Tourism destination website usability and its effects on demand: approach to a digital satisfaction index

Abstract

It is currently unquestionable the influence of internet in the tourism industry, and it is already acknowledged the existence of a “digital” tourism market. However, it is noticeable that the tourist destinations have different levels of development of ICT - Information and Communication Technologies. The aim of this study is to determine whether, in addition to the constraints inherent to the technological conditions, the Destination Management Organization (DMO) website usability can influence its demand, and if there are different levels of digital satisfaction. From a qualitative and quantitative assessment, it was determined how the factors that limit the usability of a website can be overcome adjusting it to the needs and desires of consumers; recommendations are presented to promote improvements in the websites usability of destination management organizations, as well as ways to improve digital satisfaction. As a result of the research that was made it can be concluded that at the initial stage of preparation of the trip or vacation the website usability influences the search for a tourist destination. It was also concluded that the TDDSI - Tourism Destination Digital Satisfaction Index calculation methodology will enable through benchmarking the improvement in websites usability and the outlining of new marketing strategies for the digital market.