The Impact of the Internet on the Information Search Process and Tourism Decision Making

The purpose of this report is to explore how users of the Internet utilize the medium to gather information in the context of tourism decision making. It seeks to assess how users of different skill levels navigate their way through travel related web sites. The focus of this study is on communication issues on the Internet, in the tourism domain. It does not seek to examine the usability of individual web pages. Although such insights may arise incidentally, it seeks predominantly to explore consumer attitudes towards the effectiveness of the Internet in communicating travel-related information, and its impact on the tourism decision. A qualitative mode of research was considered most appropriate given the exploratory nature of the investigation, and to gain a rich understanding of Internet users.