Untitled

422 overseas office
promotions, education and training and thus
to penetrate various markets and constituencies.
There is an assortment of such promotional
activities which stimulate greater interest and the
desire to learn more about countries through
`collateral' materials �such as brochures, visitor
guides and maps), audio-visual materials �including
films, videos, CD-ROMs and slide presentations),
and information through personal
computers on World Wide Web sites. Fulfilling
requests for information has been the traditional
role of overseas tourism offices. They are expensive
marketing organisations to maintain, and national
tourism administrations frequently close some
offices or combine them to represent several
countries. Some, such as those in Scandinavia,
have joined forces and operate multi-country
rather than single-country offices. There is con-
siderable discussion today in tourism about the
future role of these offices in the era of global
information dissemination through the Internet.
As potential tourists increasingly use the World
Wide Web to gather information, the traditional
role of overseas tourism offices may be redefined or
diminished.
Further reading
Morrison, A.M., Braunlich, C.G., Kamaruddin, N.
and Cai, L.A. �1995) `National tourist offices in
North America: an analysis', Tourism Management
16�8): 605±17. �Discusses operation of overseas
tourism offices in North America.)
ALASTAIR M. MORRISON, USA