Tourism is a vital economic activity in many countries. Cities, regions, countries and destinations of all categories vie for securing tourists and to do so they employ communication and promotion channels such as official websites. Despite the importance of these websites, no comprehensive method of assessment exists to enable communications managers and directors to find out whether their destination's website is effective and where it ranks in comparison to its competitors. This paper presents a hitherto unseen assessment system aimed at meeting this need. Using a host of indicators, grouped into twelve parameters, a Web Quality Index (WQI) has been specifically established for tourist destination websites which, as well as determining an overall index, makes it possible to draw comparison between parameters or spheres of analysis. The assessment system is illustrated using the result of a pilot sample of official websites from ten destinations to confirm the validity and potential of the model put forward

The perceived risk of tourists’ use of smartphones is a key issue in shaping the tourist experience in terms of sustainability, as it can affect the behaviour of tourists and influence their satisfaction with that experience. However, little empirical research exists on the relationship between tourists’ risk perception and the perceived value of mobile device usage. This paper measures the association between tourists’ perceived risk of mobile device usage and several variables that demonstrate the perceived usefulness of mobile devices: utility, hedonic value and future intention of use. A survey on tourists’ use of smartphones was conducted in 2016 and, by means of a cluster analysis, four groups of tourists were identified with significant differences in their perception of the risk and use value of smartphones. Differences between tourists suggest that a single digital tourist profile does not exist and that tourism destinations and smart tourism DMOs (destination marketing organisations) should include risk perception in their management agenda. This will allow them to achieve a better understanding of tourist behaviour and to adapt the commercialisation of tourism products and services to a wide range of tourism needs. In addition, four regression models were applied to measure the association between the risk and perceived usefulness of mobile devices. On the one hand, dependence on mobile devices was associated positively with the perceived usefulness of mobile devices. On the other hand, the tourists surveyed saw privacy risk as having a major negative impact on the tourist experience, although it did not affect their perceived utility value and future use of mobile devices. Smart tourism destination managers should bear in mind that privacy risk issues related to the use of mobile devices must be integrated into an ethical perspective when marketing a destination.

La Web se ha convertido en el principal instrumento de búsqueda de información por parte de los turistas. Por este motivo, los portales turísticos de los destinos deben resultar atractivos y comunicar de una manera adecuada y eficaz su imagen de marca. No existe, sin embargo, una metodología de evaluación de la calidad y eficacia comunicativa de los sitios web de destino que sea científicamente sólida y universalmente aceptada. El desarrollo de esa metodología es una de las tareas que nos hemos propuesto en el marco del proyecto de investigación “Nuevas estrategias de publicidad y promoción de las marcas turísticas españolas en la web” (CSO2008-02627), financiado por el Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación del Gobierno de España. Metodología: El equipo del proyecto ha elaborado una plantilla de análisis interdisciplinaria y omnicomprensiva que combina algunos análisis automatizados con otros de tipo cualitativo y cuantitativo. La plantilla contempla un total de doce temáticas y 154 indicadores, que se han elaborado a partir de la aportación de destacados expertos en cada una de las áreas de trabajo. En este artículo se expone la metodología de análisis elaborada y se explican las aplicaciones posibles. Resultados: El proyecto ha elaborado una metodología de evaluación que permite optimizar los sitios web de las marcas de destino, apoyando, así, el trabajo de los gestores públicos de los destinos turísticos.

Large cities are one of the most popular tourism destinations throughout the world. Business and leisure tourists visit these areas every year and before they travel there, they look for useful information on the Internet. This chapter analyses the tourism Web sites developed by Convention and Visitor Bureaus. These Web sites represent the official image of the city on the Internet and trough them tourism organizations can organize the marketing and mix strategy. The chapter studies the concept of a city as a tourism destination, the organizations that manage tourist activities, and the right marketing strategies to be developed on these official Web sites. The strategy begins with the market research to select the right marketing segments and it continues with the right actions from a marketing mix perspective. It means different options in terms of product-destination exhibition, price policies, commercialization, and communication actions.

This study explores the opinions and perceptions that shape narratives among 4-star hotel managers around Airbnb as a competitor, and presents the arguments on which their differences in perception are based. We used an interpretive and emic approach to obtain data through in-depth interviews with upscale hotel executives in the city of Barcelona in its present state of touristification. The results suggest that the dominant discourse among hoteliers is sceptical as to the extent to which Airbnb is replacing hotels. However, some hoteliers perceive Airbnb as a threat requiring a proactive, unified response by hotels taking into account the urban environment and the neighbourhood where they are located.