Forthcoming in Journal of Travel Research, summer 20000

Internet-Based Evaluation of a Tourism Web Site Effectiveness: Methodological Issues and Survey Results

By:  Patrick Tierney, Ph.D., San Francisco St. University

ABSTRACT

There is growing reliance on the internet for the promotion and sales of tourism products and services. Evaluation of web site effectiveness is necessary because of the significant costs involved in setup and maintenance of web sites and e-commerce, intense competition for web viewers, and increasing costs for advertising to direct potential buyers to a web site. Studies suggest there is a great need for evaluations to go beyond page "hits" and viewings. The objectives of this study were to develop and apply a low-cost, automated, internet-based survey methodology and to use it to investigate the effectiveness of a tourism promotional web site. Both on-line and email surveys were used to gather data on visitors to the California Division of Tourism web site. Although 874 completed surveys were received, response rates were low. A check for non-response bias indicated respondents were different from non-respondents. Respondents primarily learned about the web site through only two sources, were active users of the web site and reported that the web site significantly influenced many aspects of their travel plans. However, study findings suggest there are large methodological challenges facing researchers wanting to conduct web-based surveys. Internet-based survey methods must be improved before data they collect can be used with confidence for quantitative accountability purposes. Suggestions to improve evaluation methods are provided.

KEYWORDS: Internet, web site, travel, promotion, evaluation, survey, tourism