گردشگری و اوقات فراغت (Jan 2024)
Identifying and Ranking the Key Success Indicators of Tourism Websites for Digital Destination Marketing
Abstract
Tourism websites are considered as one of the important tools for destination marketing in the information age. Accordingly, the purpose of this research was to identify and prioritize the key success indicators of tourism websites for destination marketing in Iran's tourism industry. The present research is a mixed method in terms of data collection (qualitative-quantitative). The sample includes 10 people who were selected by snowball sampling method. They consisted of managers of marketing companies, experts of tourism websites and university professors. First, in the qualitative part, in order to find themes, data from reviewing theoretical foundations and interviews with experts by semi-structured interviews were collected. Researchers have coded and categorized the data using theme analysis. Then, in the quantitative part, the AHP method and Expert Choice software were used to prioritize key success indicators. The data were organized and ranked using the thematic analysis method, as well as the hierarchical analysis process )AHP (and Expert Choice software. Based on the research results, success factors in tourism websites were identified and categorized in 5 main themes, respectively, content, brand name, usability, ability to remember, and technology, as well as 18 sub-themes. According to the identification of success indicators in tourism websites and the results obtained, suggestions have been made for the success of tourism websites. Based on the identified indicators and the importance of the indicators, the owners of tourism websites can attract more people to visit the website and tourist destination. 1. Introduction Today, most of the countries are looking for success in the economic field by focusing on the tourism industry. Countries that care about their tourism industry and plan for it, get a lot of income from the arrival of tourists every year. Iran, with many capabilities in the tourism industry, has not yet been able to gain a worthy position in this field. Regarding the variety of tourist attractions, Iran is one of the first five countries, so with a proper planning in this area, we can witness economic growth and foreign exchange into the country (Metani, 2017). Also, success and economic prosperity require placing businesses in the direction of technology growth. Traditional businesses are becoming obsolete, and businesses that are associated with technology are becoming successful (Gumpo et al, 2020). In the tourism industry, tourists use multiple social media platforms as customer-centric media to inform digital destination-related decisions (Mehdikhani &Ahmad pordaryani, 1400). Tourism companies and organizations should pay attention to the design of an excellent website to introduce themselves (Mao & Yang, 2020). The management and maintenance of the website is critical because it improves the products and services and the website’s efficiency (Alba et al, 2020). In the first half of 1990, the concept of creativity in the economy with a global approach was proposed. Diversity and creativity are the only solution for innovation in the tourism industry. Customer loyalty depends on quality products and creating special value for products and brands. So, in order to achieve the best position in the market, business owners must pay special attention to customer satisfaction in providing the best services (Bi & Kim, 2020). Although, a few researches have been done on the characteristics of a tourism website, comprehensive research introducing the key indicators that are effective in the success of tourism websites, especially in Iran, has not yet been conducted. Therefore, this research has been in response to these questions: First, what are the key indicators of the success of tourism websites? Second, how is the priority and importance of these indicators? 2. Literature Review The requirement for the success of tourism destinations is to pay attention to customers' demands. Marketing communication tools have a direct relationship with attracting tourists. Destination marketing covers a continuous and coordinated set of activities and processes to bring together buyers and sellers and focuses on responding to consumer demand and competitive position. Destination marketing is considered as a driver for consumer behavior that motivates them to visit a tourist destination. Active organizations in digital destination marketing can influence the decisions of tourists based on effective marketing initiatives by presenting offers of a tourist destination. These organizations should try to ensure the constant demand of the destination by providing a diverse set of services and activities (Matiza & Slabbert, 2023). In recent years, social platforms have become an essential tool for obtaining information about tourist destinations. So, most travel decisions are made under the influence of digital marketing. The evolution of digital destination marketing has led to an increase in online content about tourist destinations and improved their competitiveness. For this reason, tourists share their experiences on social media and compare information with local communities. Tourism websites create the first impression of any destination. Promoting services through destination digital marketing channels increases consumer awareness, acceptance of products and services, repeat purchase behavior (Dewantara et al, 2023; Armutcu et al, 2023). The use of digital marketing in the tourism industry, helps managers to improve their brand and service quality and keep their competitive advantage by knowing the opinions and factors of customer satisfaction (Esmaelnezhad et al, 2023). Tourism has a significant impact on the economy, culture, politics, domestic and cross-border issues. Competition at the international level has faced the destination marketing discussion with new challenges that the destinations are looking for strategies to have a more significant impact on the minds of tourists (Majidi & Shaygh, 1400). Tourism websites: One of the most important uses of the internet is access to the world wide web. Researchers have predicted that travel agency websites will grow significantly by 2025. A website is a collection of web pages, images, videos and other digital products provided through a web server (Singh et al, 2021). Attractive content, information quality and source credibility affect on the user’s motivation to revisit the website (Olorunsola et al, 2023). Key success indicators: According to this research, the key indicators are those factors which effect in the success of tourism websites. The meaning of the effectiveness of the key indicators that have been classified and ranked in various researches from the point of view of stakeholders. In this research, the key indicators of success in tourism websites have been considered based on the opinion of experts. 3. Methodology The present research is a mixed method in terms of data collection (qualitative-quantitative). The sample includes 10 people who were selected by snowball sampling method. They consisted of managers of marketing companies, experts of tourism websites and university professors. First, in the qualitative part, in order to find themes, data from reviewing theoretical foundations and interviews with experts by semi-structured interviews were collected. Researchers have coded and categorized the data using theme analysis. Then, in the quantitative part, the AHP method and Expert Choice software were used to prioritize key success indicators. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were confirmed. Since the incompatibility rate of 0.01 was obtained, which is smaller than the standard level of 0.1, therefore, the above questionnaire was completed with high accuracy by the respondents. 4. Results The data obtained from the interview were coded by the theme analysis method. The coding included 5 main themes and 18 sub-themes. According to the coding results, a questionnaire was developed and provided to the managers of marketing companies, active experts in the field of tourism websites and university professors. The results of the questionnaire were analyzed using EXPERT CHOICE software According to the software s outputs, priority of effective factors includes: content (0.386), brand name (0.213), usability (0.200), ability to remember (0.106), and technology (0.094). 5. Conclusion Taking advantage of opportunities in the tourism industry leads to economic development. Tourism with a positive impact on all social, cultural and economic dimensions can help generate income and attract tourists. Technology is crucial in the tourism industry and not only customers but also businesses can benefit from it. In the tourism industry, with the use of information and communication technology, a lot of growth can be achieved in creating foreign exchange earnings, increasing the gross domestic product, creating employment and improving the provision of social services. Due to the increase of competitors in this industry, in order to achieve more success, it is necessary to use new technologies. The results of this research show that success factors in tourism websites include content, brand name, usability, ability to remember and technology, respectively. Content index factors include content composition, design and structure, learning and orientation. Content index improves by creating engaging content. Designing a loyalty system builds brand name reputation. Designing a powerful search engine makes the website easy to use and creates value for the user. The sub factors of the ability to remember index include scrolling, ease of use and how to access menus. If the accessibility of the menus is increased, the memorability of the website will increase. The sub-factors of technology index include VR, AR, Rss, IoT and Blockchain. The latest technology embedded with artificial intelligence and internet of things and blockchain should be used in the website.
