Tourism and Hospitality Consultancy - OLEN Team

FACULTY OF BUSINESS,
ECONOMICS AND LAW

GROUP COURSEWORK COVERSHEET
Coursework Details
Module Name and Code
TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)
Coursework Title
REGIONAL CONSUMER WEBSITE EVALUATION GROUP REPORT
Deadline
18/11/2014
Word Count
5,971
Student Details
Student URNs
(7 digit number on Uni card)
Programme(s)
AC: 6225976
ED: 6346446
EF: 6202328
LP: 6173507
MR: 6195433
NV: 6175674
Student
Names
Aleks Chandarov
Eric Di Bartolo
Elena Fedchenko
Lisa Patton
Margarita Romanovich
Nadiya Veselukha
International Tourism & Hospitality Management
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The OLEN Consultancy
TM
Regional Consumer Website Evaluation
This report is provided on a confidential basis and should not be copied or distributed to third-parties without
the prior written permission of The OLEN Consultancy. It is provided based on best professional practices but
without consequent liability resulting from the use, application or implementation of the findings, opinions or
recommendations.
Colour Code
Executive Summary
Background
Research Method
TM
References
Research Findings
Recommendations
&
Appendices
The OLEN Consultancy Team
(OLEN) is a Russian word, meaning Deer or Stag.
Executive Summary
Current trends in website design are moving toward minimalism, with importance placed more
on striking visuals rather than large blocks of text.
Figure 1: Examples of Good Website Design
Source a: See Monterey, 2014; Travel Oregon, 2014; Exclusive Italian Tours, 2014; Walk About Planner Australia,
2014
The Consultancy team evaluated the Tourism South East website undertaking both a public survey
using detailed personal interviews and a benchmarking against current academic research.
The study makes detailed recommendations on how to improve overall attractiveness, usability
and interactivity of the website for visitors, thus increasing their positive experience. The
suggested improvements will ensure increased traffic resulting in enhancing the commercial value
of Tourism South Easts website.
The findings have shown that the design, content, use of social media and internal links were
areas that needed improvements in order to be more user friendly.
The key findings are summarised as follows:
41% of the respondents had a negative experience when navigating on the website
due to the large amount of information on one page. They felt overwhelmed with
information.
Overall 59% of the respondents preferred the layout and the ease of use of the Visit
Kent website to the Tourism South East website. Users comments focussed on
interactive, less block of texts and more quality images.
The average time spent on the website is around two minutes, switching from one
section to another, which shows that visitors are struggling to find the information
they need with ease.
From the findings, specific recommendations for each section within the website are:
Design the website needs to be simplified for clearer navigation.
Content the quantity of information needs to be reduced, and the quality

improved.
Social Media Enhance the experience by including a more efficient way to

personalise content and frequently update social networking platforms.
Inbound Marketing Optimise the website in order to enhance the traffic
This is the suggested action plan to develop the traffic to the website and improve the overall
usability of the website. The Report provides full detail as to the implantation of these actions.
Action
Results expected
Make the design minimalistic

one colour scheme,
less images, but higher resolution
Creating a clearer, more memorable

navigating experience
Develop the content in quality,

reduce the amount of text
information
Take advantage of the Social Media
Browsing information faster

Gripping and straightforward content
Vivify the website through public posts

Feedback and real-life interaction with
customers
Table of Contents
Coursework Details .................................................................................................................... 0
Student Details ........................................................................................................................... 0
Student Declaration ................................................................................................................... 0
The OLEN Consultancy Team ............................................................................................................. 3
Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................ 4
Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................... 6
Table of Figures .................................................................................................................................. 7
Table of Tables ................................................................................................................................... 7
Table of Appendices ........................................................................................................................... 7
List of Abbreviations........................................................................................................................... 8
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 9
Current situation of the website ...................................................................................................... 11
Background ...................................................................................................................................... 12
Website Evaluation Background .................................................................................................. 12
Design ........................................................................................................................................... 14
Contents ....................................................................................................................................... 16
Social Media ................................................................................................................................. 17
Inbound links ................................................................................................................................ 20
Research Method ............................................................................................................................. 22
Research Objectives ..................................................................................................................... 22
How the survey was designed ...................................................................................................... 23
Advantages and Disadvantages of Exploratory Research and Interviews .................................. 24
Advantages: .............................................................................................................................. 24
Disadvantages: ......................................................................................................................... 24
The Interview ............................................................................................................................... 24
How the interviewing was undertaken ........................................................................................ 25
Findings ............................................................................................................................................ 26
Descriptive statistics..................................................................................................................... 26
Design and Contents .................................................................................................................... 27
The Good Optimised Site for Mobile Browsing ..................................................................... 27
The Bad Content Management and Poor Overall Design ..................................................... 28
Delay when loading the website .............................................................................................. 29
Navigation bars ............................................................................................................................ 30
The good - Event Management ................................................................................................ 30
The Bad - Too many navigation bars ........................................................................................ 32
Social Media ................................................................................................................................. 34
The importance of using Google when searching for a holiday................................................... 35
Recommendations ........................................................................................................................... 36
Design & Content ......................................................................................................................... 37
Social Media & Inbound Marketing ............................................................................................. 39
Further Long Term Suggestions ................................................................................................... 41
References ....................................................................................................................................... 42
Appendices ..................................................................................................................................... 466
Table of Figures
Figure 1: Examples of Good Website Design ..................................................................................... 4
Figure 2: Online leisure trip planning activities.................................................................................. 9
Figure 3: Visits per Geographic Region ............................................................................................ 11
Figure 4: Pull & Push Factors ............................................................................................................ 15
Figure 5: Composition of social media preferred by tourists........................................................... 19
Figure 6: Inbound Marketing............................................................................................................ 20
Figure 7: Website Evalution Success Factors ................................................................................... 22
Figure 8: Expected Gender Proportion ............................................................................................ 23
Figure 9: Time Repartition in High Street......................................................................................... 25
Figure 10: Gender Proportion .......................................................................................................... 26
Figure 11: Age Group Proportion ..................................................................................................... 26
Figure 12: Website Preference ......................................................................................................... 26
Figure 13: Drop Down Menu of Tourism South East ....................................................................... 31
Figure 14: Drop down Menu of Visit Kent ........................................................................................ 31
Figure 15: Navigation Bars in Tourism South East ........................................................................... 33
Table of Tables
Table 1: Critical Success Factors for Effective WWW Sites .............................................................. 13
Table 2: Twitter Engagement Rates: Photo vs. Text Tweets 2014 ................................................... 18
Table of Appendices
Appendix A - SEO Report .................................................................................................................. 46
Appendix B - Risk Assessment .......................................................................................................... 48
Appendix C - Ethical Approval .......................................................................................................... 49
Appendix D - Interview Transcript ................................................................................................... 50
Appendix E - Grouped Contribution Table ....................................................................................... 55
List of Abbreviations
B&B
Bed and Breakfast
BSC
Balanced Score Card
IBL
Inbound Link
ICT
Information Communication Technology
IM
Inbound Marketing
NTO
National Tourism Board
SEO
Search Engine Optimisation
SERP
Search Engine Results Page
SM
Social Media
TSE
Tourism South East
VK
Visit Kent
WWW
World Wide Web
Introduction
This report will analyse and evaluate the website of Tourism South East (TSE) by using primary
research from public interviews, competitor website reviews and will conduct the study within
a current theoretical framework benchmarking the website to the latest trends in web design
and social media. We will provide advice and recommendations on how to improve the
website based on this study.
Access to the internet worldwide is increasing year on year. This means that tourism websites
need to have a global perspective as customers from all over the world can access their web
published information directly. The internet is a major contributor to globalisation, and as a
result it has made the tourism industry more competitive than ever before.
The exponential increase in the number of Internet users helps to visualise the popularity of the
technology. According to Buhalis & Jun (2011) since the emergence of the Internet, travel
planning (e.g. information search and booking) has been one of the central motives for people to
use the Internet. For instance, the report from Lee et al. (2006) has categorised travellers use of
Internet when searching for destination-related information (e.g.: things to do, dining,
entertainment, local events). This is why tourism and hospitality companies are dedicating more
and more time and effort to develop their websites, maintain customer relationships and
capitalise their market share (Law et al., 2010).
Figure 2: Online leisure trip planning activities
Source b: Lee et al., 2006
Tourism is a point of purchase product, meaning that you only truly know what you are going to
get from your holiday when you arrive at the destination. It cannot be tested prior to the
purchase decision (Doolin, 2002).
Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) have dramatically revolutionised the tourism and
hospitality industries since the 1980s (Buhalis and Law, 2008). The internet enables organisations
to have instant worldwide reach.
Tourism products can only be tested by actually experiencing the entire product, which requires
the tourism visit; which is the product itself. Unlike buying a physical product that may be seen in
a showroom prior to purchase, tourism products cannot be experienced in any other way than by
actual consumption. So it is vital that clear and high quality information is used to market
intangible tourism products to clients.
The internet is an ideal platform to sell such products, enabling the use of multimedia and
interactive tools. In addition, direct feedback from the users, even in real time, is possible using
web-based applications. This enables a process of continual improvement by the seller towards
the presentation of their products.
As this Consultancy Team has a background in the management and marketing side of the
business rather than on the technical side of websites, the perspective will be less concentrated
on specific web development elements, but more on the marketing aspects of the website.
This report aimed to evaluate the TSE website performance based on a cross sectional analysis of
the users in the public. It aims to measure the users overall perception of the websites design
and contents by the targeted audience, the effectiveness of social media usage and its potential
impacts on developing inbound links to become less reliant on the search engines.
10
Current situation of the website

The Tourism South East website is supposed to be comprehensive in terms of content and simple
to use. It is aimed at as wide an audience of public users as possible.
The most recent website statistics show that the seasonal peaks in web traffic is around school
holidays thus indicating a strong family audience. For instance, the largest demographic group
from the current data of the TSE Facebook page are women between 25 and 45.
Figure 3: Visits per Geographic Region
This shows how important national tourists, and family-focused segments were when developing
the TSE website. For the 2014/15 financial year, the target is number of visits amount to 750,000
visits. Current trends in website browsing, account for irregularities due to seasonal variation.
Through conversations with the client, it was identified that the closest competitor website
identified by the company is Visit Kent (www.visitkent.co.uk). Even though Visit Kent (VK)
focuses on a smaller geographical scale (a single County within the TSE Region) it is still competing
with TSE in terms of traffic both to the website as well as focusing bookings and reservations from
actual tourists. The report will conduct a side-by-side comparison of Visit South East and Visit
Kent, and will gather the information needed to conduct the analysis through public interviews.
11
Background
Website Evaluation Background
As there are significant setup and maintenance costs involved with establishing and running a
website, businesses need to accurately measure their websites performance (Tierney, 2000). Ip
et al (2011) suggest that organisations should not only regulate the presence of website features,
but should also appraise which of them influence user satisfaction and consumer intentions to
purchase from, visit or return to the website. Not-for-profit organisations, such as Tourism South
East, are well advised to track performance over successive time periods in order to make
continuous improvements easier.
Different approaches to measuring the effectiveness of websites specifically designed by

academics for tourism and hospitality industries shall now be discussed.
Early approaches to website performance monitoring and evaluation aimed at examining a

websites quality based on functionality and usability (Lu and Yeung, 1998). The Balanced Score
Card model (BSC) (Kaplan and Norton, 1992) was modified by Morrison et al (1999) in order to
evaluate websites in the hospitality and tourism industries and superseded the earlier
approaches.
BSC is based on the primary set of measures originating from an organisations vision and strategy
rather than solely financial and other key performance indicators. This updated model assessed
website performance from customer, technical, marketing and internal perspectives (Table 1).
However, the internal aspect of the model has been found to be insufficient due to internal data
not being available to external researchers (Ismail et al, 2002). Consequently this model was
reformulated in order to focus more on cultural perspectives (e.g. destination info, availability of
travel and tourism links) and opposed to internal perspectives and is now used specifically to
evaluate European National Tourism Organisations (NTOs) websites. The updated framework
emphasised ease of navigation, ease of contact, attractiveness of the site and general availability
of travel and tourism links as essential factors for the NTOs website to be effective (Ismail et al,
2002).
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Table 1: Critical Success Factors for Effective WWW Sites
Source c: Morrison et al., 2004
Recently proposed website evaluation methods covered both quantitative and qualitative
approaches. For instance, Suh et al (2004) stated that website performance could be determined
by numerically measurable network statistics, such as traffic-based and time-based data. On the
other hand, combinations of branding, human-computer interaction and usability are believed to
enhance website evaluation (Heldal, 2004). To support this notion, a recent review of tourism and
hospitality website evaluation studies showed that numerous researchers generally chose
qualitative methods as they allow for an in depth examination of the views of certain groups on
specific functions, features and overall perception of the website (Law et al, 2010). For instance,
the study conducted by Hashim et al (2007) has identified the following dimensions of website
quality: information and processes, design and usability, value added, relationships and trust.
13
The literature research has shown that there are numerous approaches to website evaluation in
tourism and hospitality. These are still in early stages of development. Despite this, Morrison et
al (2004) argue that the modified BSC method has a lot of potential in providing a standardised
benchmarking framework for companies to measure their websites performance. They believe
that it provides a sophisticated observation of multiple perspectives, and gives equal weighting to
each of them.
Prior findings have been taken into consideration when designing the public survey to measure
the usability and overall perception of TSEs website.
Design
The following section will focus on the design aspect of the suggested framework (BSC) that was
discussed earlier.
The overall design of a website will dictate the perceived usability of the website. Creating a
website that is perceived as easy to navigate helps to curb the abandonment rate of users.
Sears (2003) suggests that tourism is an experiential product and as a result, it is important for
tourism marketing managers to design an aesthetically pleasing platform in order to effectively
communicate tourism products in ways that are authentic and attractive to information seekers.
Research has found that consumers often evaluate their overall satisfaction with websites, and
information search based on time and effort savings (Berry, Seiders & Grewal, 2002). This
suggests that designing websites using a minimalistic approach with a strong experiential focus
will draw in the consumer.
Correia et al. (2007) identified six reasons tourists are motivated to purchase, dividing them under
two headings; push factors and pull factors. The push factors identified were; knowledge, leisure,
and socialisation, while the pull factors were identified as; facilities, core attractions and
landscape features (Correia et. al. 2007). Push factors are features that are inherent in the tourist
and excited by the website; whereas pull factors are exterior features that the tourist becomes
aware of on the website and gains the desire to visit.
14
Figure 4: Pull & Push Factors
Source d: Correia et. al., 2007
As technology and tourism are increasingly becoming interdependent, these push and pull factors
need to work together to market a largely visually dependent representation of a destination
(Parker, Sears & Smith, 2012).
An article focused on web design suggests that minimising the content on a website helps to
avoid shocking the user with too much information, encouraging them to stay on the website
rather than abandon the site due to information overload (Firefly Creative, no date). From a
graphical perspective, minimalist design is supposed to be soothing and to bring the mind down
to the basics. Jakob Neilsen (1997) suggests that in order to create an effective website you need
to consider the following:
Avoid making the user think
Use simple text, omit needless word
Use white space to full advantage
Users scan sites NOT read (trigger words, highlight, layout, bullet points)
Break pages into clearly defined areas
Simple/clear & persistent navigation (menu tabs, drop downs, linear, tree
structure, breadcrumbs, sitemaps
Site ID (logo), OVP (tag line) top left corner Predictability
15
This approach will form the basis for a recommendation to TSE for a review and re-design of the
Home page of the TSE website.
Contents
In order to increase the positive experience of the visitors on a particular website, it is essential
that the design complements the contents. According to Huizingh (2000), website content refers
to the features, functions, information and products offered on a website.
The correct balance between images and text-based information is crucial in order to optimise
the visitors experience on the website. However, studies have produced conflicting results on the
ideal amount of information that should be presented on the websites promoting hospitality and
tourism industries (Thongpapanl & Ashraf, 2011). Kuster (2007) emphasises that the amount of
information, updating and personalised content are extremely powerful in responding to
customers needs. This highlights the importance of using them correctly to optimise the
customers satisfaction and experience on the website. Many tourist companies are underutilising their web-based elements and do not provide the information the customer wants
(Kuster, 2007).
Whilst the customer base for travel websites is extremely broad, Yoon (2003) summarised in his
research that it is both high and low involvement consumers (spending a significant amount of
time vs short amount of time on making a purchasing decision) who respond positively to imagebased advertisements as opposed to text-based advertisements. This suggests that the relevant
information does not necessarily have to be presented in a text format, and as Kuster (2007:123)
says In the tourism industry, a single image could mean more than 1,000 words.
This view is supported by Bainbridge (2002), who concludes in his research that a critical part of
tourism marketing consists of experience-oriented tourism. He proposes functions such as
galleries, virtual tours, interactive maps, videos and any other visuals that can help potential
tourists to develop expectations about the destination. MacKay and Fesenmaier (1997) also agree
with the above points and add that the effective provision of such visuals has a power to
16
influence the potential customers to choose a particular destination over another and create a
Unique Selling Point (USP) of a particular destination website.
The above points suggest that the amount of information on tourism-related websites should be
appropriately filtered, however supported with relevant visuals to provide the potential customer
with a better understanding of the advertised product or service.
Social Media
With consumers gaining more power over what and how information is distributed and used on
the Internet, the importance of Social Media (SM) has been widely acknowledged (Tapscott &
Williams, 2006).
In 2010 there were more than 3 million photos uploaded to Flickr, 5 million tweets on Twitter and
one million new blog entries are posted on various other blog sites on a daily basis (Bodnar,
2010). To compare, in 2014 the number of daily tweets rose up to 500 million (Internet Live Stats,
2014). One important social media platform is Instagram. Research has shown that Instagram has
now over 300 million users worldwide, meaning that it has now overtaken Twitter in popularity
(Chang et al, 2014).
A key trend area in the social media world is a growth in visual, especially video posts (Goel,
2014). The latest statistics show that the photo content predominantly more retweeted than the
text posts across all the industries (Table 2). This is especially important in the tourism industry
due to its experiential focus as mentioned in the design section.
17
Table 2: Twitter Engagement Rates: Photo vs. Text Tweets 2014
Source e: Ratcliff, 2014
Travellers have extensively adopted SM as a source to search and organise their potential trips as
well as share their travel-related comments and personal experiences (Leung et al, 2013). Given
that SM contains collaborative knowledge of people from around the world in various forms, it is
believed to be one of the most effective tools in equipping travellers with a comprehensive
knowledge base on a tourism product or destination (Yoo and Gretzel, 2011).
Figure illustrates that tourists preferred sources of information include virtual communities (e.g.
Facebook, CouchSurfing, Google+), travel review websites (e.g. TripAdvisor, VirtualTourist,
LonelyPlanet) and blogs (e.g. Blogger and Twitter).
18
Figure 5: Composition of social media preferred by tourists
Source f: Xiang and Gretzel, 2010
Recent studies have recognised SM as a highly effective and relatively inexpensive marketing tool
for hospitality and tourism businesses (Chan et al, 2011). For, instance Google+ is promoted for
small businesses, since it offers numerous benefits at no cost. According to Pantelidis (2010), SM
can assist businesses and destinations in enhancing their online image. Furthermore, Xiang and
Gretzel (2010) argue that SM significantly impacts customers decision-making process when
selecting a travel destination and holiday necessities, such as accommodation, travel modes and
selecting key visitor attractions. The recently released World Travel Market 2011 Industry Report
identified that more than one-third of all leisure consumers in the UK chose their hotels based on
the recommendations provided on SM websites like TripAdvisor and Facebook (Koumelis, 2011).
This could be explained due to travellers conceiving word-of-mouth advertising as a highly
credible source of information. (Murphy et al, 2007).
With the growing prevalence of the consumer-generated content, it is beneficial for TSE to
engage their customers to participate in their website discussions. This will be achieved through
the promotion of an organisation or business-to-customer blog with a possibility for customers to
comment on it. They are believed to create more lively and credible content as well as facilitate
continuous contact with the clients (Bradley, 2010). As a result, it will instill trust, build the
relationship between the organisation and the customers and develop product awareness
(Akehurst, 2009).
19
Inbound links
Site optimisation used to be focused on gaining the number one position on a search engine
results page (SERP) and maintaining that position. Google alone owns 90% of the market share
and widely dictates its own terms resulting in a lower possibility of gaining the number one
position on the results page (Fishkin and Hgenhaven, 2013). Therefore companies such as TSE
are advised to rely on advertising through Google as little as possible.
Nowadays, prominent aspects such as search engine optimisation (SEO), social media and content
marketing are unified by the term Inbound Marketing (IM). IM is uniquely aimed at delivering
anticipated, personal, and appropriate information to the targeted audience (Godin, 2014). IM
can seem costly in both time and financial expenditure for a company, however in the long run
this technique has proven itself highly cost-effective (Fishkin and Hgenhaven, 2013).
Figure 6: Inbound Marketing
Source g: Fishkin and Hgenhaven, 2013
20
The general idea of IM is having sufficient, up to date content, supported by relevant ingredients,
which make the website easily reachable through search engines and other websites. Search
engines get smarter, but they still require assistance for cataloguing and ranking the content in
the appropriate order. Neat and sensible architecture of sitemaps, usage of tags and keywords
makes it understandable for humans and robots (Fishkin and Hgenhaven, 2013).
An inbound link (IBL) in SEO vocabulary stands for a hyperlink from a separate webpage, which
redirects a user to the linking sites own webpage. The popularity of the website can be
determined by the amount of the IBLs from different websites. On a grand scale, having IBLs
works as a recommendation, telling users that this page in particular provides valuable content.
This is also relevant for search engines, as links from trustworthy websites add overall value.
21
Research Method
Research Objectives
As mentioned previously, the updated BSC model has established certain aspects for
consideration when evaluating website performance. The consultants have redesigned it to
meet the requirements of TSE and set the projected outcomes of the research (Figure Z).
Figure 7: Website Evalution Success Factors
The primary research mainly concentrated on gaining customers perception on usability,

reliability of information and overall design and contents. The consultants tried, without bias,
to interview people that met the main target market identified as TSEs market. It was also
projected to receive their feedback on how successful TSEs destination marketing campaigns
as well as the promotion of their partners. Moreover, a comparison has been accomplished
between the TSEs and VKs websites with the objective of identifying their strengths and
weaknesses.
22
Figure 8: Expected Gender Proportion
The secondary data has been used to evaluate the technical aspect of the website and provide
TSE with the recommendations on potential directions for improvement. However, as mentioned
earlier the consultants will be emphasising the marketing side of website evaluation.
How the survey was designed

The approach taken to collect data for the research was the qualitative method of personal
interviews, as opposed to quantitative survey methods. This approach was taken as it allows for a
depth of analysis that cannot be achieved through the use of a survey.
Personal semi-structured interviews were the most appropriate method as this allowed for depth
of analysis, which is important when trying to uncover the root cause of problems within the
website (DiCicco-Bloom & Crabtree, 2006). Other methods such as focus groups would have had
the following problems or limitations:
Focus groups require objective, sensitive, and effective moderators, who can deal
with larger groups
There is a possibility that there will be dominant participants
Possibility for the emergence of groupthink
People will be less willing to share in a group if sensitive topics arise
Can be expensive and hard to organise a representative group
(Zikmund et al, 2014)
23
Advantages and Disadvantages of Exploratory Research and Interviews

Advantages:
Assisting with problem formulations, for a more precise investigation or for developing
hypotheses or concepts more clearly.
Establishing priorities for further research. Exploration may save resources if it is found that
the problem is not as important as first thought.
Gathering information about the practical problems of carrying out research.
Disadvantages:
Small-scale work, including personal interviews, can lead to results that

cant be generalised to the population.
The Interview
The interview was designed to cover the main areas identified as problematic (design, content,
social media and inbound marketing) in the brief. These include:
The strengths and weaknesses of this site compared to similar sites.
How well links work to the websites of destination partners.
The opportunities for further development of the website, and
To help build strategies to increase traffic flow.
Using the qualitative method of a semi-structured interview was beneficial, as it allowed the
respondent to take control of what they consider to be important in the website, and ultimately
help to diagnose the problems that the company identified, and uncover further points for
consideration.
24
How the interviewing was undertaken

The interviewing took place on Monday and Wednesday and Sunday afternoons on a High Street
in Guildford.
Figure 9: Time Repartition in High Street
Time Repartition in High Street

Monday 03 Nov
Wednesday 05 Nov
Sunday 09 Nov
10:00
11:00
12:00
13:00
14:00
15:00
16:00
17:00
In order to get as representative a sample as possible using qualitative methods, people of

different age and gender were approached.
Upon agreeing to answer the questionnaire, the respondents were shown two websites Visit
South East and Visit Kent and asked to navigate the website themselves, thus ensuring a thorough
familiarisation with the contents, design and structure of the website. The interviewees were
then recorded to ensure that the respondents opinions on both of the websites can be accurately
evaluated later.
The following difficulties were encountered whilst carrying out the questionnaire:
Most of the people approached said no to participating in the questionnaire
A vast majority of the respondents were reluctant to give their age
Occasional problems with the internet connection made it challenging for some of the
respondents to fully familiarise themselves with the website in a way it was intended
(slow connection made it hard to navigate and certain pages didnt open)
25
Findings
Descriptive statistics
Figure 10: Gender Proportion
Figure 11: Age Group Proportion
Figure 12: Website Preference
26
Design and Contents

Upon conducting primary research, it was uncovered that website users found both positives and
negatives to the design and content approach used by the Visit South East England website. The
major area users felt was beneficial was that the website also had a mobile optimised page for
browsing on mobile and tablet devices. The major negative that consumers found was the poor
overall design of the website.
The Good Optimised Site for Mobile Browsing
Although only a small group of respondents commented on the fact that Visit South East England
offered a mobile website, it is important to consider. The respondents made similar valid points
about how the mobile site optimised the overall design and usability of TSEs website. One
respondent, Anthony, commented on how the visitsoutheastengland.com mobile website, was
superiorly developed, and easier to use than the desktop site, saying:
When using the website on a mobile the layout is fantastic, this makes it
very easy to use. Anthony, 26
Another interviewee identified that the layout of the Visit Kent website was more reminiscent of
a mobile website, and thus easier to use, saying:
I prefer Visit Kent. The Visit Kent website seems like something that I would use on my phone, it
seems a bit more interactive, and I really like the look of it, its a bit more engaging. Joel, 25-35
This change in preference from the desktop version to the mobile version is most likely due to
the changing technological landscape, and it is therefore important for the business to keep up
with the changing trends in technology (Blodget, 2011).
In terms of contents, a number of respondents found the information provided by the website to
be very broad, providing good insights into a vast range of interesting areas of the South East with
different types of activities and events that could be undertaken on a visit there.
27
Very useful information regarding the South East region. Jessica, 29-32
Additionally, quite a few respondents have found the accommodation bar to be extremely
beneficial, easy to use and well-positioned on the homepage.
Easy ways of finding suitable accommodation with the drop down bar on the
right hand side of the page. Becky, 35-39
The Bad Content Management and Poor Overall Design
Even though a number of the respondents found the information on the website very insightful,
the vast majority have commented negatively on having such a high volume of
sections/navigation bars, creating a text heavy confusing and distracting homepage.
It is extremely confusing that some sections appear on the website as
many as 3 times, I dont know which one to click on. Rex, 26
There should be no more than 4-5 sections, having so many is too overwhelming. Jaqueline, 47
The first page you see is too busy and distracting and doesnt make me want to click and search
through it! John, 28.
Overall poor content management and the overcrowding of the website have negatively
impacted the respondents perception of the overall design. This was also touched on earlier in
the mobile website section. Users found that the Visit Kent site was easier to use and navigate
through to find information than the Visit South East England website due to the overpopulation
of the websites home page. As identified in the design section of the report, website users do not
like to think or read too much when looking through a website. As a result the majority of
respondents found the overall design simplicity of Visit Kent more appealing.
28
Without a smallest doubt I prefer the second one. Design on its

own is a winner. Veronica, 26
Some negative comments highlighted the customer need for a higher standard information on
events and accommodation, a broader range of attractions, such as pubs, churches and beaches,
better quality images and more relevant information for travellers with disabilities on the TSE
website. The following comments were made:
Winchester Festival had this years date although when you click on it you find it is for 2015 and
not a Winter Festival which at this time of year you would expect Sophie, 56
Clicking on Families.. all the suggested activities under Go Wild are non-seasonal, outdoors and
totally not related to what you can do in Sussex with families at this time of year. Sophie, 56
Where are all the lovely Sussex pubs? It should have a featured pub of the week Sophie, 36
Delay when loading the website
Several respondents have experienced delays when browsing the website. This can be explained
by the vast and heavy range of visual and social media content placed on each page of the
website. TSE covers a wide range of destinations with their respective attractions, hotels,
restaurants, etc. Each section is supported with numerous pictures.
Background loads very slowl, Jane, 42
I find the website slow. On the Hotels page, the images of the hotel I clicked on were very slow to
load Sophie, 45-65
There is a slight delay when hovering over tabs to see the additional options Catherine, 35-40
29
When comparing TSE and VK, it can be seen that the websites are following different strategies.
The former presents numerous pictures of average size and quality, while the latter shows a full
screen picture of exceptional quality.
South East also loads way faster than Visit Kent, as we just discovered,
maybe this could be its advantage Sam, 26
On the other hand, as mentioned earlier the Consultants have experienced problems with
internet connection when conducting the interviewing. Thi could also be one of the reasons for
the delays when loading the website.
Navigation bars
The good - Event Management
When examining the usability of the website, the majority of respondents stated that navigating
through in the Things To Do section of the webpage was easy. The drop down bars divide the
section relating to different target markets and theirs respective needs and preferences (Figure
A).
The Drop down bars and menu with separate sub-titles for each section of the website (e.g.
places to visit, events, accommodation etc.) Becky, 35-39
There is something for every type of person there are sections for those whom have time and a
quick search for those who are straight to the point Rex, 26
30
Figure 13: Drop Down Menu of Tourism South East
Source h: Visit South East, 2014
Figure 14: Drop down Menu of Visit Kent
Source i: Visit Kent, 2014
This differentiation approach aims to target various market segments of different age,
occupation, interests and budget. When comparing VK and TSEs website offerings, VK provides a
simple, user friendly access point to the section of a particular interest. VK has divided the events
and attractions depending on their nature (Graph A and Graph B). However, VK has highlighted
most popular sites of interest (Hever Castle, Penshurst Place), which could predominantly save
time for the newcomers and people who are not familiar with the destination.
31
The Bad - Too many navigation bars
The majority of the respondents did not experience any difficulties when using the website and
felt that navigation was easy, however a smaller representation of the respondents had a
negative experience. This was due to there being too many navigation bars . Many people said
explicitly that the way the navigation bars are structured is not clear.
It is a bit chaotic and you need to be quite web-savvy to understand how

to navigate. A lot of sub-options in menus. It could be simplified without
losing any information, which would broaden the audience that can use it
comfortably. Chris, 25
32
Figure 15: Navigation Bars in Tourism South East
Source j: Visit South East, 2014
The choices in the first navigation bar are extensive and could be simplified for the visitor to have
a clearer understanding of the website structure. Moreover the scroll down options have been
identified as out not to be simple enough to have a fast and easy experience while browsing on
the website.
33
The navigation bar on right is repeating what the top bar is saying. However this bar has the
advantage of the people who are coming on the website with a clear idea of what they want to
do, and the information they need directly.
If you are new to the website you will have trouble choosing which
navigation bar to use, as there are too many of them Lydia, 34-37
Social Media
A number of respondents highlighted the ease of connecting to TSEs social media platforms
from the main TSE website. The participants commented on how it only took one click upon
landing on the homepage to navigate to the social media profiles of TSE.
The website contains very useful information regarding the south East region. The Facebook bar
on the website is very useful if you want to go to their Facebook page with one click. Also the
social media links on top of the page are useful too. Jessica, 29 - 32.
Social media website links work well at the top. The Facebook bar is useful if it is needed to
comment on something. Lydia, 34 - 37.
Both of these quotes help to illustrate the importance of SM within peoples current
expectations of the trends in web design.
Another point identified within the interviews was that a number of participants would like to
have their location automatically identified when browsing on the website. People would like
to be directed to what is near them based on their physical location in the South East. One of
the interviewees suggested:
When searching for location, it would be helpful if the site could pick up your actual location,
especially if you are searching for activities in a hurry. Anthony, 26.
34
Having this kind of application can be very useful as it can be linked with social media, as
these applications have geotagging built into them already.
Social media can help tourism based websites increase traffic to their websites. This can be
achieved by actively promoting the website using social media platforms such as Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, and blogging sites like Wordpress. This trend is also reflected in the
responses given by the respondents, with a number commenting on how social media is
important to people when evaluating holiday options.
The importance of using Google when searching for a holiday

Several participants identified that they dont necessarily look to find a particular holiday or
tourism website when booking a holiday, rather they use search engines to evaluate possible
destinations and events. It was revealed through the research that consumers like to take more of
an experiential approach to evaluating their particular destination of interest and as a result,
spend a lot of time researching the destination through numerous channels. One respondent
identified his search method as follows:
I would use Google to find the best deal for an area, and Tripadvisor and
booking.com for somewhere to stay. I generally use Wikipedia to discover
more about a particular area in terms of history and attractions. Louis, 26
28.
Therefore, the participants seem to prioritise SEO, and the first websites they will evaluate are
the ones positioned at the top of the SERPs. Co-operating with search engines, Google in
particular, is valued by the participants, because they perceive it to be the main source of
touristic information. According to Fishkin and Hgenhaven (2013) SEO is a significant part of a
website marketing mix and must not be neglected.
35
Recommendations
The recommendations resulting from the public survey, academic evaluation and technical
analysis will be presented in two sections:
2. Design & Content
3. Social Media & Inbound Marketing
The Design & Content of the website can be improved through several specific simplifications and
a cleaning up exercise. This will improve the ease of use for visitors and make navigation and
finding information easier. The broad objective of the recommendations to improve this aspect
of the website are to enhance the visitors experience, increasing the time the spend on the site as
well as ensure return visits.
The Social & Media and Inbound Marketing recommendations focus on making the site more user
friendly and interactive, as well as increasing web traffic. By increasing a general public
awareness of the site by making more use of the developing social media networks will expand
the scope and reach of the TSE website.
The suggestions have been arranged in priority order with a clear indication of the expected
outcome from the implementation of the recommendation.
A concluding section of more long term focussed strategic suggestions has been included for
debate and further study.
36
Design & Content
Recommendations
Actions
Outcome
Design & Contents
1. Introduce rich
multimedia content
High resolution images,

as well as introduction of
galleries for each area
Interactive videos
showcasing unique features of
a specific county
Existing interactive map
of the South East could be
enlarged
Event calendars for each
county
Virtual tours of
accommodation, as well as
some attractions
Increased positive
experience on the
website and
promotion of what
South East can offer
2. Reduce the
number of sections
to a maximum of 5
Remove the sections

that are repeated on the
homepage multiple times
Proposed sections to
keep: Places to visit,
Accommodation,
Events/Whats on,
Conferences & Weddings,
Blog
Accommodation
section could also be eliminated
completely as there is an
accommodation bar
Filter the following
sections: Things to do,
Family Fun, Offers, Group
Travel, Useful
information according to the
geographical area
Simplified browsing
and make the design
more appealing
37
3. Add customers
reviews
Add previous guest

feedback on accommodation
Refer to TripAdvisor as a
source of reviews for
attractions and restaurants
Enhance the
information
credibility, thus
maximising visitors
trust. As a result the
inclination to book a
hotel will be higher,
which could
positively affect the
value of TSE
members
4. Create
Compelling
headlines
Introduce articles such

as The best 10 pubs in the
area, Featured hotel of the
month, Unknown places to
see
These can be featured
on the pages of a particular
area, as well as the blog
Higher level of
engagement with
the contents
5. Choose a more
soothing colour
scheme
Monotone schemes
with one solid background
colour, are paired with black or
white font
Two or three tints are
used for element
Avoid bright colours
Minimalistic
approach makes the
site appear cleaner,
lighter, and easy to
use
38
Social Media & Inbound Marketing
Recommendations
Actions
Social Media & Inbound Marketing
1. Update regularly
Social Marketing
2. Use Inbound
Marketing along
with PR techniques
to boost Inbound
links
Create interactive and clear

Social Media Buttons.
Involve customers in
discussions
Allocate a team member
responsible for the SM updates
regularly
Retweet/Repost relevant
SM updates from famous figures.
elements of interest (celebrity
photos, comments)
Publish own press releases

about interesting organisation
news and using press releases from
other sources
Contact the journals, when
having big news or a great piece of
content
Co-operate with companies
in complementary industries to link
valuable content
Include links to other
relevant posts on the website
Outcome
Enhancement of
online image of
the company and
destinations.
Developed
product
awareness
Build relationship
between the
company and
customers
Attention of
media, while
obtaining
coverage in other
notable news
outlets
Attention of
social networks
and other
websites
Increased timeon-site and
conversion rates
Boost TSE in the
SERPs
3. Set-up Instagram
profile
4. Establish personal
Create a memorable
Instagram Hashtag (#VSE
#Visitsoutheast)
Create a clear visible
Instagram icon
Use instagram featured
pictures on the website
Enable login through e-mail
Increase website
traffic
Improve visual
presence on the
web
Developed
39
accounts
or Facebook
Personalised profile in
terms of location, preferred
activities
Ability to comment on
website discussions
Introduce weekly polls to
make the website more interactive
communication
with customers
that could give
feedback on
TSEs
performance
Defined
customers
preferences
Ability to send
personalised
offers and
promotions
5. Emphasise
company blog
Provide insider information

and cost-saving opportunities
Post regularly
Make the contents
compelling (Top 10 Pubs, Top 10
Attractions)
Share the stories of South
East residents (e.g. Their favourite
place)
Increased traffic
that will regularly
come back to the
website
More lively
content
Higher rank in
SERP
6. Take advantage of
Google+ social
networking service
Create a Google+ Account,

updated regularly
Set up a clear Google+
button
Integration with
YouTube,
ensuring videos
are
predominantly
featured on
Google+ and vice
versa
40
Further Long Term Suggestions

It has been seen and described in this report that current trends are to a more minimalist
web design and greater interactivity. Social media is one means of achieving interaction
with visitors but also increasingly performant on the platform applications allowing multimedia, voice or visually activated intelligent interaction with the visitors. This type of
technology is developing and becoming more sophisticated rapidly.
We recommend that a regular review be established to study and report on developing
trends in the market so that the website doesnt become stale and fall behind the times.
The team was able to engage the pro-bono services of an external SEO specialist to
compile an initial overview report based on a web crawl of the TSE website. (See
Appendix ). This web-crawler program collates technical data on the performance and
structure of the website and suggests advice for its general optimisation.
This brief analysis shows multiples problems in the website optimisation. Some key
suggestions are summarised below. It is evident that a detailed review of the technical
structure of the website is necessary and would form the basis of a further project
parallel to, and complementary with, the implementation of the teams previous
recommendations
Recommendations
Actions
General Optimisation
Minimise use of tiny texts (fonts

smaller than 4 pixels), as search
engines consider it as abusive
practice
The amount of keywords should
be well justified
Minimise immediate keyword
repeats
Avoid using too many controls
on the home page, especially in
the top area
Linking sites should have
something in common with TSE,
as this is taken in consideration
by search engines while ranking
Outcome
Avoidance of having
content, which can be
considered as spam by
search engines
Stable keyword
prominence
41
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45
Appendices
Appendix A - SEO Report
Site quality overview for CEO
For: Tourismus southeast

(http://www.tourismsoutheast.com/)
Description:
This report gives you an overview of scanning results and highlights
problems found on your site. Detailed information about specific
errors, e.g. broken links or invalid Titles, is available in the individual
problem reports.
Created on: 15/12/2014

Time: 15:52
Overview
Website objects checked
1896
Web pages checked
328
Internal links checked
1394
External links checked
502
Images checked
494
Scan duration
00:00:26
Errors and problems detected

Problem
# of problems
Broken links
204
Internal
127
External
77
Broken anchors
Slow pages (download size > 60 Kb)
297
Small pages (download size < 7 Kb)
27
Deep pages (more than 5 clicks necessary to reach)
Old pages (older than 3 months)
P ages missing Title tags
Pages with long Title tags
Pages missing META Description tag
181
Pages with long META Description tag
Pages missing META Keywords tag
Not checked
Pages with long META Keywords tag
Not checked
Images missing attribute ALT
Images missing Width/Height attributes
10
Redirects
24
The full SEO Report is over 70 pages. It is available for download via the online link below
https://www.dropbox.com/s/qak6700rk7ifhdp/APPENDIX%20-%20SEO.docx?dl=0
46
Optimization report help

Tiny text
If a page uses Cascading Style Sheets and there are fonts smaller than 4 pixels, they are
reported as tiny texts. Most search engines consider tiny texts as an abusive practice - this
is why you should avoid using them. NOTE: If the instance of tiny text is found on the
analyzed page, hover cursor on the parameter value (in our case - Yes) to see a floating
hint for the improper text and tag.
Immediate keyword repeats
The same keyword repeated one after the other a few times, for example air tickets online, air tickets, air tickets, air tickets, air tickets in Hong Kong is a questionable trick. For
this example, there will be three repetitions reported, because the keyword was placed
three times in a row after it was used first. Such repetitions are considered as spam by
most search engines.
Keyword frequency
Frequency is the number of times your keyword is used in the analyzed area of the page.
Example: If the page's first heading is 'Get the best XYZ services provided by XYZ
Company', frequency of keyword 'XYZ' in the heading will be two. Frequency relates only
to the exact matches of a keyword. Therefore, frequency of key phrase 'XYZ services' will
be one, because as exact match, this keyword is used only once.
Search engines use frequency as a measure of keyword importance.
Search engines rate pages with more keywords as more relevant results, and score them
higher. However, you should not use too many keywords, since most search engines will
penalize you for this practice for being seen as an attempt to artificially inflate rankings.
Visible text
The content of the Body tag includes both visible and invisible text. The term 'Visible text'
refers to the portion that is displayed by the browser. The visible text analyzed by Web
CEO is all within the Body tag but exclude HTML Comments (invisible) and ALT Tags
(partially visible).
Extra emphasis by search engines is put on keywords when you underline them or make
them bold, thus helping higher rankings for these keywords.
Backlinks Theme
To determine your site rankings, search engines take into consideration theme relevance
of those sites linking to you. If the linking sites have something in common with yours
(keywords in the BODY, titles, descriptions of the linked pages, etc.), your website gets
better chances to gain high positions for these keywords.
47
Appendix B - Risk Assessment
48
Appendix C - Ethical Approval
49
Appendix D - Interview Transcript

Interview Transcript
Sophie, 56
N: Nadiya
S: Sophie
M: Margarita
E: Eric
N: Hi, good afternoon. We are the students of University of Surrey. Would you have a free minute
to help us with our project? We would be extremely grateful..
S: Yes, of course. What do I have to do?
N: First of all, would you be comfortable with us recording your response?
S: Yeah, thats absolutely fine.
N: Thank you.
M: Basically, we are doing a project on website evaluation and would really appreciate your
opinion on two tourism-related websites. If you could have a look at this website first (points at
Visit South East) and try to navigate it yourself and familiarise yourself with its contents. Also, try
to imagine that you are using it to find out certain information about South East and book
accommodation for your holiday.
S: Okay, sure.
S. takes some time to go through the website.
After some time.
S: Okay, I think I went through the most of it.
N: What aspects of the website do you like?
S: Well, firstly, the tone of the text is very engaging and welcoming with lots of good suggestions
and prompts. I like the Search Box with a Whats On feature. It is slightly disappointing though
that it does not suggest any skating or markets or pantomimes or any cultural eventsI mean,
this is the season for Museums and art galleries but NONE are suggested on the list of things to
do on this front page. Also, if you go on the featured item - Winchester Festival, look, it has this
years date, but when you click on it you find it is for 2015 and not a Winter Festival which at this
time of year you would expect.
50
M: Yes, thats a little bit misleading

S: They need to check the information they have on the website more thoroughly I must say, I
really like the Christmas markets suggestions on the homepage. Also, the prompt to build your
own itinerary and that you can build it for yourself in the page margin.
E: Did you find any other sections good?
S: Well, I think this Events Guide is quite good. I also quite like the South East Accommodation
section, I think those yellow highlights for a full range of accommodation at all budgets can
encourage visitors of all ages and budgets seems like it does not suggest high price options any
more than lower budget ones. This budget moving price bar with a sliding scale is very helpful. I
also like that each hotel states what attractions there are in the vicinity. What else Let me see
Well, the Group Travel page is good, look like it has a wide range of suggested places to stay and
activities. Oh look, at that as well! There is a Dog Friendly page! I think this can be really helpful
for many locals, not just tourists with dogs.
M: Yeah, definitely.
N: Are there any aspects of the website that you dont like?
S: Oh yes, there are quite a few. Not entirely sure whether it is the website itself, or the
connection, but it is very slow! I think it is because of the images maybe, when I click on the
Hotels page, have a look, the images of the hotel are so slow to load! Dont you think?
N: Yeah, it does seem to take quite some time
S: Also, where are all the lovely Sussex pubs? It should have a featured pub of the week
(Respondent is actually from Sussex). If you go on Places to Visit its just a boring list of names
which mean nothing to strangers to the region. Also, Special Offers, looks really quite
interesting, but you click on it and its not! It just simply refers you to Facebook or Twitter
where you MAY find a discount.
M: Are there any other aspects that you dont like in other sections?
S: Let me have a look again Oh yes Clicking on Families... All of the suggested activities under
this section (Go Wild) are non-seasonal, they are all outdoors and are totally not related to what
you can do in Sussex with families at this time of year. Also, going back to accommodation... I
randomly searched for Climping. Dont know if you have heard of it, but it is one of the most
popular beaches in Sussex. There were no results found for B&B, so I tried self-catering Still,
nothing, no results found. Thats not very good! In such case, it should have helped me with other
suggestions there.
N: Oh, wow. We would have no idea if you didnt point it to us.
S: Another thing I would have liked to see in accommodation section is for local independents to
come up first. The first that came up in my search was the Warner chain
51
M: Well, I am afraid they could be quite restricted in terms of accommodation they provide on
the website.
S: Oh, I see Another thing I wanted to mention though. I went to Conferences and Weddings
section. The conferences bit is okay, but weddings is a disasterthere are so many beautiful
churches to marry in villages and towns, also hotels and lovely historic houses in the South East
and there is no single enticing romantic picture! I dont think any bride would be encouraged to
look further.
M: Yeah, nice photos are so important to get some understanding of what the place is like
S: Oh definitely... they should really work more on developing that section. Also, whilst I was
browsing, I noticed one or two grammar or spelling mistakes. I believe it was something like
where ever?? and are now be.
N: Oh really? Which section did come in?
S: Oh, Im afraid I wont remember now, but I have definitely noticed it somewhere in one of the
sections I was browsing whilst reading through.
E: Do you think the website is easy to navigate?
S: I would say that it is, but it slow.
N: Youve made a lot of insightful comments regarding the contents, especially from a perspective
of someone living in the region. So thank you, definitely very interesting thoughts. What content
in your opinion is most useful?
S: I would say build your own Itinerary and accommodation
M: Was there anything that you thought was unnecessary?
S: Hmm Not particularly, but many lovely pictures are missing of beautiful Sussex beaches, of
amazing attractions like the Warner Bros Studies Harry Potter film set in
HertfordshireWimbledonSurrey and Sussex villages, Brighton, Chichester Festival Theatre,
Brighton Festival theatres, Arundel Castle, pubs, winter walks National Trust properties and so
on Seems like there is a lot of information, but it is missing the small, important and interesting
parts of this region
E: Do you think that the website needs any improvement?
S: Oh yes, definitely. They should really act upon all those points that Ive mentioned. Definitely
put some quality pictures, and update their information. As there is a lot of text, it just all seems a
bit useless Also, there is much in the news right now about the lack of disabled access and
facilities in UK tourism industry. I couldnt see any mention of this on the website and it is really
disappointing they say the tourism industry is missing out on the millions that disabled people
can spend especially those from abroad. I think they should really put in some relevant
information on accessible travel.
52
M: Yes, we have seen this in the news recently as well. Also, UK is apparently aiming to become
the most accessible tourism destination by 2020, it is very debatable whether they can achieve
such status if even the websites are missing on the relevant information.
S: Are they really? I did not know that. But I am quite disappointed by the lack of this information
on the website of a regional tourism board. They should really start promoting it!
N: Did you think there is anything else in need of improvement?
S: Well, I couldnt see any maps of the region I think there should be Useful Links section. At the
moment I cant see any links on how to get to the South East. It should mention Gatwick Airport
and all the ports It is the most accessible part of the UK but you would not know it from the
website and the links are random. Transport should be a separate section and where are links to
the National Trust to the Sussex Wildlife Trust..to the RSPB sites in the south east?
E: If you were using this website to book a holiday, do you think the information and links to
external sites are easy to navigate and use?
S: Well, the information is patchy would I use it to book? Accommodation Yes. But for events
and attractions I would not be given enough of a nudge of what to see and do from this
website.it should be topical, seasonal and much more active with moving images, videos,
sounds and so on. it is not as well-known as a website as Trip Advisor and is overshadowed by
them and hotel and b&B websites.
N: When booking a holiday what websites do you usually use?
S: I normally use Lonely Planet, Expedia and Trip Advisor
N: thank you very much for your patience and such detailed answers. There is only one part left
that we wanted your opinion on.
S: It is my pleasure. What is this other part then?
M: If you could have a quick look and browse through this website (opens Visit Kent) and give us
your opinion on which one out of two you prefer.
S: Oh wow, what a difference!
N: Yes, they are quite different
S: Yes. Having just visited Visit Kent it answers everything I stressed earlier with nice big
seasonal images of Kent in snow, and on the search page there is a list of boxes of images before
you have clicked on the link. Such a great website positioning you get what you pay for but
then, I guess, you are already looking for the name. I think maybe you guys need to look at what
happens when you search visit the UK or visit Britain to see which counties/regions are suggested
first. Of course the government wants us to visit the north and Scotland to boost tourism
thereto help their economies.
53
E: It would be quite interesting to see. We are using this one in particular as Visit South East has
identified it as their main competitor.
S: Oh, I see. Yeah, that make sense.
N: Which website do you prefer in terms of content, design and structure?
S: Oh, Kent absolutely! I also love the First Timer or Know Kent? sections. Oh, and of course
Hidden Gems! That is intriguing!
M: I also found those headings very appealing on their website.
E: I think this is all we needed.
N: Thank you so much for helping us, you have provided us with some really interesting answers
and insights.
S: I am very happy that I could help you. I really hope your project goes well and good luck with
your studies!
M: Thank you
54
Appendix E - Grouped Contribution Table
55

Tourism and Hospitality Consultancy - OLEN Team

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FACULTY OF BUSINESS,

ECONOMICS AND LAW

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

REGIONAL CONSUMER WEBSITE EVALUATION GROUP REPORT

International Tourism & Hospitality Management

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

The OLEN Consultancy

Regional Consumer Website Evaluation

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

The OLEN Consultancy Team

(OLEN) is a Russian word, meaning Deer or Stag.

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

The key findings are summarised as follows:

Design the website needs to be simplified for clearer navigation.

Content the quantity of information needs to be reduced, and the quality

Social Media Enhance the experience by including a more efficient way to

Inbound Marketing Optimise the website in order to enhance the traffic

Make the design minimalistic

Creating a clearer, more memorable

Develop the content in quality,

Browsing information faster

Vivify the website through public posts

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

Bed and Breakfast

Balanced Score Card

Information Communication Technology

National Tourism Board

Search Engine Optimisation

Search Engine Results Page

Tourism South East

World Wide Web

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

Source b: Lee et al., 2006

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

Current situation of the website

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

Different approaches to measuring the effectiveness of websites specifically designed by

Early approaches to website performance monitoring and evaluation aimed at examining a

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

Table 1: Critical Success Factors for Effective WWW Sites

Source c: Morrison et al., 2004

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

Figure 4: Pull & Push Factors

Source d: Correia et. al., 2007

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

Table 2: Twitter Engagement Rates: Photo vs. Text Tweets 2014

Source e: Ratcliff, 2014

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

Figure 5: Composition of social media preferred by tourists

Source f: Xiang and Gretzel, 2010

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

Source g: Fishkin and Hgenhaven, 2013

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY CONSULTANCY (MAN3129)

The primary research mainly concentrated on gaining customers perception on usability,