WTO in Cairo, Egypt in October, 1995, funding from the 1996-7 WTO budget,
which was not increased from the 1995 budget, was committed to electronic resource

development.

In 1996, the Pagfi jg A§ia :Ifraval Assmiatiga (EATA) Web site provided
hyperlinkages to Web sites for membership countries. Appearing on the top of the

screen with the listing was the following:

16

The country information homepages on hypertext links have
been collected from various websites. PATA does not assume
responsibility for the information provided and members are
advised to verify the information prior to use, except for pages
done by national tourist organisations. PATA member NT Os
are requested to send us information on links they wish to
establish to improve on current experimental links.

NT O-sponsored linkages on the given page were not identified. The tourist, by
hyperlinking to a national Web site, was responsible for identifying the site sponsor.
The sponsorship of each country Web site was not readily apparent with some sites
requiring additional hyperlinkages to discover sponsorship information. In some
cases, such as China, the ability to identify the site required more than three linkages
within the site. While NT Os were not identified before a hyperlinkage was made, the
linkages to tour operators, hotels and travel agents were identified as such. The request
by PATA for NT Os to voluntarily find the PATA Web site and submit linkage
information to Web sites infers that PATA is unfamiliar with the actions of the
individual NTOs. The last statement also indicates that NTOs may manage, endorse or

support specific Web sites, including commercial and educational sites.

Challenges of the Web

The growth of the Web, as an unregulated, uncontrolled communications
environment, has produced challenges that, like the growth, recognize no political or
social boundaries. The constraints and opportunities of the Travel and Tourism
Industry also are shared with other industries. The allocation of tourism resources and
the continued implementation of Web technology will depend upon the challenges of
the Web-at-large. The challenges, featured at the international Internet conferences,

include: 1) economic, 2) legal, 3) security, and 4) technology.

17

0 Economic

The quality of the supply of tourism information scattered about on the Web
and the fear of future vulnerability to economic disadvantage in the global tourism
market raise questions of fiscal and administrative responsibility of providing
information. Doubt about how, or even if, customers will use the Information

Superhighway (Hastings, 1994) has not deterred voices calling for an artificially

accelerated deployment of information and home pages (“W3
W?” by Ratinnalfltafixstems. 1995). Given the

uncertainty of customer demand for new technology like the Web (Hastings, 1994),
the development of a self-sustaining business community and market unique to the
Web (Pikes, 1 Jan 1996), and the privatization of government functions, should
governments spend public funds to provide tourism information? In the article, “Hype
and hooey clog superhighway,” Crain (1994) highlighted a prevailing concern that
perhaps this new technology “. . . will never be more than a niche player.” Will the
timing and level of demand by potential tourists match the development process of
offering information and services in such a manner that the public investment costs of

the Web can be recovered or justified?

Funding is necessary to research, create, implement and maintain a Web site. A
case example of insufficient financial planning for adequate memory space, staffing
and server capacity was the Toyota Interactive bulletin board on Prodigy. Toyota
abandoned the project after realizing a lack of resources for maintenance, even though

consumers wanted to access the board (Bachman, 1995).

Electronic commerce, as a means by which information providers can recover

investment and/or produce revenue, has produced mixed results. According to “wags

WW? (1995) by ActivMedia, online marketers'

18

perceptions and rewards ranged from despair to elation. From the section on “Sales

Generated on the WWW," this passage explained the status in 1995:

Online marketers come from companies of all sizes, with products and
services of many types. Most of them are very new to the www; two out
of three have had sites less than six months. Twenty-two percent of
online marketers report their sites are financially rewarding; 40 percent
expect their sites to be rewarding within one to two years. Fifteen
percent state that they never expect their sites to be financially rewarding,
but find them useful for information or PR purposes. Fourteen percent
are either totally disappointed with the results of their online site or did
not expect a financial return for 3-5 years.

0 Legal

Whether the unregulated environment of the Web can remain so is unclear. In
early 1996, the issue of electronic commerce was being closely linked to the role of
regulation and the threat of government intervention into the electronic marketplace
(Heyman, 1 Jan 1996). New laws on freedom of speech on electronic communications
have appeared in US. states, such as Michigan and Connecticut (Eckenwiler, 1 Feb
1996). The ethical and legal use of copyright information is part of electronic
multimedia law. W, a non-profit organization,
provides online copyright licensing services to assist with US. copyright law
compliance. The Web, however, is a global network without a centralized regulatory
body. Data privacy, trademarks, copyright and freedom of expression are among the
issues being discussed and addressed at conferences, such as at the W
W held, March 27-30, 1996, at the Massachusetts

Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

19

0 Security

In trying to answer whether doing business on the Web is worth the risk, the

authors of the “ -

W” stated:

 

Admittedly, the first shopping malls are beginning to spring up on the
Web and many companies are at least considering applications that
would be accessible to the Web. Nevertheless, the concern is that
application processing normally involves interaction with
data and applications inside your own network. That data is
usually too sensitive, too proprietary and too valuable to risk exposure to
the prying eyes of the Internet.

In June, 1994, David Dalva of Trusted Information Systems identified three
components of “ ° W rl W' W ”:

— threats the client software poses to the local computing environment
— access control and threats to servers
— authentication, confidentiality, and integrity issues.

The most popular solutions to the security issue at the end of 1995 included

Netscape’s secured software and SH’I'I‘P.

0 Technology

On the Web, continuous operation of the site and host computer is essential to
information delivery. The dependability of supply 24 hours a day at a level adequate to
meet demand may denote larger technical capability and financial resources. Web
Marketing Today offers an article online with a section entitled “ng t9 Shop Far 3

’9
O

O I O I , .
the. Jill‘ ‘I ‘. 0 9', I i. ,0“ ._‘2 v-01. W'D_-."

Objectives for the use of the Web, as a means for deliverance of travel and

tourism information, goods and services worldwide, remain more than just challenges

20

of technological application, but also, are part of a technological bias based on inability
to afford or acquire the technology. The supporting infrastructure required for the Web
to exist requires investment. In a world of information economies (Rimmer, 20 Mar
1995) and where information is inextricably linked to the various telecommunications
infrastructures, will those countries at the low end of telecommunications density and
wealth be unable to join in the “tourism revolution on the Web,” based on economic
rather than technical constraints? What mechanisms are being created to protect equity
and opportunity regardless of locality and economies? Will the private sector, in a

capitalistic spirit of competition, adequately fulfill the obligations if any are defined?

Provider-Tourist Interface

A researcher wrote an article for Computer-Mediated Communication Magazine
(December, 1994) on the challenges he faced as an information provider. His
information resource list grew out of his doctoral work in May, 1992. The problems
that he faced in presenting a list of information sources on information providers
included identifying those providers, verifying the accuracy of the sources, formatting
his presentation, improving the content, and expanding the context and activity within
the site. The provider-tourist interface has similar concerns: 1) tourist-directed travel to
the Web site, 2) identification of Web site sponsor, 3) information adequacy, and 4)

beyond traditional promotion, marketing and advertising.

0 Tourist-directed Travel to the Web Site

The first step of the interface, finding the site, requires active input by the
tourist to navigate to the Web site. No comprehensive listing of sites, for the Web-at-
large or for the Travel and Tourism Industry, exists and, as a result, finding

information is regarded as one of the largest consumer complaints (“Web pages show

21

new marketing approaches, but offer no guarantees,” 31 Jul 1995). Self—directed travel
by a tourist to a site is a function of the Web site’s Arrangement that includes the
address and Title/Bookmark and the interrelationship of the Arrangement with search
engines and external hyperlinkages to the site. The address, referred to as Uniform
Resource Locator (URL), is a series of numbers and/or letters. Internet users see
URLs both online and in print and, therefore, URLs have both textual and visual

interfaces. The URL system is a functional part of being able to find resources.

Construction of the URL depends upon the agglomeration of subcomponents
and the assignment of file names. The URL subcomponents may not be under the
control of the site architect. For example, address domains are available on a first-
come, first-serve basis excluding proven copyrights. Businesses are being advised to
register a domain name “now” because the domain name may not be available in the
future W225). Many organizations entering the Web get a
URL prior to having the format or adequate information, rather like buying or renting a
small room along a trendy road just to have “presence” and “prestige." Wilson (4 Jan
1996), editor of W, believes that a custom domain is necessary,
especially given that as of the beginning of 1996 over 130,000 unique domains could
be found on the Web. In response to quick solutions for a single address across a
company or for names taken on other server networks, domain name services (DNS)

companies offering domain names for a fee are developing.

Feeling the pressures of uncontrolled growth sparked from the rush for
domains, the National Science Foundation in the USA. started charging for domain
registration beginning in late 1995 to cover the administrative costs of registration.
Special subsidies for “edu” and “gov” domains continued (W
W225). As the Registration Authority for the domains “edu,” “gov,”

22

9’ ‘6

“com, net,” and “org”, InterNIC has formerly expressed no intention of becoming a
miniature enforcer for Patents and Trademarks, and issued a releag (29 Jan 1996) on

the Guardian Object Proposal that stated:

The registration activity at the InterNIC has increased exponentially with
the rapid growth of the Internet. In the absence of a formal
authorization model, the likelihood of making malicious changes to the
registered Objects has also increased and could have serious
consequences at the affected sites. For example, an unauthorized
update could lead a commercial organization to lose its presence on the
Internet until that update is reversed.

Other Internet Registries linking Network Information Centers (NIC) include thaAaiaa

BasiflLReginnlmemeLRegistrx and the WWW
Cam:-

Once the domain is established, the remainder of the address needs
consideration. At INET’95, Hgffman advised avoiding unnecessarily long URLs or
including unexpected capitalization, unusual punctuation, and characters that are
difficult to represent in print. Without one comprehensive directory of official travel
sites on the Web, a simple method used and recognized to capture audiences, is to
construct a URL containing commonly used words. Since the “www” is the
predominate host, having the “www” as the beginning of the address is likely.
English-speaking tourists would most likely add the word “travel” or “tourism,”
followed by the country code. The researcher initially tried this approach starting in

late 1994 but did not locate any National Tourism Organizations (NTOs).

In the absence of an address, search engines are necessary to locate Web sites.

Not all search engines use the same criteria. Search engines may use the URL and Title

W, m. Other search engines incorporate keywords and
subject categories (Xahm and Magellan). For extensive searches, words from Web

23

pages or “full text” are added to the indexes (Altaxista and mg. The results of
searches also vary. Titles Mylar), URLs (Lyggg) or user-specified options
including descriptions and provider-submitted fields W) are among the

possibilities for results.

In addition to using search engines, collective listings of popular Web sites
subjectively judged and packaged to be “hotlist” are used to locate information. Egint
W distributes an icon to selected sites. The search engine mm
maintains a guide to mm, displaying selected sites below a search-submission
form interface. Lyms has a “W” hotlist formed from an adaptation
of the top 250 sites on the Web. In January, 1996, a disclaimer noted that some sites
were added where deemed necessary even though the sites were not among the top

sites.

Users typically lack knowledge of overall structure of the site, and as a result,
may become disoriented, thereby choosing to jump from a site to another site
(Mukherjea, 1995). The role of the Title/Bookmark as an identification landmark can
be to assist in navigation to the home page. The Title/Bookmark also can be used by
the tourist to revisit a site but requires the tourist to actively add the site to a list located

on the tourist’s computer or disk.

Having external hyperlinkages to a site, including from search engines,
requires an awareness and inclusion of a site by external entities. For search engines,
user-submitted form submission interfaces allow for direct registration. Hyperlinkages
from other sites can require reciprocal linkages, fees or icon representation for the

home page rather than words.

24

0 Identification of Web Site Sponsor

A Wall Street Journal article in May, 1995 stated, “Some of the best tourist
information is right at the fingertips of many prospective tourists,” and “all that’s
needed is a computer and access to the World Wide Web, a multi-media portion of the

Internet” (Sandberg, 1995). Who is providing the information?

Commercial businesses, individuals, governments, educational institutions,
non-profits and National Tourism Organizations (NTOs) were among those entities
offering travel and tourism information on the World Wide Web. A sampling of Web
sites in Summer and Fall, 1995 revealed that publicly available information from
National Tourism Organizations and governments was being presented by individuals
not endorsed, associated or affiliated with the official sources. A few examples of such

sites included:

1 This individual sponsor was shown with the Prime Minister in
June, 1995 but the disclaimer noted that this site, while containing some
“official” information, was “not official."

URL: http://www.gti.net/bahamas

W . Sponsored by the Computer Science Department,
University of Chile.

URL: http://sunsite.dcc.uchile.cl/chile/turismo/turismo.htrrrl

W. This WWW page was “. . . a personal, voluntary
exercise of HTML programming by Davide Peis” and gave a large disclaimer

button with a hyperlinkage to a page confirming that the site was not official.
URL: http://www.unipr.it/~davide/cuba/home.htrnl

Inmstgmdetathsfireaklslands This dissertation by Kaimakis,
Agamemnon (Sept 1995) at University of Sheffield, United Kingdom used
scanned images and text information from brochures from the Greek National
Tourism Organization.

URL: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~is/studwork/agis/tg-home.html

25

Slayem’a. A systems manager used “adaptations” from “Welcome to Slovenia”
published by the Ministry of Tourism in Summer, 1993.

URL: http://www.ijs.si/slo.html

See also Ljubljana.
URL: http://www.ijs.si/slo.html

Turkey. This site was authored by an individual, Melih Ozbek, using publicly
available information from the Ministry of Tourism.

URL: httpzllwww.metu.edu.tr/~melih/melhome.html
W. All documents on this site were not official.
URL: http://osprey.unisa.ac.za/O/docs/south-africa.html

Given that the foregoing independent efforts to use publicly available
information with appropriate reference to the source were occurring on the Web, what
type of information was being distributed by the National Tourism Organizations
(NT 0) and how was this information being presented? National official tourism Web
sites for countries in North America did not exist in Summer, 1995. In Canada, local
tourism organizations were responsible for providing regional information. A central
listing of W accessed through the Government of
Canada home page, linked to the regional governments or tourism entities when
possible. In the U.S.A., the United States Travel and Tourism Administration
(US’I'I‘A) of the Department of Commerce did not provide national information.
Instead, US'I'I'A provided endorsement to the development of the W
“W which was developed and hosted at the
University of Colorado at Boulder in Summer, 1995 before moving to an organization
“org” domain. Mexico’s Ministry of Tourism did not provide official tourism

information until Fall, 1995.

Official sites in South America did exist in Summer, 1995. Momma

Web site for tourism had four very large graphic files and almost no text except for

26

non-English titles for the four pictures. With a bilingual Web site in early Fall, 1995,
Rem had a site that changed in structure and format. Brazil also had a Web site in early
Fall, 1995.

Within the European community, official tourism organizations on the Web
included the Nflaflanda and Lagia. The Netherlands’ home page, identified as
Holland in the Title/Bookmark, changed both in graphic content and internal linkages
after July, 1995. Latvia’s NTO’s single all-text welcome page appeared within a
larger site whose relationship status to the NTO was never confirmed, defined or
denied. Latvia’s NTO’s home page provided no external linkages, inclusive of the
other tourism-related pages of the host computer. Switzerland, like other European

countries, did not have official tourism sites until after September, 1995.

The Middle East and Africa faced high telecommunications charges and lack of
physical infrastructure. Through the Embassy in Washington, DC, Israal
sponsored travel information in text format with few if any linkages. The travel
information appeared on the same screen with recipes and required the user to scroll
down, with most of the space given to the recipes. In August, 1995, the identification
of only one site in all of Africa was a reflection of the lack of hardware infrastructure
and World Wide Web access. In early Fall, 1995, W was under
construction, providing information on three, rather than a self-reported ten,
geographical areas. During one week in late Summer, 1995, a travel preferences and
attitude questionnaire designed by a university student appeared on the South Africa

site but was subsequently removed.

In Asia, which had the largest visitor growth rate of any global geographical
region during the past decade (PATA, 1224), at least three sites were cooperating with

or using current and former staff of national computer boards and universities.

27

Accesses to those sites in Summer, 1995 included multimedia components such as
server-push animation on the Ihafland NTO site, audio and video on the Singamm
NTO site, and extensive photos on the Japan NT 0 site. The Malaysia official site had a

clickable map.

0 Information Adequacy

Beyond finding a site, an interface concern on the Web is the mass amount of
public and industry participation in the information distribution decisions being made
without mechanisms to protect and incorporate the tourist or traveler. Given the
decentralized unregulated environment and increased access provided by growing
numbers of hosts, the Web has been criticized for being “unorganized” (Calcari, 1995)
and “polluted” due to “. . . masses of potentially misleading and speculative
information” (Gordon, 1995). Even the official tourism sources that in past research
studies ranked high in terms of credibility and quality (Mansfeld, 1992) have acquired

a new cyberperception.

One of the Web’s first commercial sites with an estimated 400,000 readers and
over 180,000 registered subscribers, the Global Network Navigator, Inc. (Q1111),
offers the W, which provides brief editorial descriptions of various
tourism sites. Allen Noren, the curator of the GNN Travel Center, told the Wall Street
Journal in May, 1995, “When tourist authorities put up tourism information, it’s
usually just drivel. The real value is from the individual.” Individuals can exchange
tourism information through email listservs, newsgroups, guestbooks such as Maia
W, or personal home pages. In late 1995, the big three commercial
companies (America Online, Prodigy, and CompuServe) announced intentions to offer

personal home pages at no additional charge.

28

External to the control of the NTO is the interface the tourist has with other
sites, such as the GNN Travel Center or sites quoting NTO information such as those
previously described. In June, 1995, an online GNN TC editorial read, “Although put
up by the Board of Tourism, this nicely organized page is full of useful information
for travelers of all budget levels.” An August, 1995 entry read, “The Internet is
experiencing an influx of increasingly well crafted ‘official’ tourist sites, and this one
for (deleted for this study) is another.” The image and the perception, whether right or
wrong, is a strong factor in tourism development (Hunt, 1975) and if GNN’s or
Noren’s perception is one shared by others, the ability of policy-makers to plan and
guide tourism development may be “polluted” or rendered less effective due to the

image and product development of their online sites.

At a time when the Web was first developing, Rick James (1994), the Senior
Vice President of Sales and Corporate Relations for Princess Cruises, stated that
“those who do well will be those who position themselves as somebody who provides
more information than the competitor at a value.” Providing travel and tourism content
to the Web audience requires that the information is available to everyone and not

restricted to a specific network (Gilder, 1995).

0 Beyond Traditional Promotion, Marketing and Advertising

Publishing on the Web is not the traditional glossy magazine or brochure
approach of the past. As an article in US News and World Report stated, the Web user
typically has “. . . little patience for ‘brochureware,’ advertisements that are thrown up
like so many billboar ” (Sussman and Pollack, 13 Nov 1995). Marketers and
advertisers alike have been accused of and warned not to try offering hype rather than
valuable content (O’Reilly, 1995). David Vis wrote an article in Travel Weekly (9 Jan

1995, p. 40) entitled, “Online advertisers should provide information, not hype.”

29

Visits to travel and tourism Web sites in Spring, 1995 revealed postcards, directions,

pictures of food choices, hotel listings, prizes, photos and diaries.

The definition and application of promotion and marketing take on new
dimensions on the Web because “the Internet communication model cannot be
compared to any other distributed medium in the history of civilization” (Payne,
1995). In Cyberspace, the “P’s” of marketing - product, place, price, also includes
“promotion marketing,” where the definition between promotion and marketing
becomes so blurred as to be interconnected. Baum (1994) pointedly discusses the past
interchangeability without definition of “promotion” and “marketing” in tourism
literature and, be it fortuitous or not, the Web complicates rather than clarifies the

issue.

What are the travel and tourism information sources doing, rather than just
presenting, on the Web? According to Master Card International, as reported by
Associated Press’ Dave Skidmore (26 Jul 95), more than 25,000 merchants in 150
countries were already selling or advertising on the Internet in 1995. At Travel
Distribution 2000 in September, 1995, Helen Edelstein, Internet Project Director for

Holiday Inn, revealed that Holidaylrm will add QuickTime to show hotels.

Updating an article on online advertising rates in the April 15, 1995 issue of
Interactive Publishing Alert, Resnick (1 Aug 1995) justified the need for a second
article in such a short time period because “in just a few short months, the online
advertising market has exploded from almost non-existent to practically ubiquitous.”
Citing Interad Monthly, he echoed the predictions that “online advertising placement
will grow from $10 million to $15 million in the first six months of this year to as
large as $440 million by year end.” That estimate did not include $80 million to $100

million for Web design and creative services. If half of the leading 200 corporate

30

advertisers planned to have an online presence by year end, according to Webtrack as
cited in Resnick’s article, what is the future for information distribution within the

tourism field? Updated listings of travel, hotel and resort advertisers on the Web can

be found at Mk.

The assertions within mass media and by businesses that the interactivity of the
Web is being realized for purposes beyond traditional forms of marketing and
advertising or as a multi-format platform for information have been questioned
(Hertzberg, 10 Apr 1995). In the article “Industry not actively pursuing ads either on
company sites or to attract users” (Interactive Travel Report, 18 Apr 1996), the
unidentified writer remarked upon the perception that the Travel and Tourism Industry
is rapidly changing with online efforts. The writer stated, “A look at current
advertising efforts by much of the travel industry active in electronic marketing and
sales shows how misleading that attitude can be. Even companies that have had an
interactive presence for years are only now looking at how to accept ads at existing
Web sites or how to make others aware through ads that the sites are available.” Not
only are the online efforts falling short of the expectations, but also, the writer stated,
“Active Web marketers are not doing an effective job getting mention of their sites out
to others in the industry through more traditional advertising, either.” As indicated in
the article, the result, deriving from the difference between traditional advertising and
advertising in interactive media, has been the lack of both the awareness of sites and

the attraction of customers to sites.

Writer and consultant Christopher Elliot (18 Apr 1996) took a transnational
stand in his article, “Is Europe taking the lead in interactive travel?” In the article, Elliot

asserted, “Judged by their present efforts, many American travel businesses believe

31

the Internet is nothing more than an experiment, a sideshow to their current

enterprise,” and then added, “But the Europeans are online for good.”

Several questions develop from the realm beyond traditional marketing and
advertising. What are sponsors doing to position sites on the Web? Can the sites be
found using the search engines? Can the information within the site be located? How
are the interactive multi-media components being used, or even more fundamentally,
are the components being used? Yet another question, based in concerns of the Travel
and Tourism Industry, would be the utility of the information and the ability to
overcome past restrictions of transborder data flow, especially those for flight, hotel,
and tour bookings and billings (Baum, 1994). Does the nature of the Web overcome
these restrictions by allowing essentially seamless information flow and service to

occur across national borders?

This study incorporates the concerns identified by December (1 Oct 1994)
when providing for information resources at a highly-visited site. The identified
concerns offered opportunities to improve and modify the site for expansion and
continued existence. An analysis of sites for strengths, weaknesses and problems
could improve the ability to find, identify, access and utilize information. More
specifically, the foundation of all sites, the Arrangement, Behavior and Content, could
be manipulated to strategically position the site and facilitate information exchange.
Background information from research literature and detailed descriptions of the three
variables (Arrangement, Behavior and Content) of a Web site are set forth in Chapter

Two.

32

Statement of Problem

The Web does not have a centralized structure and, as a result, finding and
locating information can be problematic. Once the information is found, the ability to
access the information is reliant upon the interactive components and computer-
mediated interface design, which are within the complete control of the site sponsor.
The information once accessed may or may not convey the purpose, identify the
sponsor or provide a utility of content. Web developers have created sites without a
clear understanding of what other sites are doing, how to arrange the information, how

the information behaves or what the utility of content of the home page is.

The Problem

A systematic method of assessment of World Wide Web is needed to address
the three common concerns: 1) the ability to find and identify information, 2) the
ability to access information, and 3) utility of content. Each of these three concerns is
linked to a variable (Arrangement, Behavior, and Content). The development and

application of such a method of assessment of World Wide Web sites is the focus of

this study.

0 Ability to Find and Locate Information [Arrangement]

The unique features of the Web as an alternative channel of distribution enable
the presence of a Web site to support behavioral multi-media components that allow
for increased interactivity and access to information. In the absence of one centralized
indexing system for the Web or a single point-source coordinating site for the Travel
and Tourism Industry, finding a travel and tourism-related Web site requires prior

knowledge of an address, the use of a search engine or random “surfing” through the

33

various linkages until a site is found. External linkages, those linkages maintained on a
site other than the destination to which the linkage is made, are not monitored and can
occur on external sites without the knowledge or permission of the sponsors of the
Web site to which the hyperlinkage is made. If a site is to be found through random
“surfing," the site needs to be included on external sites throughout the Web-at-large.
To a large extent, the identification of these external “random” links is beyond the
reasonable control of the sponsor of a site. Linkages resulting from payment to

external sites to include a hyperlinkage is also beyond the scope of this study.

To maximize the ability to find a site and locate information, the site must be
arranged such as to provide an interface with search engines and to provide a cognitive
framework within which internal site navigation can exist. The layout of the site with
reciprocal linkages to external sites also can promote increased awareness of the site to
those who “surf” or who access related Web sites. External linkages to other Web sites
with reciprocal linkages back to the site of origination increase the frequency of
occurrence of linkages to the site, irrespective of the search engines. Thus, increasing
the means by which to access the site increases the probability of finding the site. The

ability to find and identify information constitutes the Arrangement Variable.

o The Ability to Access Information [Behavior]

The performance of the site functionally determines the overall ability to access
information and includes multi-media components which display or convey the
information through text, graphics and/or audio. The unique feature of interactivity on
the Web creates an opportunity to provide a computer-mediated environment designed
to promote information exchange between the site sponsor and tourist, and/or amongst
the accessors of the site. The essence of the performance and interactivity give rise to

the Behavior Variable.

34

0 Utility of Content [Content]

The information, especially that upon the first node known as the home page,
is the cornerstone to identifying the site’s purpose and sponsor. The home page acts
as a gateway and landmark. The home page needs to convey the “who,” “what,”
“where,” and “when” of the site. The “who” is the identification of the sponsor and/or
the audience for which the site was created. The “what” is the identification of the
subject or topics of information contained within the Web site. “Where” identifies and
reinforces the tourism destination by name. “When” provides an idea of the reliability
of the information across time. What is the current relevancy of information, such as
prices, regulations, holidays and addresses. The utility of Content forms the

foundation of the Content Variable.

Research Questions

The research questions focused on the three variables:

9 Arrangement: Can a search engine be used to find the site? Can the site be
identified by the search engine's results? Are the relational hyperlinkages
within the site hierarchical in nature or dispersed? Does the site have a closed
set of hyperlinkages or does the site incorporate external hyperlinkages?

0 Behavior: Do multi-media components of audio, sound, navigation devices
and interactive areas provide access to information? Does the site serve as a

platform for information exchange among those accessing the site?

0 Content: Is the information source provider identifiable? Does the site target a
particular market audience by explicitly referring to that audience on the home

page? Are the words “travel” and “tourism” used to convey the purpose and

35

sponsor of the site as a travel and tourism information provider? Is the country

identified on the home page?

Delimitations

This study was delimited for application of the method of assessment to Web
sites by official tourism source providers of Asia nations prior to and including July,
1995. Official tourism sites on the World Wide Web were defined as those associated,
endorsed, financed or authorized by National Tourism Organizations, Boards,
Authorities, Departments, and Ministries. Official sites also included government sites
with tourism nodes regardless of the presence of an official tourism entity in that
country. Co-sponsored sites with educational, commercial and non-profit

organizations were also included.

Definitions
The following operational definitions were used in this study:

Arrangement - the structural layout of a site and the positioning of a site for
locality and searchability; includes the spatial and temporal relationships
that govern external navigation to and from the site, as given in the
elements of Uniform Resource Locator, Title/Bookmark, and layout of

nodes and linkages.

Behavior - the interactive performance of a site based on multi-media
components, such as internal navigation devices, audio, video, forms,

and interactive areas.

Communications Interface - interaction with and through an electronic medium,

such as with the computer.

36

Content - the words appearing onscreen as displayed by a graphical browser
adhering to the 1995 voluntary standards of HTML 1.0.

Domain - components within the Domain Naming System for the Internet.

Home Page - the Uniform Resource Locator consisting of the host name and/or
“index” file or the node identified either explicitly or inferred through

access [“All other pages on a server are usually accessible by following

links from the home page.” W].

Landmarks - attributes, either graphic icon, menu bar or text, that serve to

establish points of reference for the user.

Navigation - self-directed travel by the user from node to node when on the

World Wide Web.
Presence - the existence of a site on the World Wide Web.

Site - all nodes relating to tourism that can be accessed from the home page
through one or more links and that are created from files residing on one

host computer.

Basic Assumptions

The existence of English-language World Wide Web sites related to tourism at
a national level by official sources is assumed for countries in Asia as of July, 1995.
Limitations

Neither the expected value of outcome of investment nor the impact of the Web

site on the change of tourist market share as a result of a Web presence was evaluated.

37

The data and procedures in this study reflected the status of the Web in
Summer, 1995 and may or may not reflect or be applicable to site, protocol or

technological developments of the Web in the future.

CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

The Web has been identified as a distribution channel (W, as both
a medium and a market (W), as an environment, and as a mode
W225). As a distribution channel, the Web can lower barriers to market entry,
increase the irrelevance of distribution intermediaries and function to accelerate market
changes (Chatterjee, 1994). The Internet Group suggests that a paradigm shift is

occurring to “delivering value” of interaction, new markets and quality.

The Internet communication model cannot be compared with any other
distribution medium in history (Payne, 1995). Comparing the Web to the discovery of
America, Ealkfl225), of the Department of Science and Technology Studies,
University of Wollongong, Australia, described the Web “. . . as new territory to be
discovered and colonised by others.” Indicating the restructuring of public-private roles
and the incorporation of “new agents of change," Falk wrote, “. . . governments
increasingly have been forced to create supra—national organisation.” Moreover, in
response to the transnational flow of technology, “. . .govemments now find
themselves one of many actors in what is increasingly a single, integrated world

market.”

38

39

Addressing the trends of having a corporate presence on the Web, Mans]
W placed emphasis on factual Content and quality presentation. More
complex features and in-depth Content were discouraged for incorporation on the
home page; tourist self-directed exploration of the site should be inspired by
increasingly complex linkages. This “invitational publishing” is reliant upon the quality
of Content and the mapping of the information. The advice was subjective, based on
the assumptions that the first audience consists of opinion leaders and the second
audience of casual users, the “surfers,” who are not the intended audience. Duffy and
Palmer identified that “. . . slick mass-market ad copy and execspeak PR (public

relations) spins simply won’t play in this quarter” (Imam).

At the WW Steve Fink. Marketing
Development Manager, Digital Internet Business Group, spoke on the radical change

for businesses and the new ways that consumers are interacting with businesses on the
Web. Bachman (1995) suggested that “what gives the new media its promise is . . .
the new roles played by both the consumer and the marketer.” Brian Ferren, Senior
Vice President of Creative Technology for Walt Disney Corporation (Keynote Address
at the 4‘h International World Wide Web Conference), strongly asserted that developers
need to reflect upon the communications interface to understand what the users are

“. . . interfacing to.” W. He likened the state of the Web in
1995 to an “Institute for the Aesthetically Challenged” with “bad design” being the

most common Web design.

Comber (1995) gave “specific guidelines” for “Bailg'ng Usable Wab Pages;
MW” at AusWeb95, the First Australian WorldWideWeb Conference.

The first guideline was Content as applied to the Title and to the context and length of

the Web document. The second guideline recommended providing adequate visual

40

appearance through the use of formatting and limited use of graphics or objects,
quoting a maximum number of seven objects per document as a general rule.
Navigation, as the third guideline, was recommended to reduce cognitive confusion by
the user. The “click here for information” linkages were criticized for being useless to
the user or redundant given that any hyperlinkage is inherently a “click” for more
information. Testing was the final guideline and consisted of checking links on a
regular basis, making sure the system functioned properly and gauging access logs,

implying that access logs need to be maintained.

At the Second International World Wide Web Conference in 1994, Andrew
Fry, the Vice President, Director of Projects at Free Range Media, Inc. presented
“1 . I _.r' -r . 'NW 1. M L it in I‘ n ‘1 or - _r -m- .” Fry raised
the issues of Content growth versus audience growth and the lack of central
organization of information. The three factors of success include developing a

recognizable look, providing quality information and building an “information

community” through interactive features.

W, at the Owen Graduate School of Management,

Vanderbilt University, asserted:

Despite the massive amount of attention given to the Internet in the
popular press . . . and any of the 1,526 references to the Internet in ABI
Inform through August 1994, and the belief in many business circles that
the Web represents a phenomenal marketing opportunity, to date
virtually no scholarly effort has been undertaken by marketing
researchers to understand hypermedia CMEs (Computer-Mediated
Environments), both as media for marketing communications and as
markets in and of themselves. WM

41

Hoffman and Novak also indicated the absence of literature regarding marketing on the
Web:

. . . we do not provide an exhaustive review of the extant marketing and
consumer behavior literature as it relates to new media environments.
Indeed, although there have been recent scholarly efforts detailing the
impact of new information technologies on marketing (notably compiled
recently in Blattberg, Glazer, and Little 1994), there is a dearth of
research on the impact that hypermedia CMEs such as the World Wide
Web hold for marketing theory and practice. (MIMI)

Key concepts in the paper by Hoffman and Novak included the properties of network
navigation, interactivity and perceived behavioral control. When the speed and range
of interactive components combined with ease of use and “mapping,” the ability to

access information was believed by the investigators to increase.

This Chapter reviews the literature of the communications interface of the Web
as associated to three research variables: Arrangement, Behavior, and Content. The
three research variables, used in this method of assessment of Web sites, were derived
from the concepts in the foregoing literature and were operationally defined in this

study as:

Arrangement - the structural layout of a site and the positioning of a site for
locality and searchability; includes the spatial and temporal relationships that
govern external navigation to and from the site, as given in the elements of

Uniform Resource Locator, Title/Bookmark, and layout of nodes and linkages.

Behavior - the interactive performance of a site based on multi-media
components, such as internal navigations devices, audio, video, forms, and
interactive areas.

Content - the words appearing onscreen as displayed by a graphical browser
adhering to the 1995 voluntary standards of HTML 1.0.

42

Arrangement Variable

Inbound tourism destination management requires not only management of the
product but also concurrent efforts to increase inbound visitation rates. In Cyberspace,
strategic efforts are needed to increase online visitation rates—“suppose you built a
Web site and nobody came” (Klein, 17 Jul 1995)? To increase access to the site, the

sponsor needs to maximize the Arrangement of the site.

Arrangement is the strategic positioning of the site such that a tourist could
locate a site and cognitively follow the layout of the links and nodes within that site.
Three common tools used in 1995 to locate a site included: a) the Uniform Resource
Locator (URL), b) searches, and c) hyperlinkages from another site, an external factor
not addressed in this research. Search engines and site-sponsored databases functioned
according to the word choice and language identified by the tourist and tourism
provider. Search criteria included, but were not limited to, the URL, the
Title/Bookmark and the file’s Content . The Title was one element of Arrangement
used in locating a site because some search engines used and reported the Title. The
Uniform Resource Locator and the Title were elements of the visual interface. A third
interface element within the Arrangement Variable was the relational structure of the
nodes and linkages of a site. To maximize the Arrangement of a site, the three interface
elements of the Uniform Resource Locator (URL), Title/Bookmark, and the layout of
linkages and nodes, needed to be considered.

Uniform Resource Locator

The Uniform Resource Locator (URL) was an exact textual interface intolerant
of change and which was unique to the information of each provider. The URL

allowed a client to find a desired server according to a protocol (“Le Web en dix points

43

cardinaux,” 1 Jul 1995) and could be displayed by a browser as a “Location” or
“Address.” Some search engines displayed the URL as part of the results. URLs also
appeared in print on business cards, advertisements and onscreen on other Web sites.
As a standard, the URL was “. . . the syntax and semantics of formalized information
for location and access of resources via the Internet” containing subcomponents
specified in the 1994 Proposed Standard: Uniform Resource Locators (URL)
WM): access protocol, host computer, port of data request, data

path, and file name.

The access protocol included, but was not limited to, hypertext transfer
protocol (http). The host computer contained “the fully qualified domain name of a
network host, or its IP address as a set of four decimal digit groups separated by (a
period)” W. The domain name required international
registration on a first come-first served basis. The selection of the name was within the
control of the information provider but if the requested name was unavailable, another
domain name had to be selected. W, Editor of Web Marketing
Today, suggested domain names be memorable and limited in length. He also
recommended that words be pronounceable and directly related to the topic of the site.
For the Travel and Tourism Industry, domain names of or containing the words
“travel” and “tourism” should have been common but no systematic research was
identified in the literature on the frequency of the words in domains or the nature of the

entities with those domains.

Jakob Nielsen (1995), Distinguished Engineer for Strategic Technology at
SunSoft, advised attendees of the 4‘“ Inmmatibna] Wbrld Wida Web Cbnfaranbb to

make the URL logical, using only lowercase letters to avoid typing errors or hard to

remember capitalization. Typing errors of the URL or an incorrect URL could have

44

resulted in the status code waming messages of “NOT FOUND 404," “FORBIDDEN
403” or “FATAL ERROR 500” (Bernstein, 1 Sept 1995).

Title/Bookmark

The Title/Bookmark was another textual and visual interface. The
Title/Bookmark could be used to identify a site in the results of some search engines or
within a user-generated listing housed on the tourist’s computer (Fry, 1994). The
Title/Bookmark was within the complete control of the Web site deve10per. Thus,
official tourism sites were able to determine the words, language, length, and character

SCI.

At the first Australian World Wide Web Conference in early May, 1995,
Comber presented his paper, “Building usable Web pages: an HCI perspective paper.”
Comber recommended that the Title be short because of display and storage of
characters. The conclusion, while initially logical given the width of characters that can
be displayed in some browser’s Title/Bookmark window, was of limited value
because of the over simplicity. Character limitations on the Title without regard to the
function of the Title as keywords for searches by spiders and for site identification
could have resulted in ineffective site identification. Comber suggested that Titles be
repeated on the contents of the home page in large type. The scale of font tends to be a
discretionary function of the creative designer and greatly limits new approaches while

promoting a generic format answer without proven effectiveness.

On the tourist’s computer, user-generated listings known as “Bookmarks”
displayed the "Title” of the page and allowed for a “one click” access return to that site.
The Title/Bookmark list had the potential to be lengthy and identification of a

Title/Bookmark was necessary for site retrieval.

45

Structure of Nodes and Linkages

The graphical interface of linking nodes or “pages” together was the online
interaction by the tourist with hyperlinkages. Hyperlinks appeared as printed words in
a different color, as a graphical icon or as an image. In this study, the use of graphical
interfaces as a tool to locate information applied to the existence of external linkages
from, not to, an official tourism site. External linkages to an official tourism site could
have been made on any site on the Web without the knowledge or permission of the
official tourism site. Creating linkages from other sites to the official site could have
been accomplished by voluntary cooperation, reciprocation, submission to free sites

and payment for space, and could be an area for future research.

The structure of linking nodes was the layout of the site. Since nodes and links
could be arranged nonlinearly, unlike printed materials, the structure of Web sites was
not restricted to hierarchical systems. Likewise, the number and direction of linkages
to any given node were unrestricted, unlike a book or magazine that allows for only
two pages to “link” in a linear fashion. Web nodes and links resembled the steric

Arrangements of atoms and molecules without the restriction of the number of bonds.

Persistent problems across browsers have been the users’ inability to find
things and the tendency to become lost. Entering a site through the home page, the
initial menu for most sites, was not necessarily automatic and should not be assumed.
Linkages may have brought the accessor, such as a tourist, to the site at another node
other than the home page. Just like the traveler with a map in hand on an unknown
street comer, the user had the potential of becoming disoriented. This lack of overall
comprehension contributed to the questioning feelings of: “Where am 1?”, “How did I
get here?”, and “How do I get to where I am going?” Very few sites provided a map or

overview of the extent and structure of the nodes and linkages. Browser technology

46

could change in the future and incorporate a mapping system upon arrival at a site. If
sites were likened to buildings, distinguishing between a skyscraper and a one-story
building was not possible until you physically explored all the floors. Thus, upon first
encounter with a site, a tourist could not have determined how large or limited a site’s
linkages were unless the site itself defined and mapped the files contained therein.
According to W attracting and holding a tourist “. . . will hinge
on the content’s accuracy and utility, as well as how efficiently it’s arranged and

mapped.”

In the 122mm, the number of sites explored in-
depth by users was less than ten. Researching user interface, W

(1225) used a spoke and hub structure to describe the internal structure of textual
linkages in their study site. The summary finding that only a relatively small interactive
area was explored did not offer insight into the reason for this limited exploration.
Speculation on the reason included lack of Content , boredom, or disorientation

alleviated by leaping from the site.

The differences between sites with no external linkages and sites with external
linkages remained unclear. Completely closed systems were “self-contained” sites that
provided only internal hyperlinkages. In a “closed loop” hyperlinkage structure, only
internal hyperlinkages were included. External hyperlinkages were only possible
through the browser buttons. “Open” sites offered a range of external hyperlinkages.
Hall (15 Jan 1996, p. 162) perceived a requisite of a Web presence to be an
“. . . overabundance of hypertext links to ever imaginable comer of the Internet.”
External hyperlinkages raised concerns of the ability to identify the source of any given
linkage and to navigate across multiple sites that may or may not have offered

navigational linkages back to the site of origin. External linkages from other sites to the

47

official tourism sites were not included in this study but external linkages from the
official tourism site to other sites were included so as to identify the role of the tourism

site in facilitating information flow in the Travel and Tourism Industry.

Behavior Variable

The Behavior of the Web site was a function of how the multi-media
components performed and the existence of an internal navigation system. The
performance of a site and the development of a community, regarded as very important
for tourist retention and repetition to the site, depended upon the level of interaction
with multi-media components (Hall, 15 Jan 1996). Hoffman and Novak (1994)
defined the vague terms of quality and interaction more specifically as interactivity
with, not through, the medium using the concept of perceived behavioral control and

network navigation.

To better understand multi-media, Hoffman and Novak introduced several
concepts: machine- interaction (interactivity with the medium), telepresence,
hypermedia, and network navigation. Navigation in their study incorporated the
concept of flow. The antecedents of interactivity were defined as the variables of ease
of use, mapping, speed and range. The interdisciplinary approach and defense gave
support to their argument that “a new paradigm for marketing is required in which the
marketing function is reconstructed to facilitate electronic commerce. In many cases,
the differences are so great that conventional marketing activities have become
transformed and cannot be implemented in their present form.” The concept of
telepresence, as the interactivity with the medium, incorporated the elements of the
range of multi-media and the perceived behavioral control the user has in the

environment.

48

At the first Australian World Wide Web Conference in early May, 1995,
Camber: used the words “useability,” “leamability,” and “memorability” as the framing
concepts to construct visual and audio guidelines for Web site development. Like
Hoffman and N ovak, he identified the need to establish expectations for the user.
Comber did not specify “flow” when he referred to the need to establish expectations
regarding multi-media functions. He suggested that developers define the size of files
and, thus, downloading time, for the consumer. He did not provide substantive

research to support the suggestions.

At the Second International World Wide Web (WWW) Conference ‘94,
W also expressed the same concern regarding downloading time as related to
interactivity and Behavior of the document. The advanced multi-media elements can be
counterproductive for a tourist who grows bored or who cannot operate the multi-
media. At the 4‘" International World Wide Web Conference, Jakob Nielsen (1995),
Distinguished Engineer for Strategic Technology at SunSoft, asserted that a

conservative approach of no graphics is better than having bad graphics.

In Fry’s opinion, increasing levels of interactivity promoted and enhanced user
participation. This online participation with a site developed a sense of community that
was stated to be crucial in attracting and keeping the user. The Web’s ability to support
interactive community areas could enhance a site, but at the same time, the increased
community information flow could negatively impact the success of a site. Bill Tobin,
President of PC Flowers, told reporter Katy Bachman, “If interactive consumers are
unhappy with your service, they have the ability to log on to a bulletin board and
inform millions of other members how unhappy they are with your service and what a
terrible job you have done.” In 1995, online tourists had the ability to place a site on

one or more of the “Blacklist of the Web.”

49

Content Variable

The importance of the quality of the Content (Duffy and Palmer 1994, Fry
1994; and Comber 1995) was associated with the wording, identification of
languages, and type of information provided. Bill Holland (1994), an official at AT&T
Bell Laboratories, stated: “It’s no longer a question of systems administration, but of
quality control on documents.” In 1996, the role of Content , how much and what
type, had changed since the early days of the Web in 1993. Jakob Nielsen (Jan
1996), SunSoft Distinguished Engineer, wrote the following for The Alert Box about

the change in Content of Web sites:

The main thing in 1994 was to show users how much information you
had. This was the year of home pages that were no more than glorified
hotlists with long bulleted lists of links. At this relatively early stage of
the Web, people were still easily impressed by anybody who had real,
useful content.

The preferred style for home page design in 1995 was to provide a clear
sense of priority for the user and to showcase a small set of high—quality
information, recognizing that users normally cover no more than about
five pages when they visit a site.

Nielsen predicted that 1996 will be the year “most users will probably spend the
majority of their time with a small number of Web sites that meet their requirements
with respect to quality and Content .” The foregoing was published after Nielsen was
the Chair of the W at the 4‘h International World Wide
Web Conference in Boston in December, 1995. One panelist, Jennifer Nieters of
Sonline Studios, felt that entertainment could coexist with Content . Jonathan
Rosenberg of C/NET, a site with 700,000 hits a day staffed by 15 to 20 employees,
advocated “conten ” sites, meaning structural consistency with frequent updates and

automated customized interaction areas.

50

In an article in Interactive Age on Content Experts, Hertzberg (10 Apr 1995,
p. 14) wrote that the “. . . Web is an entirely new medium, and nobody is an expert at
creating material for it.” Unlike print media, the format and the Content of the site
cannot be controlled across all users. White space, placement of text and images, size
of font, colors and even character display and language translation were not consistent

or finitely controllable.

Rosenberg (1995) presented five concerns for Web sites:

— it’s hard to re—use content

— there are no semantics for building relationships within content
- there are no style sheets in HTML

- programmers cannot maintain both format and content

- automation is problematical - because we are missing semantic

relationships.
Will format prevail over Content or is Content more valuable than format? Are format
and Content intertwined? At the Second International World Wide Web Conference,

W presented “factual content IS the message: if substance is

yin, then style is yang.”

The foregoing concerns focused on the language protocol. With new languages
being introduced and accepted, such as the copyrighted Java, information providers
must determine which one of the languages to use or if to use several on multiple sites.
Zhang, (1 Aug 1995, p. 59) advised: “Sticking to HTML standards, along with those
Netscape extensions included in the working drafts of HTML 3.0, would be the wisest

choice for Web designers.”

CHAPTER 3

PROCEDURES

Travel and tourism information on the World Wide Web has grown during 1995
with individuals, businesses and governments gaining access. To address the concerns
of how to find, locate, access and utilize information, a method of assessment was

developed and applied to tourism World Wide Web sites.

This Chapter defines the study population according to four criteria and
describes the method of site identification. The data analysis procedures are divided into
the three variables: Arrangement, Behavior and Content. The quantitative and qualitative
units of observation are contained within the elements of the three variables and

subsequently are described according to each variable.

Study Population Definition

The official national tourism Web sites were delimited according to four criteria:

1) sponsorship, 2) language, 3) geographical location, and 4) time period.

Sponsorship

As discussed in Chapter One, the number and extent to which National Tourism

Organizations were represented on the Web prior to and during Summer,

51

52

1995 was limited. This research defined official sources of tourism information to be
inclusive of Tourism Bureaus, Ministries of Tourism, National Tourism
Organizations, and Boards of Tourism. Travel and tourism information sites provided
by these entities alone or in cooperation with other entities, be they public, private or
academic, were included. The study population included one territory, in the absence

of a tourism Web presence for that nation.

Language

Only official Web sites in English were included.

Geographical Location

In 1995, the two fastest growing regions included the Middle East and South
Asia. No Web sites for the Middle East were identified and confirmed for analysis.

In regard to the grth of tourism in South and Northeastern Asia, the Wgrld
WWW reported:

South Asia was the second fastest growing tourism region of the world
both for tourist arrivals and tourism receipts. International tourism in the
region was spurred by strong increases in tourism flows to India and a
sustained growth of long haul leisure travel from traditional European
markets and new emerging markets of the Middle East and East Asia to
major destinations in the region.

Northeastern Asia continued to be the most visited subregion with almost
46 million arrivals, more than half of total arrivals in the region. East
Asia and the Pacific, which had led the world in tourism growth for over
a decade, dropped to third place in 1995 -- with a still enviable increase
of 8.6 per cent in arrivals and a nearly 12 per cent jump in receipts.

In the decade 1984-94, the Asia region had the highest average annual growth rate of

visitor arrivals, with an annual average rate of 11.3%. ifi i v 1

E .. IEEIEI! IS .. IE 193“.

53

Given the growth rates of tourism to Asia, the existence of a regional
coordinating body (PATA), the early presences of national tourism information on the
Web by Asian countries, and the coordination and cooperation of the national tourism
organizations with current and former staff of national computer boards and

universities, this study was delimited to this region.

Time Period

Only Web sites in existence in July, 1995 were included. The study population
was determined during the month of July, 1995. During the month of July, the nodes
and linkages of each Web site were recorded. Changes in number of nodes or
linkages of the Web site during the month of July were included, with new
information replacing former information. The first three hyperlinkages away from the
home page in any combination were monitored five times each week by physically
hyperlinking through the nodes. All hyperlinkages within the site were monitored at
least once a week for four weeks. During this time, the nodes and linkages were

graphed and multi-media functions were recorded.

The source files for the home pages of the sites, all of which were Hypertext
Markup Language (HTML) files, were collected on a single day at the end of the
month. The files were opened in TeachText on a Macintosh and saved as text only

files.

The images on the home pages of the sites were collected on a single day at the
end of the month and saved directly from the screen. The images were recalled in

JPEG view with “show statistics."

54

Study Population Web Site Identification

To identify official tourism Web sites, the following search and confirm

methods were used:

Search Engines - Lycos, Yahoo and WebCrawler were used to find the Web sites

during the month of July in 1995.

Search Keywords - the words “travel,” “tourism,” “official,” “bureau,”
“ministry,” “department,” “organization,” and “board,” and the names of the
Asian countries (Cambodia, China and/or Taiwan and/or Hong Kong,
Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar and/or Burma, North Korea,
Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam) were used in the

search engines.

Confirmation of Sponsorship - once a potential site was identified, an email
message was sent to confirm the endorsement, association or affiliation of the
Web site with an official information provider if such status was not explicitly
stated on the home page. No reply to the email inquiry negated the inclusion of

the Web site in the study population.

Through this process, five sites were identified as meeting the four criteria and
were included in the study. The five sites included Japan, Malaysia, Singapore,
Taiwan and Thailand. The Taiwan site was included in the absence of a confirmed site
for the mainland of China. Thailand’s site stated that the site was for demonstration
and testing purposes. Since the site was the only site available and with the assumption
that the Tourism Authority of Thailand would use some of the site in the future,

Thailand’s site was included in the study population.

55

Data Analysis Procedures

The means of assessment of Web sites was comprised of three variables,
Arrangement, Behavior and Content, as detailed in Chapter Two. The variables

contained elements within which were the units of observation to be analyzed.

Variables of Web Sites

Three variables, Arrangement, Behavior and Content, derived from past
research concepts and ideas presented at conferences during 1994 and 1995. As noted
in Chapter Two: Literature Review, the concepts from which the variables developed
were presented without elaboration beyond subjective recommendations. None of the
references indicated the collection of quantitative or qualitative data for the purpose of
analysis. For this research, the three variables were operationally defined as the

following:

Arrangement - the structural layout of a site and the positioning of a site for
locality and searchability; includes the spatial and temporal relationships that
govern external navigation to and from the site, as given in the elements of

Uniform Resource Locator, Title/Bookmark, and layout of nodes and linkages.

Behavior - the interactive performance of a site based on multi-media
components, such as internal navigations devices, audio, video, forms, and

interactive areas.

Content - the words appearing onscreen as displayed by a graphical browser
adhering to the 1995 voluntary standards of HTML 1.0.

56

Elements of the Variables

The elements within a Web site, as set forth in Chapter Two, were contained

within the variables of Arrangement, Behavior and Content.

0 Arrangement Variable

The Uniform Resource Locator (URL), the Title/Bookmark and the layout of
the nodes and linkages were the three elements of the Arrangement Variable. The
URL served as an address and specified the host computer and file name. The Title or
“Bookmark” of the home page was given by the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
file or by the default value of the file name. The last element of the Arrangement
Variable was the nodes and linkages within the site.

The URL was partially within the control of the Web site sponsor; parts of the
address could have been partially determined by registration and technical naming
standards. The Title and layout of the site through nodes and linkages were within

complete control of the Web site sponsor.

0 Behavior Variable

The Behavior Variable had one element, the multi-media components of a Web
site. Examples of multi-media included audio, visual, search, interactive forms, replies
and guestbooks. Textual or graphical navigation mechanisms, occurring within a site

but independent of the browser, were considered to be multi-media components.

0 Content Variable

The element of the Content Variable was the home page. This element was

within the complete control of the Web site sponsor.

57

Units of Observation

Each of the elements contained units of observation. Quantitative data were
measured from the manifest contents of the units of observation for the Arrangement

and Content variables. All three variables contained qualitative data.

0 Arrangement Variable

The Arrangement of a site is concerned with the strategic positioning of the site
for locality and searchability. A potential tourist could type in a location, use a search
engine or follow an online linkage to access a site. Search engines did not use the same
submission format which means that some search engines allowed for additional
keywords to be added or for the Uniform Resouce Locator (URL) to be categorized
into existing “travel,” “recreation,” or “tourism” menus. Likewise, search engines did
not report search findings the same. Lycos and InfoSeek, two popular search engines,

reported the Title and a description.
Units of Observation of Uniform Resource Locator

The manifest contents of the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for the home
pages of official tourism Web sites were examined for the presence of the following

units of observation:

Country code
Internationally defined
Domains:
.com - commercial
.edu - education

.gov - government
.org - organization

58

Host computer:

.www - leading host on the Web
Word content as part of the file name or part of network address

Travel
Tour
Name of country

Length
Physical count of URL, excluding http://

For non-numerical data, the numbers one (1) and zero (0) were assigned to indicate
presence or absence of content, respectively. Tables of occurrence were generated for

each of the five country sites.

The Uniform Resource Locator (URL) was analyzed according to the units of
observation. The eight units of observation related to content were reflective of the
words used by search engines to identify the site. The country name was used by
search engines to identify the country of the information provider. Search engines
used the country code to establish the locality of the host computer of the information
provider, as opposed to mirror sites located in other countries. The commercial,
education, and government domains indicated the nature of the host computer. The
presence of the most popular host name “www,” while not indicative of more than one
server on the host computer, indicated an administrative system which could support
adding more servers or a decision by the adrrrinistrator to include a host name used by
the majority of Web sites. Derivatives of the words “travel” and “tour,” such as
“tourist” and “tourism,” were used by search engines to identify the nature of the site’s

information.

5 9
Units of Observation of Title/Bookmark

The Title/Bookmark was the identification given within the file. All of the sites
specified Title/Bookmarks. The Title/Bookmark was within complete control of the
information provider. The manifest contents of the Title/Bookmark for the home pages

of official tourism Web sites were examined for the presence of the following:

Title

Given title of a document or the file name as the default

Length

Physical count of characters of Title/Bookmark including

spaces because spaces occupy part of the viewing window
width.

Word Content

Country name
Travel
Tourism

Languages other than English

For non-numerical data, the numbers one (1) and zero (0) were assigned to indicate
presence or absence of content, respectively. Tables were generated for each of the

five country sites.

Units of Observation of Layout of Nodes and Linkages

The relational structure of nodes through linkages provides a cognitive
framework or, if likened to a journey, the map necessary to find the destination and/or
return. The layout of the site was constructed by following the links from node to node
and graphically rendering the site, excluding the “search” function pages that, if

connected to an extensive database, could have yielded thousands of nodes. External

60

linkages from the site were included but linkages from other sites to the tourism site

were not included.

In providing the layout of the site, the file names played a functional role in
giving each node a name or “landmark” with which to be found. The home page
Uniform Resource Locator (URL) was not the only URL given for a site. All nodes
within a site had file names and should be considered because the user may record the
address by writing down the URL or by adding the Web page to a “hotlist” or
Bookmark listing. Moreover, a site could be accessed through a different page other
than the home page. The file name functioned as a default value for the “Title” or
“Bookmark” of a page and, thereby, became criteria used in search engines, onscreen
display and user-defined listings of Titles/Bookmarks. An in-depth look at all file
names for the sites was beyond the scope of this study but the importance of the names

should not be overlooked.

0 Behavior Variable

The Behavior, or performance of the document, is a function of multi-media
components contained within a site. The use of images, the size of the images and the
quality of the image as defined by pixels and palette determined waiting time for the

tourist, as did the time needed to download audio and video files.

With “development of a community” regarded as very important for tourist
retention and repetition to the site, the use of guest feedback forms, search, chat rooms
and other interactive functions served as indicators of interactivity. The multi-media
components were examined qualitatively in comparisons across sites. The following

were the units of observation for the Behavior Variable:

61

Presence of audio files
Graphics

Presence of size and number of colors of image files
Video

Presence of video
Animation

Presence of cgi-bin, server push animation
Searches

Ability to search information
Reply

Ability to reply online to official source
Guestbooks

Presence of guestbooks
Postcard/games

Creative approaches to keeping tourist’s interest
Site navigation

Incorporation of navigational devices within a site

For non-numerical data, the numbers one (1) and zero (0) were assigned to indicate

presence or absence of content, respectively. Tables and graphs of occurrence were

generated for each of the five country sites.

Content Variable

The units of observation for the Content Variable reflected the words on the

home page. The Content of the home page was within the control of the sponsor of

the site. The units of observation for the Content Variable included:

Physical count of words
Country

Number of times country name appears in document, including
in images

62

Identification

Stated name of official source

Word Content
Travel(ers)
Tour(ism/t) - “tour” “tours” “tourism” or “tourist”
You
Audience
Stated audience
Date

Presence of date

Contact

Electronic or regular mail/phone/fax contact information

Languages
Other than English accessible from the English home page

For non-numerical data, the numbers one ( l) and zero (0) were assigned to indicate
presence or absence of content, respectively. Tables and graphs of occurrence were

generated for each of the five country sites.

CHAPTER 4

DATA ANALYSIS

The method of assessment of Web sites was applied to tourism Web sites of
Asian countries as of July, 1995. Data obtained from units of observation were
contained within the elements of three variables, Arrangement, Behavior and Content. A

Summary of the Findings and Discussion are in Chapter Five.

Arrangement Variable

The Arrangement Variable contained the elements of the Uniform Resource
Locator (URL), the Title/Bookmark and the layout of the site as given by the nodes and
linkages.

Uniform Resource Locator (URL)

One unit of observation was the length of the URL because physical space was
occupied by the URL in browser windows and in print through traditional media such as
advertisements and business cards. The length of the URL was the total count of
characters appearing after “http://”, the protocol which was consistent across all the

URLs in this study. Malaysia had the longest URL. The length of the Malaysia URL

63

64

was over twice the length of each of the other Asian countries’ URLs, except Taiwan.

Taiwan had 32 characters (T able 1).

Table 1: URL and URL Length by Country

 

 

Country Name Uniform Resource Locator Character Count

Japan www.ntt.jp/japan/JNTO 21

Malaysia www.jaring.my/~webmster/old/ 56
pub/msia-state/msia-maphtml

Singapore www.ncb.gov.sg/soglsog.html 27

Taiwan www.sinica.edu.tw/tit/index.html 32

Thailand www.cs.ait.ac.th:80/tat/ 24

 

The countries used different domains in the Uniform Resource Locator and
not all domains were represented. None of the sites were commercial “.com” or
organizational “.org” domains. All sites included the country code and the host
computer, “www” (Table 2).

None of the sites had “travel” or “tourism” in any part of the URL of the home

page. One site included the country name in the Uniform Resource Locator.

Title/Bookmark

Two countries had less than ten characters. Both of these were single word
Titles/Bookmarks. The longest Title/Bookmark was 22 characters and consisted of
three words (Table 3).

65

Table 2: URL Units of Observation by Country

 

 

 

 

Unit Country Name
of Observation Japan Malaysia Singapore Taiwan Thailand
Country Code 1 l 1 l 1
Domain
.com 0 O 0 0 O
.edu 0 0 0 1 O
.gov O O 1 0 0
.org 0 O O 0 0
www 1 l 1 l 1
Word Content
Tour/travel 0 0 0 0
Country Name 1 0 O O 0

 

The numbers one (1) and zero (0) indicate presence or absence of content,
respectively.

Table 3: Title/Bookmark and Length by Country

 

Unit Country Name

 

of Observation Japan Malaysia Singapore Taiwan Thailand

 

 

Title/Bookmark JNTO Malaysia Singapore Travel Sawaddee
Online Guide in Taiwan Thailand

Character Count 4 8 22 16 17

 

66

Four of the sites included the country name in the Title/Bookmark. One of the
sites included “travel.” The word “tourism” was not used in any Title/Bookmark.
Thailand was the only country to include a foreign word, “Sawadee.” Japan included

the acronym, “INTO,” for the Japan National Tourist Organization (Table 4).

Table 4: Title/Bookmark Word Content by Country

 

Unit Country Name
of Observation Japan Malaysia Singapore Taiwan Thailand

 

Title/B ookmark J NTO Malaysia Singapore Travel Saw addee
Online Guide in Taiwan Thailand

Tour(ism) 0 0 0 0 0
Travel 0 0 O 1 0
Country 0 1 1 1 1

 

The numbers one (1) and zero (0) indicate presence or absence of cmtent,
respectively.

67

Nodes and Linkages

The 2-dimensional representations of the nodes and linkages of each country
were graphed over a period of a month with any update of information replacing earlier

information.

o Japan’s Nodes and Linkages

The Japan National home page linked to the Japan National Tourist
Organization (JNTO) site. The JNTO home page directed the user to “free brochures”
and then linked to the “Travel Companion.” Thus, two linkages were necessary to get
to categorical information such as accommodations and transportation. The farthest
node, other than a search result, was five hyperlinkages from the home page. Two
nodes linked back to “Travel Companion” home page. The site did not offer
navigation. The site had external hyperlinkages to N'IT, the Nippon Telegraph and
Telephone Corporation in Japan, and Japan Info operated by NTT. The tour node,
which was three hyperlinkages away from the home page, was not functioning. All
other nodes did function (Figure 1).

o Malaysia’s Nodes and Linkages

The Malaysia home page could be reached through the Gateway to Malaysia
operated by the Malaysia Institute of Microelectric Systems. The hyperlink through
“Malaysian Info” to “Tourism” on Malaysia’s national home page then linked to the
tourism home page. A reverse hyperlinkage from the tourism home page could not be
made. The clickable map of the home page included all the states within Malaysia. The
farthest node was four hyperlinkages from the home page. No external hyperlinkages
were permitted. The set of second hyperlinkages away from the home page had the

same format (Figure 2).

68

 

i Elm

 

 

 

 

 

 

DDDDDDDDO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1: Nodes and Linkages of Japan's Tourism Site’

 

’ The dark squares indicate a page, or node, sponsored by the official source. Solid lines
indicate a hyperlinkage away from the home page. White boxes are nodes sponsored
by other entities. Lines not positioned vertically or horizontally represent cross-
references.

69

 

'i]
r13 an n n
a p m m m m m n

OUDDDDDDDDDDUDUD
> El

Iiiihiiii iiiiiiii

 

 

 

       

 

 

 

 

Figure 2: Nodes and Linkages of Malaysia's Tourism Site’

 

’ The dark squares indicate a page, or node, sponsored by the official source. Solid lines
indicate a hyperlinkage away from the home page. White boxes are nodes sponsored
by other entities. Lines not positioned vertically or horizontally represent cross-
references. Arrows indicate text-based linkages that repeat the graphic linkages.

70

o Singapore’s Nodes and Linkages

Singapore’s National Computer Board (N CB), operated by the Ministry of
Finance, linked to 43 other choices and Singapore Online Guide. The farthest
hyperlinkage was two hyperlinkages from the home page. Six hyperlinkages on the
home page were cross-linked within the site. At least one icon used for navigation had
more than one reference node upon which the icon was pictured. Thus, attempts to
follow an image did not link the user necessarily to the node previously associated
with the image. External linkages were made to hyperlinkages made available in the
National Computer Board listing, including the Online Museum and the National
Heritage Board (Figure 3).

o Taiwan’s Nodes and Linkages

The Taiwan site was not linked through the sponsor site, the Computing
Center, Academia Sinica (ASCC). A reverse linkage from the Taiwan home page to
ASCC was made. The site provided address and information lists, and book contents
from a publishing company. No external hyperlinkages were included. The farthest
hyperlinkage was two hyperlinkages from the home page. Thus, the site was self-
contained. The site had 31 nodes of which 13 contained information from external

entities such as the authors of books available through the publishing company

(Figure 4).

71

fiififi

EWIIF I IITmHIIIIII “iii-I
HIHEI" £7“ a

rim
j IIIIIIIIIIIII
l IiiiI.

l l'
k]:

l l 33::

I
.-
.0
I
o
I A

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 3: Nodes and Linkages of Singapore's Tourism Site’

 

’ The dark squares indicate a page, or node, sponsored by the official source. Solid lines
indicate a hyperlinkage away from the home page. White boxes are nodes sponsored
by other entities. Lines not positioned vertically or horizontally represent cross—
references.

 

 
 

   

   

-- i
it E
1 iihi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 4: Nodes and Linkages of Taiwan's Tourism Site’

’ The dark squares indicate a page, or node, sponsored by the official source. Solid lines
indicate a hyperlinkage away from the home page. White boxes are nodes sponsored by
other entities. Lines not positioned vertically or horizontally represent cross-references.

o Thailand’s Nodes and Linkages

The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) Network Services linked to the
Thailand home page. A reverse hyperlinkage from the home page was not made.
Within the site and two hyperlinkages from the home page, a link was made to the
Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) but not to AIT Network Services. The farthest
hyperlinkage was five hyperlinkages from the home page. External hyperlinkages
linked to the US. State Department, a Guide to Thailand by Mahidol University, and
ASIA Trade sponsored sites. Cross-hyperlinkages were made, including the use of the
menu bar that navigated part, but not all, of the site (Figure 5).

73

u- ..
=::::3""'::.

  

 

 

 

 

 

1.- I'D-b... .O-.-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 5: Nodes and Linkages of Thailand's Tourism Site’

 

’ The dark squares indicate a page, or node, sponsored by the official source. Solid lines
indicate a hyperlinkage away from the home page. White boxes are nodes sponsored
by other entities. Lines not positioned vertically or horizontally represent cross-
references. Dashed lines indicate a cross-linkage.

74

Behavior Variable

The units of observation of the Behavior Variable were contained within the
element of the multi-media components within each site. Two sites offered search
ability within the site but not inclusive of the whole site. Two sites offered a direct
online linkage to reply to the sponsor of the site. The same two sites offered email
addresses but no forms (Table 5).

No site offered a “guestboo ” interactive area for tourists to talk to other
tourists, view comments, pose questions or offer suggestions, or for the site to receive
an idea of who was visiting the site. Postcards and games were not included in any of
the sites. No incentives were included to return to the site or to refer another tourist to

the site (Table 5).

Two sites provided navigation. One site used the same images to represent
multiple destinations. Thus, to “click” an image would not necessarily return the
screen to a previous node associated with that image. Another site used a navigation
system for part of the site but did not use the system for the entire site. The two

completely closed sites offered no navigation within the sites (Table 5).

The ability to hear the audio or to see the video components relied upon the
user having a computer with the software to view the information transmitted. Thus, a
user without the computer capability would have been unable to interact with these

multi-media components (T able 5 and Figure 6).

75

Table 5: Presence of Multi-media Components by Country

 

 

 

 

Units Country Name
of Observation Japan Malaysia Singapore Taiwan Thailand
Audio 0 0 1 O 1
Graphics 1 1 1 1 1
Photos 1 1 1 null * 1
Video 0 0 1 0 0
Animation 0 0 0 0 1
Search 0 O 1 O 1
Reply O 0 1 O 1
Guestbooks 0 O 0 0 0
Postcard/Games 0 0 0 0 0
Site Navigation 0 O 1 O 1

 

The numbers one (1) and zero (0) indicate presence or absence of content,
respectively.

fNull indicates a default image and inability to determine the content of the intended
rrnage.

76

1o—~
9+

71"

Presence Mum-Media

 

 

C d N (D «h 01
1 r I r l
l l r l

Japan
Malaysra
Singapore
Taiwan
Thailand

 

"I Photos Search
EAudio I Site Navigation

Video I Animation I Postcard/Gamer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I Guestbooks LEGEND

Figure 6: Presence of Multi-media by Country
Source: Table 5

77

Download time, the time necessary for information to be transmitted to the
user’s computer, was a concern. Download time for the video took over five minutes
during the weekly site reassessment of functions and once the video took over ten
minutes to download. The size of the file and the approximated time necessary to
download were not indicated in advance of the download. None of the images,
whether graphic or photo, indicated size or download time. Thailand’s site did indicate

file size for audio files but not for animation.

The total area of images could not be compared in relation to total area for a
given node. The font size, which could be independently altered per computer, altered
the number of viewing pixels. Moreover, the screen could be manipulated in size, both
height and width. Thus, “white space” was not a fixed quantity. The images, having
been specified in both height and width when created and again when authored into the

document source, were fixed in both height and width for all the sites in this study.

The widest image was 569 pixels across. The image with the greatest height
was 278 pixels. A large array of colors was used to create icons, except for the INTO
image which had only two colors. The reduction of colors decreases the file size and,
thus, increases the rate of data transfer to the screen. One site had a gray image
background. While all sites had images, the total number of pixels ranged from less
than 10 thousand to nearly 200 thousand (Table 6 and Figure 7).

78

Table 6: Home Page Image File Data by Country

 

 

 

Country File Name Length Width Colors LengthXWidth Total
Name (pixels) (pixels) (pixels) Pixels
Japan JNTO—mark-new.gif 98 92 2 9016 9016
Malaysia /msia—state/gif/bmsia.gif 1 16 227 256 26332
msia-state/gif/bmsia3.gif l 15 l 19 128 13685
msia-state/giflm-siagif 278 569 128 158182
yellow.gif (twice) 23 20 64 460
199119
nhb/dmcioon.gif 32 32 8 1 024
sog/gifs/copyright.gif 18 19 8 342
34595
Taiwan $.23 .. .. 5.0 .. .. ”.9- . .256 ,. .. .. .. .550 .. ..
blue.gif (five times) 14 14 16 196
,. .. .. _. .. . a ._ ._ .. . . .. . ._. ._ ._. .. ._ _. -9930.
Thailand picture/gpalacegif 176 347 256 61072
ioon/ihome.gif 49 50 256 2450
icon/imail.gif 49 50 256 2450
ioon/iseamhgif 49 50 256 2450
icon/ical.gif 49 50 256 2450
icon/itour.gif 49 50 256 2450
logo/tatoopyl.gif 68 321 256 21828
backgrormd greybggif " “ ‘ null 95150

 

79

200000 "”

1

180000 ‘

160000 *

140000 ‘

120000 *-

Pixels

1

100000

Total

80000

60000 -

40000 “

20000 *

 

 

o 1

Japan Malaysia Singapore Taiwan Thailand

Figure 7: Total Pixels of Home Page Images by Country
Source: Table 6

80

Content Variable

The Content Variable analysis relied upon data collected for units of

observation contained within the element of each site’s home page.

Every site contained the country name at least twice on the home page. The

country name appeared 17 times within the home page node of one site (Table 7 and
Figure 9).

Three sites had less than 10 hyperlinkages on the home page. One site had 16
hyperlinkages and one site had 42 hyperlinkages. Thus, one site offered more
hyperlinkages on the home page than the total number of hyperlinkages contained
within another site (Table 7).

Three countries had less than 75 words on the home page. Two countries had

over 175 words on the home page (Figure 8).

All sites contained either “travel” or “tourism.” All sites except one used the
word “you.” One site used the word “you” nine times on the home page. The site also

0' 66

referred to “travel agents and their personnel.” “Tourists, travelers,” and “visitors”

were words used by three sites, inferring the information was aimed at these audiences
(Figure 9).

The word “welcome” appeared on the home page of four sites. The appearance
of this word, beyond a social custom, was not anticipated. Spelling errors did occur

on the home page.

81

Table 7: Word Content of Home Pages by Country

 

 

 

 

 

Unit Country Name
of
Observation Japan Malaysia Singapore Taiwan Thailand
Word Count 176 44 246 57 75
Hyperlinkages 3 16 42 6 8
Word Content
ViSitOI‘(S) 0 0 0 1 0
Tour(s) 1 0 3 0 l
Tourist/m 3 3 5 1 3
Travel 5 0 2 3 1
You(r) 9 0 2 0 1
Country Name 8 4 17 3 2
250
200
v
e
g 150
u
G
3 100
)I
50

 

 

Japan Waysia Singapore Taiwan Tha'lmd

Figure 8 : Word Count on Home Page by Country
Source: Table 7

82

Occurrence of Unit of Observation

    

 

 

 

E
l 7 5

Malaysia Singapore Taiwan Thailand

I Country Name E Tourist/m I Travel
7
% T°”'(5) E You(r) . Visitor(s)

 

Figure 9: Occurrence of Home Page Word Content by Country

Source: Table 7

83

Two sites omitted date information. Three sites included the year ( 1993, 1994,
and 1995) but did not indicate if the information contained within was created at that

time or if the information was updated (Table 8).

Foreign languages were not included. At least, information in other languages

was not made accessible through the English home page (T able 8).

All sites included the complete name of the NTO. Three sites included credit to
other entities: a National Computer Board, a publishing company and a network unit

of an Institute of Technology (Table 8).

Online ability to contact the sponsor of each site was essentially nonexistent.
The online linkage of one site was not working. Two sites provided a physical address
for inquiries. One site did not provide either a physical address or an online mail

function but did provide a listing of travel agencies (Table 8).

84

Table 8: Qualitative Units of Observation of Home Page by Country

 

 

 

 

Unit Country Name
of
Observation Japan Malaysia Singapore Taiwan Thailand
Date 1993 0 Jan-94 1995
Languages none none none none none
Audience travel agents 0 all tourists tourists
and their and travellers
sales
personnel
Source Identity Japan Malaysia Singapore Tourism Tourism
National Tourism Tourist Bureau Authority
Tourist Promotion Promotion (f
Organization Board Board Ministry Thailand
and the of
National Transport Design
Computer and AIT
Board Communication Network
(NCB) Services
Published Unit
by
Vision
International
Publishing
Co
Computing Center
Academia Sinica
(A SCC)
Who to Contact Physical Physical Online Online AIT/listing
Address Address NCB to ASCC travel agencies

Hyperlink Hyperlink for tours

 

CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND
IMPLICATIONS

A method of assessment was developed to ascertain both the ability to find,
identify, and access information and the utility of information on the World Wide Web.
The method was applied to five tourism Web sites provided by National Tourism
Organizations and in existence in July, 1995.

This Chapter reviews the procedures outlined in Chapter Three before providing
a brief summary of the findings of Chapter Four. Then, the variables are discussed in
context of the findings. The success of this study to develop a method of assessment is
addressed in the Conclusion section. The applicability and limitations of this study to
site assessment, development and future decisions or policies are presented in

Implications. Lastly, research topics are given for future studies.

Summary of Procedures

The study population for tourism on the World Wide Web was delimited
according to four criteria: a) sponsorship by official tourism source, b) English
language, c) geographical location in Asia, and d) time period spanning the month of
July, 1995. The Web sites of five National Tourism Organizations (Japan, Malaysia,

Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand) were investigated with respect to three research

85

86

variables: Arrangement, Behavior and Content. The research variables were derived
from literature, conferences and previous research regarding computer-mediated

environments (see Chapter 2).

Within the variables were elements that contained the units of observation used
for analysis. The Uniform Resource Locator, the Title/Bookmark and the layout of the
nodes and linkages constituted the elements of the Arrangement Variable and reflected
the ability to find and locate information. The multi-media components reflected the
ability to access the information or the Behavior of the site. The Content Variable
contained the element of the home page. An analysis of the textual units of observation
was done to determine the utility of the Content in regard to the “who,” “what,”

“where,” and “when” of the information contained within the site.

Summary of Findings

The following summary describes the findings of this study by variable. The
variables contained elements within which were units of observation. The data
collected for the units of observation in July, 1995 and the analysis of the data are set

forth in Chapter Four.

Arrangement Variable

According to the analysis of the eight units of observation within the element of
the Uniform Resource Locator (URL), two of the units used in the URL to find
information were not present in any site. None of the sites were commercial, and none

of the sites included the words “travel” or “tourism.”

87

The word “tourism” was not included in the second element of the
Arrangement Variable, the Title/Bookmark. The word “travel” was included in one
Title. Thus, the sites did not include the words “travel” or “tourism” in the Uniform
Resource Locator (URL) or within the Title/Bookmark, except for one site that
included “Travel” in the Title/Bookmark. Titles are used by search engines to display
results, to search for matches, and to categorize the nodes and/or sites. Titles are also
displayed on the screen by some browsers and can assist in site identification of a

node.

Two units were included by all sites. Both the country code and the host

“www” were present within the URL of all sites.

One site included the country name. Within the element of Title/Bookmark, all

but one country, Japan, included the country name in the Title.

All sites had multiple nodes and linkages. Cross references within a site were
limited; two sites cross-referenced less than ten nodes. All sites had at least two
hyperlinkages away from the home page. Two sites had a “closed” structure, meaning
that the sites had no external linkages. External hyperlinkages excluded commercial or
business sites, specifically hotels, attractions and transportation, except for a linkage to
an online museum. One site included information from books of a publishing firm as
part of the site but did not maintain an external hyperlinkage to that publisher. External
hyperlinkages included the US. State Department Fact Book on that country, an
example of cross government information sharing of publicly available information.

The home page as a “landmark” relied upon the browser navigation buttons
and backtracking through hierarchical structures, yet the “landmark” could not provide
insight into the Content or depth of the site. No site provided a cognitive framework

of how large or small the site was or where to find the information within the site. The

home pages appeared as “gateways” to hierarchical structures. Within the structure of
the site, nodes not directly linked to the home page remained “invisible” upon first

access.

Behavior Variable

Multi-media components were present on all sites. Those multi-media
components increased the download time to access information. Audio and video
required external software not available in the browser and required download time of
up to ten minutes. Two sites offered searches within a portion of the site but did not

offer a comprehensive search of the site.

All sites included images, either graphic, icon, or photo, on the home page.
The amount of images on the home pages of the sites ranged between 9 thousand and
200 thousand pixels. Two sites had roughly 9 and 10 thousand pixels. Four sites had
less than 100 thousand pixels. The number of pixels and number of colors determined

file size and impacted the time of display.

None of the sites had interactive areas for games or guestbooks. The sites’
internal interactivity did not allow for interaction with the sponsors, with other tourists

or with travel and tourism services associated with the nations in this study.

Content Variable

The sites did not include the addresses of the Web sites, the physical addresses

for the NTOs, or email addresses in print on the home page.

None of the sites included all the words “you,” “travel,” “touris(m/t),” “tour”

and “Visitor(s).” One site included all the words except “you,” while another site also

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included all the words except “Visitor(s).” One site included only one of the words,

“touris(m/t),” with only one occurrence of the word on the home page.

All sites included the country name at least more than once on the home page.
One site included the country name seventeen times. The other four sites included the

country name less than ten times.

Only one site indicated a “1995” date while two of the other sites indicated

earlier years, 1993 and 1994. The other two sites omitted the date.

Three sites had less than 75 words on the home page. Two sites had over 175
words. Three sites had less than ten hyperlinkages from the home page. One site had
42 hyperlinkages on the home page. The remaining site had 16 hyperlinkages.

None of the sites offered information in any language other than English with

access from the English home page.

Discussion

Arrangement Variable
The Ability to Find and Locate Information

An address, search engine or hyperlinkage must be used to find information on
the Web. The first tool to find information, the address, consisted of Uniform
Resource Locators with visual interfaces that included characters beyond the alphabet,
acronyms and at least two “I” per URL. At least one, if not two, sites used acronyms
within the management and naming of the URLs, beginning with the file name of the
home page. The identification of the site then depends upon the awareness of that
acronym by the search engines and the user. The second site’s acronym appeared in

the file name but did not appear within the site’s Content . Thus, the understanding

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and association of the suspected acronym were difficult to determine, clarify and apply

in this study.

Search engines, the second tool to find information, functioned according to
varying criteria specific to each search engine. The sites did include the country code in
the URL or the country name in the Title/Bookmark, thereby enabling search engine
identification of the country, but not necessarily the purpose of the site. The absence of
“travel” and “tourism” in the URL, and in all but one Title, reveals how search engines
could overlook the fundamental nature and classification of these sites within the

Travel and Tourism Industry.

The third tool used to find information, hyperlinkages, refers to both internal
and external linkages. The layout of nodes and linkages within a site are internal
hyperlinkages. In graphing the layout of the nodes and linkages, insight into the role
of both internal and external hyperlinkages was obtained even though hyperlinkages
from other sites to the destination site were beyond the scope of this study. Three sites
offered external linkages, identified as a change of URL domains of the host
computer. The departure from a site and/or the identification of information as being
part of the site was not apparent necessarily from the document contents. The browser
function keys were necessary to return to all sites once an external hyperlinkage was

made.

The layout of two sites as completely closed, the lack of reciprocal linkages to
other servers on the host computer, the absence of intraregional or transnational
linkages, the exclusion of reservation systems or linkages to private businesses, the
use of landmark icons without consistency of reference, the existence of “under

construction” nodes, and the hierarchical structures within each site without indication

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of site size and structure served as barriers and deterrents to hyperlinkages to, from

and within each site.

Behavior Variable
The Ability to Access the Information

The multi-media components are unique features of the Web and do not occur
in traditional media. The technology in July, 1995 required external software to use the
multi-media components of audio and video. The download times, which reached
upwards of ten minutes, and the playing times, which were equally lengthy, especially
for the video, were a function of the technology. The audio of one site incorporated
language and demonstrated the advantage the Web has over the written word in

providing a more accurate conveyance of the word’s pronunciation.

Graphics, photos and/or images were used on all home pages. The site with no
other multi-media component had an image of large text on the home page. This site
had the least number of nodes and was a “closed” site. Thus, the site had little internal
and external interactivity. One site had a graphic interface on the home page, inclusive
of a clickable map of the country. The graphic was an established width and did not
change with a change of the screen size. Thus, scrolling up and down and right and
left were necessary. The image, being 569 pixels wide, exceeded the “standard screen
size” of 480 pixels wide. Thus, the picture would not have been seen in entirety on a

twelve-inch screen with the default browser size shown.

Except for the one image in two colors, the image palette for icons less than
100 pixels contained a range higher than was necessary. As the number of colors
increased, so did the file size. With a reduction in the number of colors, file size could

have been minimized and could have increased the rate of transmission, thereby

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increasing the performance of the site. Examples included a yellow dot with 16 colors
and a blue dot with 64 colors in the palette. Icons used for a menu bar included 256
colors. Thus, the manipulation of images to maximally decrease the file size,
regardless of number of pixels used, while maintaining image quality was not apparent

for any site except one. That exception did not have any color.

No interactive areas were established for user-based interactivity, such as
guestbooks or games. The sites did not facilitate the development of community within
the site or strategically position the site to attract other tourists through the user’s
actions. The nodes of the sites did not indicate that the information contained within
would change, except the “under construction” pages. The “under construction” pages

did not indicate an expected completion date.

Content Variable

The Utility of Content

In regard to “who,” the contents of the home page did provide an
understanding of the sponsors and the targeted audience. The information source
providers of all sites were identified. Four sites implied an audience by stating
“tourist,” “visitor” or “traveler” on the home page. The absence of other languages

implied English-speaking tourists.

The nature of the sites as travel and tourism related, which answers “what,”
was identifiable through the use of at least one of the word content units of
observation, such as “travel” or “tourism.” All sites included the word “travel” and
“tour(ism),” except one site that did not include the word “travel.” Thus, the pages

could be identified as being related to travel and tourism.

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The site with the largest number of words on the home page included the
country name 17 times, thereby establishing the “where” or destination being
promoted. The country name appeared at least twice on the home page. Four sites

provided the country name less than ten times on the home page.

“When” was omitted by two sites that did not indicate any date. Three of the
sites included a date on the home page (1993, 1994, and 1995). The sites did not
specify if the information had changed since the given years. If not, the information
from the years 1993 and 1994 might not have been accurate or applicable to the year
the information was accessed, 1995. The site that gave 1995 did not indicate when the
site was created or if the information was newly created. Thus, insufficient

information was given to determine if the information was up-to—date.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand did indicate on the bottom of the home
page that “This presentation is strictly for testing purposes.” The definition and scope
of what constituted “this presentation” remained undefined. The phrase appeared on
the home page but not subsequent nodes. A user entering another node within the site
would not know this information. An interactive component would have been
beneficial to the “testing purposes.” No such interactive component was included. In
addition, no online email or form submission was possible to provide feedback to the

site administrator or the Tourism Authority.

Research Questions
'In Chapter One, a series of questions was posed and were to be answered
throughout the study. The research questions pertained to the three variables.

However, answers cannot be contained within the sc0pe of just one variable. The

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Web, as a series of interconnections, denotes answers that derive from both the

respective variable and the interrelationship of that variable to the other variables.

Arrangement

0 Site Identification
Can a search engine be used to find the site?
Can the site be identified by the search engine's results?

Finding sites was difficult due to the lack of “travel” and/or “tourism” in the
URL and Title/Bookmark. Considering that popular search engines (Lycos, Yahoo,
and Incite) included “travel” specific categories in quick menus, the absence of these
words in the most ubiquitous indexing criteria, the address and Title, indicated that
potential strategic positioning of the sites was being underutilized. Search engines also
used the document source and, thus, another mechanism found to exist but which was
not being maximized was the increased occurrence of keywords within the document

SOUTCC.

0 Nature of the Site Layout - Nodes and Linkages

Are the relational hyperlinkages within the site hierarchical in nature or
dispersed?

The hierarchy of the sites began external to the site with the host computer of
the site or the government of the country. This hierarchy was not apparent from
within the site because reciprocal hyperlinkages to the underlying computer sponsor or
government was not made from the tourism home page, except for Singapore. All sites
relied upon the use of the browser keys at some point to provide navigation. Increased
hyperlinkages away from the home page produced “dead ends” and increased the time

necessary to locate information.

Does the site have a closed set of hyperlinkages or does the site
incorporate external hyperlinkages?

95

No external hyperlinkages to neighboring countries were possible, indicative
of lack of regional cooperative agreements. No external hyperlinkages were made to
regional organizations within a nation or to a global organization. Noticeably absent
were commercial linkages to reservation systems, travel and tourism services,

attractions, or commercially based travel-related sites.

Behavior

0 Multi-media Access to Information

Do multi-media components of audio, sound, navigation devices
and interactive areas provide access to information?

The sites in this study incorporated audio, video, images and navigation

devices as interactive components that allowed for increased access to information.

0 Increased Information Exchange

Does the site serve as a platform for information exchange among
those accessing the site?

N o, the sites did not provide for site interactivity with either the sponsor of the
site or with other site visitors. Moreover, two sites excluded and three sites limited the

external hyperlinkages, thereby decreasing the interactivity of the site with other sites.

Content

- Authenticity of the Site
Is the information source provider identifiable?

Yes, all sites were identified on the home page by name. No addresses, online
or electronic, were given on the home page. Likewise, the URL did not appear on the
page, thereby making it difficult to associate an address with the official source of

information.

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0 Audience

Does the site target a particular market audience by explicitly
referring to that audience on the home page?

,9 6‘

Four sites used “tourist, visitor,” or “traveler” on the home page. The only

language accessible or used on the home page was English.

0 Communicating Purpose of the Site
Are the words “travel” and “tourism” used to convey the purpose

and sponsor of the site as a travel and tourism information
provider? Is the country identified on the home page?
All sites used the words and/or derivatives of “travel” and “tourism,” except

one site that did not include the word “travel.” All sites identified the country by name

at least twice.

Conclusion

Thus, upon review of the findings and within the limitations of this study, it is
concluded that the method of assessment of World Wide Web sites as applied to
tourism is useful for discerning criteria within the control of the site sponsor as
pertaining to the Arrangement, Behavior and Content of a Web presence. The
assessment distinguishes the importance of the URL, Title/Bookmark, Content of the
document source, interactivity of the multimedia components and the components of

utility.

Implications

In developing the Arrangement, Behavior and Content of a site, managers and

designers need to decide the strategic positioning of a site’s locality, identification,

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performance and Content . The Web provides opportunity to develop personalized
information, to lower the barriers to access information and to increase the flexibility
of providing that information. The improvement of a site depends upon the site’s
ability to change while providing consistency of performance and quality of Content

across time.

The fnst interface component, the ability to locate a site, remained limited in
regard to search engines. The URL and the Title/Bookmark in this study, while
meeting some of the criteria, such as the country name and the word “travel,” did
result in a search engine reporting the site as related to travel information on that
country. However, individuals, commercial companies and non-profits are
establishing sites that offer national tourism information. To identify the sites for this
study, thousands of sites were searched for the sponsor’s identification. The site’s
identity needs to be clearly communicated. At minimum, the Title/Bookmark should
indicate the site’s sponsor or include the word “official," thereby indicating the
authenticity of the site. This identification becomes even more important when a site
expands or has a mirror site in another country. The mirror site might not include the
country code and could increase the difficulty for search engines to match the country

name with the site.

To maximize the ability of a site to be found by a search engine and to display
visual interfaces that contribute to identification, the URL, the Title/Bookmark and the
Content of the Home Page need to be manipulated by the site developer to create
increased occurrence of search words associated with a site and with the categories
found within Web indices. The URL should be included in traditional media to reduce
the need for search engines. The URL should also be included onscreen. In 1995, the

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printout from the screen did not include the URL and, if used for future reference in

the absence of the URL, required searching again for the “keywords” of the site.

The layout of a site, in the absence of a change of browser or user technology,
needs to provide a “cognitive framework” of the site such that information can be
quickly located without having to traverse through multiple nodes. Possible
mechanisms include the use of search functions or “site maps” much like a destination
map. Internal navigation systems need to be implemented with consistent “landmarks.”
The use of graphics and display layout should serve to complement the identification

of these landmarks.

All sites need to increase the interactivity of the site. First, graphics need to be
maximized for quality and minimized for file size to increase the rate of data transfer,
thereby decreasing the time for display. Likewise, other multi-‘media components need
to be developed with the time of download, display and function as a consideration.
Interactivity with the sponsor of the site, with other industry players and with other
tourists has been overlooked and denotes concerted effort to incorporate interactive
areas. With no information about the accessors of the site and no platform within
which accessors can determine who else has accessed the site and for what purposes,
the development of “community” was undermined. In doing so, the opportunity to

generate marketing and profile databases was lost.

The inclusion of advanced technologies but lack of use of email or forms to
increase communication flow to the NTO was of concern, especially when the
audiences identified as a unit of observation of the Content Variable were “tourists,”
“visitors” and “travelers.” The inability to contact the NTOs tends to suggest that either

the NTOs were unable to handle online communication, for technology or staffing

99

reasons, and/or that interaction with the accessors to the sites was not a priority for the

NTOs.

Specific recommendations as to which multi-media to incorporate would be
greatly limited to the technology available at the time of writing, technology that
continues to evolve rapidly. The goal should not necessarily be to incorporate “generic
answers” of interactivity, but to develop interactive areas that are unique and distinctive

to the site while also providing for communication flow.

The home page of a site acts as the “gateway” and should readily identify the
site, the country, the sponsor of the site, the date of the information, any copyrights if
applicable, and any consistent “landmark” features. The home page’s Content should
provide enough insight into the structure of the site to differentiate the relative size of

the site.

Is there a generic list of “things to do right” and “things to do wrong” for
NTOs on the Web? No identified research to date has shown that one model of
Arrangement is “ideal” for the Web, regardless of function, purpose or audience of the

Web site.

Regardless of the changes of the Web and of sites, three questions remain to be
answered:
— What is the purpose of the Web site in meeting the mandate or
mission of the sponsor, which in this case is a National Tourist
Organization?
- How can the Web be used to achieve this purpose?
— What role and function does the sponsor have on the Web?

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The Arrangement of a site by a National Tourist Organization should serve to
facilitate information flow and integrate information within the Travel and Tourism
Industry. At a national level, the NTO has the ability to expand industry coordination
by serving as a central point source. The sites in this study included few, if any,
external linkages, partly due the lack of Web site development by businesses and
partly due to the lack of sites’ internal and external Arrangements. Noticeably absent
were commercial linkages to reservation systems, travel and tourism services,
attractions, or commercially based travel-related sites. The collaborative efforts of three
of the sites with other entities suggests that future efforts by NT Os to foster and
coordinate inward tourism flow will be based upon broader, diversified management

approaches.

Two of the sites did not include any external linkages. If the sites are closed
sites or have limited external linkages, can the function as facilitators be realized? The
layout, therefore, impacted the performance of the site as a whole, and contributed to

download time as given in the Behavior Variable Discussion Section.

For those sites that do include external linkages, decisions need to be made

" 6‘

regarding the following concerns: “to whom," “how, at what cost,” “for what
purpose” and “how is equity given to all interested participants?” Can the NTO sites
service all participants or will a select few Travel and Tourism Industry players

dominate to the exclusion of others?

This study found that the NTOs were limited in serving as facilitators,
clearinghouses or interactive information providers. As the sites were English-
language only, the NTOs were also limited in serving the global population. Are the

“invisible” barriers to facilitation created not only by what information is there or not,

101

but also by what language the information is conveyed? What inequities are forming as

a result of the Web sites?

Regional coordination through Pacific Asia Travel Association was not present
at the time of data collection, nor was global cooperation through the World Tourism
Organization. The existence of a central organization, on a regional, national or
international level, could facilitate finding, accessing and exchanging information. A
non-commercial entity could also function to ensure equity of access across services

and businesses.

The application of this study should not occur as an internal site development
plan but must be integrated into a plan that is inclusive of issues relating to the Web
space at-large, the Travel and Tourism Industry, other travel-related Web sites, the
Internet and the user, be it the tourist, intermediary or service provider. The Web’s
potential, as an example of a networked environment with multi-media interactive
components, was illustrated in a limited context in this study. Audio files online,
unlike printed brochures or language books, allowed for an accurate representation of
the language and music. When potentially coupled with the interactivity of the Web
such as with other tourists online, live images of the country, and video Internet
phone, the capacity and advantages of the Web over other distribution channels
become increasing apparent. Thus, while the features of the Web were not being fully
realized, the potential of the Web as an exciting means of communication not
adequately represented by any other existing means of communication, presents
unparalleled opportunity to increase tourists’ flow while increasing understanding
through the exchange of knowledge, the arts, the languages, the cultures and the

currencies.

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Suggested Future Research

This study was a “snap shot” of the technology, the approaches and the status
of the Web’s distribution and accessibility during 1995. The changes of technology
may or may not, but most likely will, resolve the issues surrounding individual
concerns for the units of observation included in this study. Changes in search
engines, browsers, multi-media convergence and computer programming could
potentially put a stamp of obsolescence on the existence of Uniform Resource
Locators, Title/Bookmarks, or multiple node networked sites. The application of this
study, especially over time, is not necessarily the individual components of the units of
observation or the elements. The units and elements were established to develop a
better baseline understanding of World Wide Web sites in 1995. The essence of this
research, during a time period of rapid technological change, is contained within the
concepts of the three variables. Even as technology progresses, policy, management
and development will depend upon the ability to find, identify, access and utilize
information. This ability depends upon the Arrangement, Behavior and Content of

information in a networked, computer-mediated environment.

This study did not include an investigation into the words used in the
programming of the site that do not appear onscreen. These words also assist in
effective positioning of the site for search engines. Likewise, the words used in form
submissions to the search engines were not part of this study. Both the hidden words
and the submission words could potentially include other languages such as to position
the sites for the international audience while not interfering with the textual format and
display on the home page. Research is needed on the role of cross—cultural
communication and multi-lingual functions for the purpose and intent of reaching the

global audience.

103

“How” was not identified in Chapter One in the Statement of the Problem but
the analysis of the units of observation suggest that “how” was of concern. As the
sites within the study did not link to regional organizations within the nation, to other
nations within the region or to global resources, future study is needed to assess the
role and effectiveness of regional, national and international tourism organizations in

information facilitation on the Web.

Do we need NTOs on the Web if the private, commercial or personalized sites
on the Web potentially provide the same services or even better country information
than that presented by the NTO? Can NTOs become privatized or dissolved without an
impact upon the Travel and Tourism Industry if the information is already being
provided?

Are countries with low telecommunications density or low Web connection
rates being excluded from having equal access to the global marketplace? If so, what
impact does the travel and tourism information on the Web have on tourists’

destination choice?

Do Web sites influence the “image” of the country as being “near” or “ ar” or
“easy to travel” versus “difficult,” based not on Content of information, but the

overall performance of the national Web site?

An ambitious project would be to test the effectiveness of a Web site for the
user. As the Web allows for anyone connected to be a potential user, the sample
population would need to reflect tourists, potential tourists, intermediaries, and even
arm-chair travelers who might spend money online in that country for travel and

tourism services but never physically travel to the destination.

104

Lastly, computer -mediated environment research, especially that of networked
environments, needs to be expanded such as to utilize the components of interactivity
to analyze and present data that could not be represented in traditional means of

communication.

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105

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