Tourism Web Site Analysis, Case Study Example

Intro

Tourism is a business activity that includes social aspects, recreational, sporting and cultural. It is considered an industry valued by its capacity to generate jobs and stimulate the development of a region or country. (Medlik 2012) The natural attractions, the cultural wealth and hospitality located in Japan among the best tourist destinations in the world, it demonstrates both the growing diversity of local tourism offerings such as the expansion of the rural tourism, the adventure circuits and the winter centers among other attractions. (Medlik 2012)

The e-marketing outlets that are surrounding businesses today are an important part of how successful firms can be in reaching out to their respective consumer markets. This also includes the firms within the tourism industry. (Buhalis 2013) Every business, small or large, that wants to be successful will make use of a web site that can enhance their e-marketing experience for the business as well as the consumer market. (Buhalis 2013)

A very important component of the hospitality and tourism industry is the electronic media or e-media ends of it. This is important especially in this generation because it is a primary means of promotion, advertising, and marketing. This is how tourism firms can get their message out to the global public to attract new tourist consumers in order to generate revenue. It is essential for any tourist firm in the industry to have some type of e-media outlet that allows potential consumers from all around the world to view what their tourist attraction has to offer. This is how tourist from different countries can get an idea of the experience they are in for should they decide to take a vacation to any given tourist attraction. (Kasavana 2000)  The most highly used e-media outlet for tourist firms is a website on the internet. The use of a website not only relays all of the desired information about a tourist attraction to potential consumers, but it also allows consumers to purchase tickets, make reservations, or ask questions concerning the tourist attraction. Open lines of communication through e-media are an effective way for tourist firms to reach out to their potential tourist consumers. (Cook 2014) (Kasavana 2000)

Literary Review

The website which has chosen to analyze for the purposes of this case study and how it relates to e-media, hospitality, and tourism, is a Japanese tourist and vacation trips website titled “Dynaland”. The domain for this website can be followed at http://www.dynaland.co.jp. The opening page of the website presents very eye appealing graphics and pictures of things that anybody would normally want to experience on their vacation as a tourist. These things include snowboarding, fireworks, people having a good time, landscapes, and even links to other tourist attractions and special events. (Cano & Prentice 1998)

The primary website is initially in Japanese because the tourist attractions are based in Japan. However, the website is also available in three other languages. The option to translate the website into these other languages can be seen at the top of the website where the flags for the respective languages are located. (Cano & Prentice 1998) These three other languages which the website is available in are English (American), Chinese, and Korean. It should be noted that if the user of the web site decides to translate the page to one of these languages by clicking one of the flags, then the website will redirect to a different link. Although the link of the translated web site is different, it is still run by the same business and contains the same content as the original Japanese web site. For the purposes of this paper, we can also analyze the American version of this web site. (Chen & Schwartz 2006)

The American version of the Dynaland web site is presented slightly differently from the Japanese version. Although it contains the same content such as snow mountains and other tourist attractions, the graphics are not as emphasized as they are on then Japanese version. The web site conveys to the audience that they are a surf and snow tourist outlet with their title at the top. There are four main tabs that redirect to other web pages within the web site. These tabs are titled “Top”, “weather”, “Photo Gallery”, and “Access”. (Chen & Schwartz 2006)

The “Top” web page simply is the home web page that the user first sees when they access it. The “Weather” page simply displays the local weather in the surrounding areas of the tourist attraction. (Chen & Schwartz 2006) This is a great use of communication by the company because it gives their consumers an idea of what the weather will be like before they plan their tourist dates. (Moreo 2007) This is important for tourists to know in regard to this tourist attraction because it is all located outdoors and tourist will want to plan their trip accordingly to the appropriate weather. This is very related to the reference titled The importance of information asymmetry in customers’ booking decisions: A cautionary tale from the internet written by authors Chen and Schwarts. Customers’ decisions on booking through use of the internet may not always be accurate due to unforeseen circumstances such as weather. (Kasavana 2000) Dynaland helps to eliminate this conflict by offering their customers the ability to plan ahead while using their web site so that their trip is not ruined by the weather. The weather pages also provide elevation and air pressure information. This can be useful for any potential consumers whom are elder or have a medical problem concerning breathing such as asthma. (Kasavana 2000)

The photo gallery is very appealing as is offers photos of the scenery as well as photos of other customers having fun on previous trips. This lets the audience know that the tourist attraction can offer a fun experience which is what the customers are paying for and expecting. This is an effective use of marketing as noted in the source titled Website evaluation in tourism and hospitality by authors Morrison and Traylor. (Morrison, Taylor, & Douglas 2005) Customers will want to have an idea of what the tourist attraction is like before they actually pay invest their money into a tourist vacation trip. There needs to be some form of e-media that allows the audience to picture in their head what their experience will be like before they make the trip and photos of other tourist are an effective way to present that idea. (Morrison, Taylor, & Douglas 2005)

The “access” tab leads to a web page on the site that presents the audience everything they need to know about how to travel, park, and arrive at the tourist destination. There is even a geographical map that shows the surrounding areas and cities. This is an important element of the web site design as far as the operation and quality is concerned; as can be noted in the source titled Quality issues in hospitality web site design and operation in the Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism written by author Kasavana. (Kasavana 2000) It is not enough to just advertise the tourist attraction itself. Consumers will need to know how to get there in transit if the business expects to have any visitors. Otherwise, customers will be clueless in how to transit to their tourist destination. Most customers will not want to put in the time and research it takes to figure out where parking is, how much the train costs, and where the nearest airport is. This can be stressful and is unattractive to potential consumers. Providing all of this information on the web site is another effective use of communication using e-media and saves potential consumers the hassle of researching such information themselves. (Kasavana 2000)

Key Issues Identified

So we have covered all the bases of this tourist web site. It is presented appealingly to the audience, provides the essential information to potential consumers to plan their trip, and is well organized. Although this web site appears to carry every essential for a tourist firm to communicate to their audience using an e-media outlet, there is one thing that could not be found on the web site which is just as important. What is missing is a quick response or QR code. (Morrison, Taylor, & Douglas 2005)

Case Analysis

The source titled Opportunities for endearment to place through electronic visiting—written by authors, Cano and Prentice—is primarily about how electronic data can be used to promote tourism. The aspects of tourism mainly focus on the country of Scotland in this source. This can relate to my own case study because they are both based on the tourism of a different country, mines being a Japanese tourism website. (Cano & Prentice 1998)

For a Japanese web site, it would seem odd that Dynaland does not have a QR code embedded in their web site. In today’s society, virtually everybody uses a cellular phone or some type of other mobile device. This is where they store most of their personal information, including their schedule. Customers may want to be able to access the web sites information on the go and they can only do this effectively using their mobile devices. (Chen & Schwartz 2006)  Therefore, it is essential that Dynaland should integrate a QR code into their web site. No QR code could be found on either the American or Japanese versions of the Dynaland web site. However, if they integrate this type of e-media into their web site, then they will surley attract more customers to the tourist attractions which that have to offer. (Chen & Schwartz 2006)

They do however, appear to be on social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. This is important because social media is the primary means of e-media communication on the internet.  The tourism and hospitality industry, along with the rest of the world, was in a different place before the rise of social media. (Morrison 2005) Lines of communication were limited to mostly phone calls or walk ins which inevitably requires long queues of consumers. It was simply inconvenient at the time as compared to how the majority of the tourism and hospitality industry operates today. It was not common for patients to share their vacation related experiences with the vast majority of their family and friends, and even if they did, it was surely limited to just a few.  (Leung, Law, and Van Hoof 2013)

If a tourist consumer wanted specific information on their vacation desires regarding attractions such as those offered by Dynaland, or had important questions to ask relevant to their circumstances, they surely did not have the access to the virtual assistants that operate on social media platforms in today’s society. Fortunately, the rise of social media has made a profound impact on the tourism and hospitality industry and continues to do so at a progressive pace. (Sigala, Christou, and Getzel 2012)

Social media and networking is one of the most, if not the most, talked about severances to marketing that has occurred in decades. It has made an impact on just about every industry in existence, including its substantial impact to the tourism and hospitality industry. (Leung, Law, and Hoof 2013) In a contemporary society that is more likely to access the internet online to seek answers for general tourist questions as opposed to traditionally scheduling a phone appointment, there are various roles that social media plays in this developing and innovative process in tourism. (Sigala, Christou, and Getzel 2012)

In the contemporary environment, communications amongst the tourism and hospitality industry and the institutions within this industry can be problematic if lines of communications are not kept up to date. (Moreo, Cobanoglu, and DeMicco 2007)  There is a lack of time to communicate and discuss problems as they come up. A simple annual plan review, phone call, or even meeting is often not enough. Customers need ways of finding the right tourist vacation plan for themselves as well as their families. (Morrison 2005)

Social media offers prospective customers of various tourist plans a vast array of information such as how to apply for specific vacation packages, how their current budget and finances can be applied to a tourist package which they are interested in, specific tourist plans to meet specific circumstances depending on the customer, package deals for families, as well as to what extent certain tourist destinations are available. (Chen & Schwartz 2006) This tourist information found on social media platforms can better enhance trust in the Dynaland system with easier access to disclosures and assistance where needed.  An enriched Dynaland profile can help identify informative plans in existing attractions, select plans that meet personal finances, and launch tourist campaigns. In these ways tourist firms like Dynaland can gain actionable insight on consumer needs using such techniques as interest graph analysis and activity feed analysis as well as life events at an individual, friendly, and family level. (Chen & Schwartz 2006)

According to the balanced scorecard under the Harvard Business Review, the four primary performance drivers are financial perspective, customer perspective, internal business perspective, and innovation & learning perspective. (Kaplan, R.S. & Norton 1992)  Dynaland has their financial perspective covered as they are still an operating business that is bringing in revenue through the sales of their tourist deals. This generates cash flows and a reliable profit forecast. Customer perspective is covered by the consistent satisfied customers that appear on their web site. Internal business perspective cannot be fully evaluated by the information provided on the web site but it would appear that this element of the balance scorecard is in good standing as the business is operational. The final performance driver, innovation and learning perspective, is surley in good standing as Dynaland continues to innovate their e-marketing strategies with continued use of technology and communications. (Kaplan, R.S. & Norton 1992)

Conclusion

In conclusion, this is an overall great web site for the Dynaland tourist business as it provides the primary audience with everything that is needed to know upon planning their trip to the surf and snow resorts that are offered. (Chen & Schwartz 2006)  Every web site will run into flaws as technology continues to advance and e-media continues to change. But it would appear that the operators of this web site are effective in keeping up with the technological changes in the global economy and have done a fine job at maintaining the integrity and user interface of the web site as it is easy for just about anybody to navigate, including the average tourist.

References

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Chen, C-C., & Schwartz, Z. (2006). The importance of information asymmetry in customers’ booking decisions: A cautionary tale from the internet. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, (47)3, 272-285, doi:10.1177/0010880406290966

Kaplan, R. S.,  & Norton, D. P. (1992). The Balanced Scorecard – measures that drive performance.Harvard Business Review, Jan/Feb, 71-79

Kaplan, R. S.,  & Norton, D. P. (1993). Putting the Balanced Scorecard to work. Harvard Business Review, Sept/Oct, 134-147

Kasavana, M. L. (2000). Quality issues in hospitality web site design and operation. Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, 1(1), 83-104

Moreo, A., Cobanoglu, C., & DeMicco, F. (2007). A comparative analysis of restaurant websites and hospitality school restaurant websites. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education, 19(3), 40-47

Morrison, A. M., Taylor, J. S., & Douglas, A. (2005). Website evaluation in tourism and hospitality.Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 17(2), 233-251, doi:10.1300/J073v17n02_18

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