Use of the World Wide Web by the Portuguese Accommodation Industry

Author: Athey, Susan

Source: Information Technology & Tourism, Volume 13, Number 3, 2011 , pp. 191-204(14)

Publisher: Cognizant Communication Corporation

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Abstract:

This article analyzes 1,557 accommodations in Portugal to determine how they use the Web for marketing. Use varies by location, type of property, and star rating of the property. Eighty-four percent have a website, with the largest percentage located in Lisbon. Pousada and hotel property types have the largest percentage of websites. The higher the star rating, the more likely the property is to have a website. English and Portuguese are the most common property website languages. Only 49% of the properties allow a customer to make an online reservation with immediate confirmation, identified as one of the most important value-added features for a hotel website.

Keywords: PORTUGAL; MARKETING; INTERNET; WEBSITES; ACCOMMODATIONS

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3727/109830512X13283928066832

Publication date: 2011-03-01

More about this publication?

Information Technology & Tourism is the first scientific journal dealing with the exciting relationship between information technology and tourism. Information and communication systems embedded in a global net have profound influence on the tourism and travel industry. Reservation systems, distributed multimedia systems, highly mobile working places, electronic markets, and the dominant position of tourism applications in the Internet are noticeable results of this development. And the tourism industry poses several challenges to the IT field and its methodologies.