Usability Analysis of Andalusian Spas’ Websites

Anaya-Aguilar, Rosa; Gémar, Germán; Anaya-Aguilar, Carmen

doi:10.3390/su13042307

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…The promotion of experiences with water causes an increase of positive emotions and satisfaction with life in the tourist (Campon-Cerro et al , 2020; Chang et al , 2012; Huang et al , 2019; Lee, 2010; Rodrigues et al , 2019). For the consolidation of the brand the studies indicate the need, through corporate communication , to aggregate all the characteristics and explore the digital communication as an opportunity for the diffusion of the brand (Anaya-Aguilar et al , 2021d; Joukes and Gerry, 2010).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This strategy should be a priority of local and central government and also of local private investors. The opportunities arising from the Covid-19 pandemic (Anaya-Aguilar et al , 2021d; Navarrete and Shaw, 2020); the advantages of thermal territories, through managing relationships with neighbouring destinations with similar characteristics Garzon and Bajana (2016), Liberato et al (2020) and Smith (2015) related to the exploitation of their endogenous resources (gastronomy, culture, nature, among others) are considerations for an organisational communication strategy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Online – Heung and Kucukusta (2013) identify the most effective methods to promote health and wellness tourism, such as advertising in social media, government support and organising new regional events. Anaya-Aguilar et al (2021d) and Joukes and Gerry (2010) mention websites with well-structured, updated information that should be bidirectional in real time. For Liu et al (2021d), travel websites allow tourists to share their thoughts, beliefs and experiences in relation to various travel destinations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A theoretical reflection on thermalism and communication: future perspectives in times of crisis

Antunes

Gonçalves

Estevão

2022

JHTI

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PurposeThe purpose of this article is through a systematic literature review (SLR) to present a conceptual approach to the importance of communication for thermalism. An in-depth analysis of scientific publications provides a conceptual understanding about the definition of thermalism and the importance of communication in the thermal sector. The intention is also to identify the major challenges for communication in thermalism in times of crisis. The literature on conceptual approaches in the field of thermalism is almost non-existent, and this is an important contribution of the research presented.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the objectives, an SLR was carried out, through the Preferred Reporting Items Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) Statement method, using the Web of Science and Scopus databases. A total of 139 articles were found, of which only 26 were used for the qualitative analysis. EndNote 20 and Nvivo software were used to identify the articles for the study, their analysis and systematization of the collected information.FindingsThe results, among others, through an in-depth analysis of scientific publications, clarified the definition of thermalism and provided relevant results for better understanding of the importance of the dimensions of communication for thermalism.Research limitations/implicationsThe research addresses the current scarcity of academic work on the importance of communication applied to a thermal destination and the lack of relevant strategic models for the diffusion/promotion of a destination. Finally, a limitation was the fact that only 2 databases were considered and only journal articles were included. As a future line of research the authors propose extending the theme to thermal tourism experiences. In addition, scientific studies focusing on water-based experiences connected with thermalism are almost non-existent and very relevant for the future of the sector, as well as studies in the area of communication with the following research questions: where do tourists consult information when choosing a travel destination? and what are the appropriate communication channels to reach the thermal market?; We close this reflection by concluding that the thermal tradition, through the know-how of the medical class, the properties of thermal waters and the cultural history associated with its early days, stimulated more recently by implementing innovations, will regain its role in preserving health and well-being through thermal water and the exploitation of territories' endogenous resources. These factors are the basis through which communication sciences can create strategies adapted to each country to promote a thermal destination brand.Practical implicationsResearch in tourism destination management has provided solutions, through communication, to problems that are faced daily by countries, and the authors hope this research also contributes to the recovery of thermal tourism destinations in times of crisis. It is also from this perspective that based on the main themes and dimensions of communication identified in the SLR that the authors propose the Corporate, Organisational, Skills, Management and Online (COSMO) model to help promote resilient thermal destinations prepared for future crises. The diversity and originality of this research model will be useful for destination promoters, spa managers and communication professionals.Social implicationsThis study contributes to the literature by providing a theoretical framework of excellence in thermalism. One possible way to solve the ambiguity of terms related to thermalism is to consider another more comprehensive term as a combination of different approaches. The aim is not to create an academic division, but rather to contribute to better conceptual understanding, from a theoretical and paradigmatic perspective, of what thermalism is. Here, a new targeted and more comprehensive concept emerges, which from the academic perspective of communication sciences will lead to prevention for a new way of feeling good with life, contributing to promoting thermal destinations in the world with a greater understanding.Originality/valueFor better understanding of the concepts, this study proposes a new definition of thermalism. As research related to thermal destinations, through communication management contributes to attract tourists, promote experiences, provide the human capital of the sector with skills and create authentic and resilient place brands. It is from this perspective that the model was proposed, based on the dimensions of communication related to the main themes obtained through the SLR. This model supports a plurality of communication strategies, with different characteristics and objectives but which meet a collective purpose: to disseminate information about thermalism, in order to build collective knowledge to promote thermal destinations. The analysis highlights the need for further research into thermalism, with special focus on communication.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A theoretical reflection on thermalism and communication: future perspectives in times of crisis

Antunes

Gonçalves

Estevão

2022

JHTI

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“…In the competitive travel and tourism industry, usercentered design and usability are key factors for successful travel websites [7,[9][10][11][12][13][14]. Usability is a quality attribute that evaluates how easy user interfaces are to use, and it is a necessary condition for survival [15,16].…”

Section: Recent Development Of Information and Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

User-centred Design and Evaluation of Web and Mobile based Travelling Applications

Ismail¹,

Nizam²,

Yuen³

et al. 2021

IJACSA

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Travelling has been known as one of the top-rated activities people do during their leisure time. In this digital time, people usually research before visiting a new place to avoid unpleasant events and to have a well-planned trip. Due to the complexity of search engine browsers, people have been switching to designated travelling applications. Travelling applications should be designed by taking into consideration user's needs and requirements; and usability. This research aims to design a travelling application based on a user-centred design approach and compare its performance on different platforms. Two prototypes of travelling applications were designed and evaluated; web-based and mobile-based. Then, System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire was used to evaluate the usability of the two prototypes. Pearson correlation coefficient test and t-test were used to analyses the data collected from the questionnaire.The results showed no statistically significant difference in SUS scores for both prototypes, which indicates that the participants do not prefer any of the prototypes more than another one.

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“…The present widespread interest in health and fitness has made natural spring spas with traditional medical treatments available in the background increasingly popular [5,6]. In particular, the demand for spa heat treatments is growing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Typology of Spa-Goers in Southern Spain

2021

Self Cite

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This study sought to obtain conglomerates of spa-goers in Andalusia, Spain, based on a survey of 10 spas’ users. The data from 725 valid survey questionnaires were analysed using a quantitative approach. The results show that 44.6% of users are between 65 and 88 years old and more than 60% are women. Approximately 50% of the respondents are retired, and 60% report a monthly income of less than 1000 euros. Three clusters were identified in the segmentation analysis: users with lower, partial and higher satisfaction. Over half (58%) of the respondents belong to the higher satisfaction segment. Thermal tourism evidently has a strong potential for attracting other tourist segments. Andalusia has thermal springs that attract many tourists, which are located in places of great natural beauty and are part of inland towns’ economic development. The findings confirm the need to improve the existing understanding of spa-user typologies. The benefits derived from health tourism can be analyzed from the concept of value proposition for the company, the user, the community and its environment. To generate income, spa companies must meet the expectations of stakeholders and this begins with an organization that constantly learns and innovates to satisfy users. The managers of the spas lead these projects, introducing important changes in their offer, from traditional medical aspects to facilities and therapies based on relaxation and sustainable natural tourism, promoting their organizations with sustained objectives over time capable of satisfying all stakeholders, creating value capable of attracting and satisfying the different segments of spa tourists, as this study shows.

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Usability Analysis of Andalusian Spas’ Websites

Cited by 11 publications

References 47 publications

A theoretical reflection on thermalism and communication: future perspectives in times of crisis

A theoretical reflection on thermalism and communication: future perspectives in times of crisis

User-centred Design and Evaluation of Web and Mobile based Travelling Applications

A Typology of Spa-Goers in Southern Spain

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