How to assess WWW-applications for tourism information systems from the end-user perspective. Methodical design and empirical evidence

In the spring of 1996, an empirical research project was conducted at the University of Trier which aimed at evaluating an Internet-based electronic information and booking system for the tourism industry. During the development of the new „TIScover“ system by the TIS Corp. in Innsbruck, Austria, an early prototype was tested to assess its user-friendliness and to learn more about customer behaviour in online-booking systems. The empirical data was used to determine strengths and weaknesses of the „TIScover“prototype and to further improve its enduser performance.In this paper the authors propose an empirical design to test WWW-based travel information systems and present empirical results of how to design enduser friendly Web-pages for tourism information and booking systems.