Evaluation, Synthesis and Formulation of Proposals for the Use of ...

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«Evaluation, Synthesis and Formulation of Proposals for the Use of ICTin the Tourism Sector»better in issues related to the quality of tourist information in the internet and to the thoroughness ofelectronic services provided. For the difference between sectors, an example is the finding mentionedin the thematic area «Synergies and Co operations», concerning the delay in the adoption of e-methods in the culture sector.5.3.2 Quality of Electronic Tourist InformationThe benefits from the exploitation of new technologies in the promotion and marketing of touristservices arise from the kind of communication that the internet offers for organizations, enterprises,citizens and consumers. The internet is a channel allowing fast, easy and direct communication. Animportant advantage is the availability of tourist information continuously, on a 24-hour basis. Theinternet is also naturally used in tourism which, as a social experience, involves direct and indirecthuman interaction. Furthermore, according to all international studies, the number of travellers thataccess the internet to seek information for their travel and to select a destination is steadilyincreasing. The quality of the presence of a destination in the internet (easiness to find and accesscontent, structure, design etc.) is nowadays of crucial importance and constitutes a selection criterion.This also applies for Greece and was clearly shown in the results of the internet users field research,where 64% of the respondents said that they have used the internet (especially to visit hotelswebsites) to find information about tourist services.For the existing situation in Greece, the study and investigation of tourist information for our countryprovided in the internet was based on the examination of the current situation at institutionalorganizations (e.g. National Tourism Organization, Ministry of Tourism Development, HellenicChamber of Hotels, Hellenic Festival, Agrotouristiki S.A., Regions, Prefectures, Municipalities etc.), onthe field research conducted to evaluate Greek public and private websites (hotels, otheraccommodation units, tourist agencies, organizations and enterprises in the transport sector, culturalorganizations, museums and yacht rental companies), on various articles published 18 and also on theuseful opinions expressed in the focus groups conducted.The main conclusions are:• There is much variation in the quality and thoroughness of information in official tourist portals, inregions, prefectures, municipalities and A- and B- level local administration authorities, as a resultof the differences mentioned in the thematic area «Tourism Strategy and Organization». The good18 See in particular «Tourist Greece in the Internet», Yiannis Patellis, 2005.Version 1Month: December Year: 200738
«Evaluation, Synthesis and Formulation of Proposals for the Use of ICTin the Tourism Sector»examples are found in areas of our country that have a traditionally developed tourist product 19 .Unfortunately, in many other areas, the official websites are characterized by a lack of design ableto attract potential visitors. In particular, the majority of the regional administration sites do notseem to exploit the potential of the internet in order to promote the tourist products of theirareas. These sites typically have administrative information content and leave the touristmarketing for the prefectures. A very indicative example is the Ionian Islands Region website 20which does not contain any reference to the local tourism. Another site, the one from the Regionof Epirus 21 does include a link to a special tourist promotion portal 22 (which is fairly well designedand functional), but in a heavily loaded webpage. As a result the link is not clearly visible.• The coverage of tourist and cultural issues in the official tourist portals does not favour thealternative forms of tourism. For example, subjects such as the theatre, the arts, the sea andtherapeutic tourism etc., are among the least frequently advertised. Even agrotourism is notconsidered to be promoted in proportion to its potential in our country and to the existence ofmany organized accommodation units.• The multilingual content is not particularly used and most cases are limited to an Englishtranslation. An impressive counter-example is the one from the Prefecture of Chania 23 , whichdisplays a content translated in 21 languages.• The field research in tourist websites revealed shortcomings in features convenient for the user,such as site map, search engine etc. For example, only 4 in 10 hotels sites were found to containa site map. Similar lacks are observed in the display of the last update date: in their majority (9out of 10 cases in hotels), the websites examined did not display such information. The sameresearch recorded reduced usage of features that make a tourist website attractive, such asmultimedia, interactive maps etc.• There are public sector websites that are constantly under construction, or even inactive, asmentioned in the focus groups discussions andWith respect to the quality ofalso confirmed during the field research. One oftourist information in the internet,the relevant problems referred to by thethe private sector seems to leadparticipants, concerning the public touristthe way, due to the personalauthorities and their comparison with the privateinvolvement of youngsector «… was the dysfunction and absence ofentrepreneurs19 An indicative example is the well-designed site of the Lefkada Prefecture (http://www.lefkada.gr/), which canserve as an exemplary case.20 http://www.ionianisia.gov.gr/21 http://www.epirus.gov.gr/index.html22 http://www.discover-epirus.gr/23 http://www.chaniacrete.gr/Version 1Month: December Year: 200739
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