This research addresses the usability issues that are essential particularly for e-tourism websites: how easy or difficult is it for individuals to use and interact with online travel portals? Usability is a measure of quality of a website’s presence. As high usability is a key component of overall user satisfaction, this research focuses on a specific online travel website, Tiscover, to find out critical usability criteria from the point of view of online users.
Extensive research about usability and its respective criteria is centre of this paper, together with insight of the rise and current status of e-tourism. E-tourism has gained a lot of importance in today’s consumer society as gathering information for tourism destinations and online booking have become commonplace.
Literature about usability together with e-tourism is scarce and therefore it becomes a challenge to explore these two important aspects of the Internet in depth.
Six interviews with experienced Internet users were conducted. The emphasis was on the website’s homepage and booking process which consists of five different steps. The research is based on the usability-testing method and was analysed via the content analysis to provide rich findings and determine critical usability factors.
Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 RESEARCH QUESTION & OBJECTIVES
1.2 PRESENTATION AND OVERVIEW OF THE COMPANY
1.2.1 Who is going to benefit from this research?
1.2.2 Expected outcome
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 ORIGIN OF USABILITY
2.2 DEFINING USABILITY FOR THIS RESEARCH
2.3 IMPORTANT USABILITY CRITERIA
2.4 THE EMERGE OF E-TOURISM
3 METHODOLOGY
3.1 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.2 USABILITY-TESTING METHOD
3.3 SAMPLE & INTERVIEW PROCEDURE
4 ANALYSIS & RESULTS
4.1 STEP 0 – HOME
4.2 STEP 1 – SEARCH
4.3 STEP 2 – RESULTS
4.4 STEP 3 – DETAILS
4.5 STEP 4 – DATA INPUT
4.6 HOW DID PARTICIPANTS PERCEIVE TISCOVER’S WEBSITE?
4.7 ANSWER TO THE RESEARCH QUESTION
5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 LIMITATIONS
5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS
5.3 SUMMARY
6 REFERENCES
Research Objectives and Themes
This research aims to identify essential usability criteria for e-tourism websites by analyzing the booking process of the platform Tiscover. The study explores how usability issues influence user satisfaction and the conversion rate in an online travel context, ultimately seeking to optimize the user experience through qualitative findings.
- Analysis of web usability definitions and core principles.
- Evaluation of the current e-tourism market and its growth.
- Empirical investigation via usability-testing and semi-structured interviews.
- Identification of critical usability factors within a five-step booking process.
- Formulation of recommendations to improve website attractiveness and booking completion rates.
Excerpt from the Book
4.1 Step 0 – Home
“The homepage is your company’s face to the world” was once stated by the usability guru Jakob Nielsen (www.useit.com) and it seems logical to include it as a category for this research.
The first impression of participants of Tiscover’s homepage was ranked even. According to one part it seemed not to be clearly structured and reflecting a chaotic organisation of the site itself. They stated that Tiscover offered too many booking possibilities but not providing any leading instructions where each user with his/her specific needs should click on. During the scanning process of the homepage the participants also realised that the content of these booking choices contained more or less the same, saying that there is hardly any differentiation between “International” and “Top Resorts.” Observations also revealed that the design may have a decent visual appearance but the message of this site is not stated clearly.
Interestingly all of the interviewees were convinced that users who tend to search on this website for a certain destination would need to have a specific goal in order to complete their task successfully. “I would not use the website if I didn’t know where exactly I wanted to go.” Another declaration, confirming the statement above, was “if I was a Luser (Loser + user) I would be confronted with difficulties, I cannot see any guidance where I should click, it’s all up to me.” This statement justifies a definition for web usability that was formulated by Steve Krug and used for this research i.e. “A webpage should be self-evident, obvious and self-explanatory.“
Summary of Chapters
1 INTRODUCTION: Outlines the research question regarding usability in e-tourism and provides an overview of the company Tiscover.
2 LITERATURE REVIEW: Reviews foundational literature on web usability, human-computer interaction, and the development of the e-tourism industry.
3 METHODOLOGY: Describes the qualitative research design, specifically focusing on usability-testing and the think-aloud method used with participants.
4 ANALYSIS & RESULTS: Details the findings of the empirical study, analyzing the five steps of the Tiscover booking process and evaluating user perceptions.
5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Summarizes the study’s results, discusses research limitations, and provides actionable recommendations for e-tourism website design.
6 REFERENCES: Lists the academic and professional sources cited throughout the research.
Keywords
Web Usability, E-Tourism, User Experience, Booking Process, Tiscover, Human-Computer Interaction, Qualitative Research, Think-Aloud Method, Content Analysis, Online Travel Portal, Navigation Design, User Interface, Customer Satisfaction, Search Functionality, Travel Planning.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The research examines the relationship between web usability criteria and the efficiency of the online booking process within the e-tourism sector, using the travel portal Tiscover as a case study.
What are the primary themes addressed?
The paper focuses on usability principles, user navigation behavior, the decision-making process of online travelers, and the impact of website design on business conversion.
What is the research question?
The research question is: How should Tiscover design its usability features in order to optimize the booking process?
Which methodology is employed?
The study uses a qualitative approach, combining usability-testing with the think-aloud method to observe and analyze the user experience during a mock booking process.
What does the main analysis cover?
The analysis is structured into five distinct phases: the Homepage, Search, Results, Details, and Data Input, identifying specific pain points that lead users to abandon the booking process.
Which keywords characterize the work?
Key terms include Web Usability, E-Tourism, User Experience, Booking Process, and Tiscover.
How does Tiscover’s homepage layout impact users?
Participants perceived the homepage as chaotic and lacking clear guidance, noting that the absence of a "self-evident" structure made it difficult to determine where to begin the booking process.
Why do users tend to abandon the booking process at the data input phase?
Users reported significant confusion regarding unclear fields, such as "co-insured" status, and contradictory or missing information regarding deposits and down payments, which destroyed their trust in the transaction.
What role do error messages play in the observed user experience?
Poorly defined error messages during search and data input were cited as major frustrations; they often provided no specific guidance, leaving users in a "blind alley" and ultimately discouraged them from continuing.
- Quote paper
- Leyla Abolahrar (Author), 2008, Exploring the relevance of usability criteria to the booking process in e-tourism, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/145162
