Tourism demand is the foundation on which all tourism-related business decisions ultimately rest and so accurate forecasts of tourism demand are crucial for tourism industry practitioners. From the functional point of view, a tourism demand forecasting system (TDFS) is a forecasting support system capable of providing quantitative tourism demand forecasts and allowing users to make their own 'what-if' scenario forecasts. From the technical point of view, a TDFS is an information system consisting of a set of computer-based modules or components that support tourism demand forecasting and scenario analysis. This paper establishes a widely accessible Web-based TDFS which not only takes advantage of advanced econometric tourism demand forecasting techniques but also incorporates the real-time judgemental contribution of experts in the field. Furthermore, scenario forecasts are permitted within the system. Built on Webbased technology, the system provides advanced information sharing and communication and brings considerable convenience to various stakeholders engaged in tourism demand forecasting at different locations. In attempting to generate more accurate tourism demand forecasts, the system is designed to incorporate a two-stage forecasting methodology, which integrates judgemental adjustments with statistically based forecasts. The software architecture, detailed components and development environment of the Web-based TDFS are described in detail. A three-tiered client-server architecture is employed, which offers great flexibility, reusability and reliability. The prototype system has been developed and screen shots of interaction with the system are presented using Hong Kong tourism as an example.Keywords: tourism demand forecasts; econometric models; forecasting systems; judgemental forecasts; Web/Internet; Hong Kong Accurate forecasts of tourism demand are crucial for practitioners in the tourism industry (see Song and Witt, 2006). Over the past few decades, numerous researchers have been involved in the area of tourism demand forecasting and a wide variety of techniques have been developed. Most articles focus on quantitative modelling techniques, especially econometric and time-series methodsThe authors would like to thank the Hong Kong Polytechnic University for financial support (Grant No 1-BB08).
TOURISM ECONOMICS 446(for detailed reviews of the tourism demand forecasting literature see Witt and Witt, 1995;Li et al, 2005). Many advanced quantitative tourism demand forecasting models have therefore been developed in the academic literature, but practitioners usually have little interest in scholarly journals and so either are not familiar with modern forecasting methods, or do not have the time to be involved in the design and development of advanced models to generate more accurate forecasts. For practitioners, one way of achieving more accurate forecasts is through a specialized forecasting system. The development of such systems is expensive and they often suffer from the limitations of individual ...