Information Usefulness of Tourism Destination Websites: California, Florida, and New York

The ability travelers have to learn about the destination, explore and visualize activities and events, and book accommodations through the destinations' websites likely affects tourism visit behavior. Information availability, utility, and value of information on websites are the essential factors in the process of planning a vacation. This study compares the websites of America's three largest tourist destination states: California (visitcalifornia.com), Florida (visitflorida.com), and New York (iloveny.com). The study compares the three destination websites' quality, quantity, and utility through an evaluation rubric comprised of 22 attributes. One hypothesis that the study examines is that destination websites are assessable in order of good, better, best. The findings indicate that California provides the most useful and valuable information and is easiest to use. The assessment of visitcalifornia.com as the best website is the result of applying attribute rubrics covering hotel booking, events calendars, maps, and ability to create a trip.