P1: IML/FFX P2: IML/FFX QC: IML/FFX T1: IML
Travel-REVISED WL040/Bidgoli-Vol III-Ch-39 August 14, 2003 17:52 Char Count= 0
THETRAVEL ANDTOURISMINDUSTRY 463Despite this potential, DMOs have not been particu-
larly quick in establishing a sophisticated Internet pres-
ence. Several factors have contributed to the current
status of DMOs’ Internet strategy. One factor is related
to the complex structure and relationships of the various
constituents DMOs represent. The travel and tourism
industry has a very complex structure, with a large per-
centage of the organizations classified as small busi-
nesses (Gartrell, 1988). Among the DMOs’ constituents
are marketing organizations at different levels, suppliers,
and distributors. Although each entity maintains critical
relationships with other entities in order to deliver the
desired products and services, the enormousness of this
diverse industry as well as the different benefits these con-
stituents are seeking make the job of DMOs complex and
difficult.
The unique characteristics of the Internet and the
capabilities required of DMOs for implementing effective
Internet marketing have also been identified as important
influences. Marketing is a creative and adaptive discipline
that requires constant regeneration and transformation in
accordance with changes in the environment (Brownlie,
Saren, Whittinton, & Wensley, 1994; Cronin, 1995). Thus,
conventional marketing activities cannot be implemented
on the Internet in their present form (Hoffman & Novak,
1996). For Internet marketing strategies to be success-
ful, DMOs have to be aware of the capabilities and char-
acteristics of the Internet and need to start developing
new marketing concepts and paradigms, because the In-
ternet presents a fundamentally different environment
for marketing activities than traditional media (Connolly
& Sigala, 2001). Despite these problems and challenges,
DMOs have begun to recognize the opportunities that
emerge from using the special features of the new
medium, in particular the interactivity and multimedia
capabilities it provides. As a result, the number of DMO
Web sites is rising rapidly, offering online destination in-
formation with increasing quality and functionality.Emerging Marketing and
Management Strategies
The adoption of information technology has transformed
the way in which the tourism industry conducts busi-
ness. With the assistance of new technology, especially the
Internet, new opportunities have emerged for tourism or-
ganizations, which enable them to market their travel
products and services and manage their daily business
activities more effectively. In particular, innovative mar-
keting and management strategies have evolved in the
areas of Web development, Web advertising/promotion,
e-commerce activities, customer relationship manage-
ment, and the use of online destination management
systems.Web Site Development
Hanson (2000) observed that there are three major stages
in Web site development: (I) publishing, (II) database re-
trieval, and (III) personalized interaction. Stage I sites
provide the same information to all users. Though a Stage
I site can contain thousands of pages, pictures, sound, and
video, it is limited in the dialogue it affords between thetravel Web site and the user because it only broadcasts
information from the Web site to the viewer. Modern Web
tools make Stage I travel Web sites easy and inexpensive
to develop in that almost any document can be converted
and moved online.
With experience and investment, the travel organiza-
tion moves to Stage II Web sites, which combine the
publishing power of Stage I with the ability to retrieve
information in response to user requests. The responses
are dynamically turned into Web pages or e-mail. In-
teractivity and dialogue have started, although this ac-
tivity is limited to a series of “ask–respond” interac-
tions. However, the ability to use Web sites as points of
access to images, sound, and databases is particularly
valuable.
A Stage III travel Web site dynamically creates a page
catering to an individual customer. It moves beyond
an “ask–respond” interaction into a dialogue and may
anticipate user choices and suggest possible alternatives.
A Stage III travel Web site does more than just react to
requests typed into forms or selected by clicking on an
image. It requires the capabilities of Stages I and II plus
the customization of content and functions to the needs
of a specific user.
Destination marketing organizations use Web-based
technologies in different ways and with varying intensity,
owing to different backgrounds, financial resources, and
marketing objectives (Yuan & Fesenmaier, 2000). Some
DMOs are at a preliminary stage of utilizing Web tech-
nologies for marketing activities, and these Web sites are
typically only used to broadcast information by providing
brochure-like information. Others are more advanced and
sophisticated in this regard, taking advantage of Web tech-
nologies to make business activities more effective and ef-
ficient, or even to re-engineer whole business practices.
More advanced DMO Web sites typically include more
sophisticated capabilities such as interactive queries and
request forms, personalization, and recommendation
functions.Web Advertising/Promotion
The Internet is an almost pure manifestation of market-
ing principles and practices (Inkpen, 1998). It is a tourism
marketer’s dream because (1) it enables travel companies
of different sizes to compete on more equal terms and
(2) it allows a travel company to open up a direct and
potentially personalized channel of communication with
its customers. In other words, travel companies of all sizes
are much more equal in their competition for consumers’
attention on the Internet. Travel is the most important
business on the Web in terms of the volume of adver-
tising and promotion (eMarketer, 1999). It is also most
likely to generate revenues and achieve profits through its
Web presence. However, in order to be successful in Web
advertising/promotion, tourism organizations have real-
ized that the Web is a medium that combines the elements
of other media. Hoffman and Novak (1996) describe the
new form of communication that the Internet provides
as an “interactive multimedia many-to-many communi-
cation model” where interactivity can also bewiththe
medium in addition tothroughthe medium. Travel and
tourism fit especially well with interactive media because