WWW homepages for the tourism industry: the Scottish experience

WWW Homepages are becoming powerful advertising and marketing tools. Business organisations from diverse economic sectors are pursuing an advertising strategy which combines mass media advertisements in traditional paper-based media such as national newspapers, alongside WWW sites. However little research has been done an the minimum levels of description necessary for a homepage to become a suitable information/marketing medium nor on the range of sites now available to users. The present research examines the availability of homepages for the Scottish tourism industry. Regional areas within Scotland were identified according to their 14 area tourist boards. Sites were identified through three mechanisms: search engines, a questionnaire to the tourist boards and manual searches. Over 900 sites providing information about specific regions within Scotland were identified. The Highlands and Islands of Scotland is the tourist region with the highest number of sites (145). Sites were classified according to a content-analysis derived classification of tourism-related topics. Results show a direct emphasis on sites providing general information about Scotland, supported by emphasis on socio-economic aspects, sports, accommodation and cultural potential.