Tourism, safety, and health information provided on European country websites: a content analysis

• Autor(a) principal: Smith, Matthew
• Data de Publicação: 2017
• Outros Autores: Amorim, Éricka
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.34624/rtd.v1i27/28.8753

This study assessed the content provided on national tourism websites of 28 European countries. Websites were evaluated for content presented based on 36 topics related to categories of destination/promotion (n = 14 topics), safety/security (n = 11 topics), local authority contacts (n = 3 topics), and health/healthcare (n = 8 topics). A content analysis was conducted for official tourism websites utilizing a content rubric containing 36 topics. The percent of topics represented on official websites ranged from 25.0% to 83.3%. Approximately 61% (n = 17) of countries reported information about 50% or more of the topics contained in the rubric. In terms of  destination/promotion, all 28 official websites contained information about characteristics of main cities (100%), and each website provided recommendations to tourists regarding destinations to visit (100%), cultural attractions (100%), and natural attractions (100%). However, only 35.7% of websites contained information about the security status of the country or in specific regions/cities, 25% reported information about dangerous locations as related to criminality or terrorism, and 39.3% of websites provided recommendations about ways in which to avoid criminality or terrorism. Findings reveal highlights opportunities for improved efforts to meet the specific needs and behaviors of tourists visiting Europe.