Analysing Linkage between ICT and US State Tourism Websites

Authors

  • Florian J. Zach Howard Feiertag Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management Pamplin College of Business Virginia Tech
  • Zheng Xiang Howard Feiertag Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management Pamplin College of Business Virginia Tech
  • Rodolfo Baggio Dondena Center for Research on Social Dynamics and Public Policy Bocconi University

Keywords:

ICT, Internet, tourism websites, hyperlink analysis

Abstract

Destination websites have been an important component in the online travel ecosystem since the beginning of the commercial Internet, and their adoption and use of ICT websites to serve their online marketing goals reflects their overall strategy and ability to adapt to the ever-changing environment. The purpose of this study is to examine 1) what types of ICT websites are hyperlinked to destination websites, and 2) how the linkages to ICT websites have evolved along with the significant technological developments during the last two decades. To that end we analysed archival hyperlink data for state tourism website in the United States. We find that the connectivity between US state tourism websites and ICT websites increased dramatically with the availability of social media and Web2.0 websites, and fragmentation of the network was reduced likely due to technology convergence. This study offers several research directions for understanding technology adoption by destination marketing organizations.

Author Biographies

Florian J. Zach, Howard Feiertag Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management Pamplin College of Business Virginia Tech

Florian J. Zach is an Assistant Professor of innovation and entrepreneurship in tourism and hospitality at Virginia Tech with an interest in new technologies. His current research focuses on the implementation of technological advancements to create tourism experiences.

Zheng Xiang, Howard Feiertag Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management Pamplin College of Business Virginia Tech

Zheng Xiang, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Howard Feiertag Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Virginia Tech, USA. His research interests include travel information search, digital marketing, and social media analytics in tourism and hospitality. He is currently editor-in-chief of the Journal of Information Technology & Tourism and serves as editorial board member for several international journals.

Rodolfo Baggio, Dondena Center for Research on Social Dynamics and Public Policy Bocconi University

Rodolfo Baggio is professor in the Master in Economics and Tourism and Research Fellow at the Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics and Public Policy at Bocconi University, Milan, Italy. He actively researches on the use of information and communication technology in tourism and on the applications of quantitative complex network analysis methods to the study of tourism destinations.

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Published

2019-12-12

How to Cite

Zach, F. J., Xiang, Z. and Baggio, R. (2019) “Analysing Linkage between ICT and US State Tourism Websites”, e-Review of Tourism Research, 17(3). Available at: https://ertr-ojs-tamu.tdl.org/ertr/article/view/518 (Accessed: 28 March 2024).

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Section

Articles