• Site Planning Tips
• Site Design Tips
• Site Content Tips
• Site Management Tips
• Internal Marketing and Market Intelligence Tips

 

3. Specify your target market(s) according to age, income, marital status, gender, education and so forth.

4. Match your target markets with the activities/attractions available in your region.

For example, travellers aged between 18 and 25 may enjoy activities such as bungy jumping, skydiving or hiking.

5. Design the site based on identified target markets to ensure that you offer something for each market segment.

For example, your site may have a conventions section, a family section, an adventure section and so forth.

 

Interactivity

1. Ensure that your address, phone and fax details are easily accessible from the homepage.

2. Add features such as e-mail, forms, hyperlinks, contests, interactive maps and interactive travel planners to enhance the interactivity of your site.

3. Give one person the responsibility for checking e-mail at least once a day to ensure a prompt response to queries. This task is best suited to the promotions, marketing or public relations officer/ manager.

4. Consider adding an online reservations facility on behalf of your industry members.

Navigation

5. Ensure visitors can find their way around your site by providing navigational aids such as menus, icons and a site index.

6. Display a consistent set of menu items on each page so that users do not have to return to the homepage in order to get to other parts of your site.

7. Consider arranging your site in a hierarchy based on your target markets rather than using an approach based on industry sectors or regions/towns.

Functionality

8. Utilise multimedia such as colour, graphics, sound and video to enhance your site but be aware that these features can prolong download time.

9. Optimise download time by:

• reducing the size and colours of images
• using ‘thumbnails’ (see full report)
• using the same images on multiple pages

10. Consider adding information in other languages to assist potential international visitors (eg. German, French, Japanese).

11. Enhance brand recognition by displaying a consistent corporate identity (such as a logo) throughout your site.

12. Use features such as a ‘last revised’ date and a ‘what’s new’ section to give users an idea of the currency of your pages.

13. Consider adding downloadable versions of key brochures in portable document format (PDF).

 

Readability

2. Present text in small paragraphs broken up by headings or highlighted keywords to make it easy for users to find and read the information they need.

3. Limit the amount of text per page to between 200 – 500 words.

4. Provide printable versions of web pages containing key information such as prices, contact details, events, maps and so forth.

Integrity

5. Enhance the integrity of your site by:

• identifying the site as the ‘official’ source
• adding an ‘about us’ section
• including quotes from satisfied visitors
• listing awards or commendations

6. Consider adding information for non-travel markets such as the media, children, travel writers, school students and film scouts.

Value added features

7. Make use of features such as virtual postcards and giveaways (such as screensavers and wallpaper images) to add value to your site.

8. Include links to relevant information that you cannot provide on your own site.

Examples include the Australian Tourist Commission sites, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and state tourism sites.

Marketing Mix

9. Use the eight P’s of tourism marketing (see full report) as a framework for presenting a more complete range of content.

 

Maintenance

1. Revise and update your site at least once a month to provide a feeling of ‘freshness’ and to remove outdated information and links.

Promotion

2. Use an integrated approach that utilises both traditional and online promotional media to help visitors find your site.

3. When submitting your site to a search engine, use a combination of keywords based on specific:

• product strengths (eg. rainforest, reef, outback, tropical);
• activities (eg. white-water rafting, bungy jumping adventure); and
• geographic terms (eg. Australia, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Ayers Rock)

4. Generate media releases highlighting the launch, success or refurbishment of your site and promoting its features.

Resources

5. Ensure that you are able to commit sufficient financial resources for both the creation and maintenance of the web site. As a rule of thumb, you should expect annual maintenance costs to be about 1/3 of the initial outlay.

6. Ensure that individuals in your organisation receive appropriate training to develop basic skills and knowledge in dealing with the Internet.

7. Ensure that you have access to appropriate physical resources such as computers and software to maintain your site and to respond to e-mail.

 

Internal marketing

1. Encourage the use of e-mail as a communications tool amongst employees and between organisations.

2. Consider establishing an Intranet to share internal information such as draft reports, project progress reports, human resource information, financial records, destination database information, proposals, contacts and newsletters.

Market Intelligence

3. Use the Internet to gather marketing information by:

• obtaining customer feedback through electronic means,
• analysing the online marketing efforts of competitors, and
• using online resources