|ognizant Communication Corporation|
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & TOURISM
VOLUME 7, NUMBER 1
Information Technology & Tourism, Vol.
7, pp. 3-12
1098-3058/04 $20.00 + .00
Copyright © 2004 Cognizant Comm. Corp.
Printed in the USA. All rights reserved.
Tell Me Who You Are and I Will Tell You Where to Go: Use of Travel Personalities in Destination Recommendation Systems
Ulrike Gretzel,1 Nicole Mitsche,2 Yeong-Hyeon Hwang,3 and Daniel R. Fesenmaier4
1Department of Recreation, Park &
Tourism, Texas A&M University
2School of Arts, Design, Media & Culture, University of Sunderland
3School of International Tourism, Dong-A University
4National Laboratory for Tourism & eCommerce, School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Temple University
Current efforts in destination recommendation systems research and design are based on the assumption that user preferences have to be captured in the most accurate way possible to be able to provide useful recommendations. However, leading the user through a series of mind-puzzling diagnostic questions is often cumbersome and, therefore, discourages use. This article explores travel personality categories as a possible shortcut to classifying users. The results of this study suggest that travel personality types selected by the survey respondents can, indeed, be matched up with certain travel behaviors. Implications for future research as well as systems design are presented.
Key words: Personality types; Discriminating power; Recommendation systems
Address correspondence to Daniel R. Fesenmaier, National Laboratory for Tourism & eCommerce, School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Temple University, 1700 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.org
Web Users' Cultural Profiles and E-Service Quality: Internationalization Implications for Tourism Web Sites
Marianna Sigala and Odysseas Sakellaridis
The Business Administration Department, University of the Aegean, Greece
Although e-service quality (e-SQ) is vital for online purchases and loyalty, and the Internet is globalizing services, limited knowledge exists regarding the impact of Web users' cultural profiles on their perceptions of e-SQ. Within the tourism industry, this is crucial as Web sites target multicultural users and firms are trying to develop localized Web stores. This study addresses this gap by examining the link between cultural dimensions of Web site users and their e-SQ expectations. Based on an extensive literature review, research hypotheses are formulated and then tested by gathering data from a multinational student body. Findings provide useful implications for users' segmentation and Web site globalization.
Key words: Culture; Impact; Users; Web site; Design; Tourism
Address correspondence to Marianna Sigala, The Business Administration Department, University of the Aegean, Greece. E-mail: email@example.com
Emerging Web-Based Services for Ship Travelers
Ilias Maglogiannis,1 George Kormentzas,1 and Nikos Panagiotarakis2
1Department of Information and Communication
Systems Engineering, University of the Aegean, Greece
2Alfa Logic SA, Greece
In light of the fact that information communication technologies (ICTs) in general and the Internet/WWW technology in particular are likely to soon accelerate penetration into the maritime market, bringing together innovative services, this article aims to identify a set of appealing Web-based services for ship travelers. To that end, the article uses a research methodology that includes three core research elements (i.e., Internet survey, questionnaires, and interviews). Our research highlights five state-of-the-art Web-based services (i.e., booking, schedule information, ship location, trip/port weather, and tourist information) that can be implemented by maritime transport operators (MTOs) and travel agencies (TAs). The added value nature of the proposed services could guarantee to their prospective implementers significant commercial advantages against their competitors. Demonstrating this business opportunity for MTOs and TAs, the article contributes towards the formation of new business models, which take into account the emerging maritime e-market.
Key words: e-Market; Maritime transport operator; Ship traveler; Travel agency; Web-based services
Address correspondence to Nikos Panagiotarakis, Alfa Logic SA, Greece. Tel: 003227257526; Fax: 003223058317; E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.org
Telemorph: Bandwidth-Determined Mobile Multimodal Presentation
Anthony Solon, Paul McKevitt, and Kevin Curran
Intelligent Multimedia Research Group, School of Computing and Intelligent Systems, Faculty of Engineering, University of Ulster, Magee Campus, Northland Road, Northern Ireland, BT48 7JL, UK
This article presents the initial stages of research at the University of Ulster into a mobile intelligent multimedia presentation system called TeleMorph. TeleMorph aims to dynamically generate multimedia presentations using output modalities that are determined by the bandwidth available on a mobile device's wireless connection. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this research, TeleTuras, a tourist information guide for the city of Derry, will implement the solution provided by TeleMorph, thus demonstrating its effectiveness. This article does not focus on the multimodal content composition but rather concentrates on the motivation for and issues surrounding such intelligent tourist systems.
Key words: Mobile intelligent multimedia; Intelligent multimedia generation and presentation; Intelligent tourist interfaces
Address correspondence to Kevin Curran, Intelligent Multimedia Research Group, School of Computing and Intelligent Systems, Faculty of Engineering, University of Ulster, Magee Campus, Northland Road, Northern Ireland, BT48 7JL, UK. Tel: +44 (028) 7137 5565; Fax: +44 (028) 7137 5470; E-mail: email@example.com