Marketing European Tourism Products via Internet/WWW

To what extent are regional tourism organisations (RTOs) in Australia leveraging the benefits of web technology for destination marketing and eCommerce?

“…Interactive website presentation runs a spectrum from information provision, through brochure ordering and inquiry services, to booking and payment online [24]. A summary of the key features of 25 "best practice" destination marketing organisations, evaluated by the World Tourism Organization, is presented by Goodrich [18].…”

Use of the Web for Destination Marketing by Regional Tourism Organisations in the Asia-Pacific Region

“…The information-intensive nature of the tourism industry fits particularly well with interactive media like the Web, and indications are that tourism Web sites are constantly being made more interactive (Goodrich 2000a, Gretzel et al 2000, Hanna and Millar 1997, Marcussen 1997, WTO Business Council 1999. Moving from simply broadcasting information to letting consumers interact with the Web site content allows the tourism organisation to engage consumers' interest and participation, increasing the likelihood that they will return to the site, to capture information about their preferences, and to use that information to provide personalised communication and services.…”

“…Interactive Web site presentation runs a spectrum from information provision, through brochure ordering and inquiry services, to booking and payment online (Marcussen 1997). A summary of the key features of 25 "best practice" destination marketing organisations, evaluated by the World Tourism Organization, is presented by Goodrich (2000b).…”

An Exploratory Study on the Use of Information Sources by Consumers to Select Australian Regional Travel Agencies

“…Findings in several studies (for example Bonn, Furr & Susskind, 1998;Marcussen, 1997) suggested that it was critical that tourism organisations exploit the internet in their marketing mixes as a result of its many advantages (such as global accessibility, convenience in updating, real-time information). Despite the rapid emergence of travel information technology, the brochure remains as a popular and frequently used information source (Andereck et al, 2003;Fodness & Murray, 1999;Zhou, 1997).…”