The Visitor Experience and Perception of Information Quality at the Sydney Visitor Information Centre

Abstract This exploratory research measures visitors' perceived quality of traditional information resources (staff and brochures) at a VIC and new resources in terms of a priori usage of the World Wide Web (Web) and determines the relationship between that perceived quality and the visitor experience at the VIC. The theoretical approach adopts a model from information systems: the model of expectation-disconfirmation effects on web customer satisfaction. A survey was conducted at the Sydney VIC and visitors' perceived quality of all information ranked resources quite highly, though the Web was the lowest. The perceived quality of information received from staff and brochures at the VIC explained two-thirds of the variance of the visitor experience whilst a priori use of the Web explained none. The implications are discussed in terms of VIC provision of visitor services and the visitor experience.

[1]  P. Sheldon.  Tourism Information Technology , 1997 .

[2]  Carol Collier Kuhlthau,et al.  A Principle of Uncertainty for Information seeking , 1993, J. Documentation.

[3]  D. Fesenmaier,et al.  Expanding the functional information search model , 1998 .

[4]  T. D. Wilson,et al.  Models in information behaviour research , 1999, J. Documentation.

[5]  Ephraim R. McLean,et al.  Information Systems Success: The Quest for the Dependent Variable , 1992, Inf. Syst. Res..

[6]  Alastair M. Morrison,et al.  Destination Marketing Organizations' Web Site Users and Nonusers: A Comparison of Actual Visits and Revisit Intentions , 2003, J. Inf. Technol. Tour..

[7]  John D'Ambra,et al.  Use of the World Wide Web for international travel: Integrating the construct of uncertainty in information seeking and the task-technology fit (TTF) model , 2004, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[8]  Thompson S. H. Teo.  Demographic and motivation variables associated with Internet usage activities , 2001, Internet Res..

[9]  Christine T. Kydd,et al.  Individual characteristics associated with World Wide Web use: an empirical study of playfulness and motivation , 1997, DATB.

[10]  B. Murray,et al.  A Model of Tourist Information Search Behavior , 1999 .

[12]  Ben Booth.  Information for visitors to cultural attractions , 1998, J. Inf. Sci..

[13]  B. Murray,et al.  A Typology of Tourist Information Search Strategies , 1998 .

[14]  Detmar W. Straub,et al.  Measuring System Usage: Implications for IS Theory Testing , 1995 .

[15]  Albert L. Lederer,et al.  The technology acceptance model and the World Wide Web , 2000, Decis. Support Syst..

[16]  Olivia R. Liu Sheng,et al.  Examining the Technology Acceptance Model Using Physician Acceptance of Telemedicine Technology , 1999, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[17]  H C Triandis,et al.  Values, attitudes, and interpersonal behavior. , 1980, Nebraska Symposium on Motivation. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation.

[18]  Dimitrios Buhalis,et al.  eTourism: Information technology for strategic tourism management , 2003 .

[19]  Viswanath Venkatesh,et al.  A Longitudinal Investigation of Personal Computers in Homes: Adoption Determinants and Emerging Challenges , 2001, MIS Q..

[20]  Thomas Bieger,et al.  Information Sources for Travel Decisions: Toward a Source Process Model , 2004 .

[21]  Rolph E. Anderson,et al.  Multivariate Data Analysis with Readings , 1979 .

[22]  Thomas D. Wilson,et al.  Exploring models of information behaviour: the 'uncertainty' project , 1999, Inf. Process. Manag..

[23]  John D'Ambra,et al.  Emerging factors in user evaluation of the World Wide Web , 2001, Inf. Manag..

[24]  Nicholas J. Belkin,et al.  Ask for Information Retrieval: Part I. Background and Theory , 1997, J. Documentation.

[25]  Amanda Spink,et al.  Information seeking and mediated searching: Part 2. Uncertainty and its correlates , 2002, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[26]  Dimitrios Buhalis.  Strategic use of information technologies in the tourism industry , 1998 .

[27]  A. Spink,et al.  Uncertainty and its correlates , 2000 .

[28]  C. Kuhlthau.  The Concept of a Zone of Intervention for Identifying the Role of Intermediaries in the Information Search Process. , 1996 .

[29]  Bernadette Szajna,et al.  Empirical evaluation of the revised technology acceptance model , 1996 .

[30]  Information Search Behavior of Mainland Chinese Air Travelers to Hong Kong , 2004 .

[31]  Nicholas J. Belkin,et al.  Ask for Information Retrieval: Part II. Results of a Design Study , 1982, J. Documentation.

[32]  Albert H. Segars,et al.  Assessing the unidimensionality of measurement : a paradigm and illustration within the context of information systems research , 1997 .

[33]  Elena Karahanna,et al.  Time Flies When You're Having Fun: Cognitive Absorption and Beliefs About Information Technology Usage , 2000, MIS Q..

[34]  Richard A. Spreng,et al.  A Reexamination of the Determinants of Consumer Satisfaction , 1996 .

[35]  Fatemeh Zahedi,et al.  The Measurement of Web-Customer Satisfaction: An Expectation and Disconfirmation Approach , 2002, Inf. Syst. Res..

[36]  Dennis L. Hoffman,et al.  Marketing in Hypermedia Computer-Mediated Environments : Conceptual Foundations 1 ) , 1998 .

[37]  Marios Koufaris,et al.  Applying the Technology Acceptance Model and Flow Theory to Online Consumer Behavior , 2002, Inf. Syst. Res..

[38]  Peter O'Connor,et al.  Electronic Information Distribution in Tourism and Hospitality , 1999 .

[39]  Detmar W. Straub,et al.  Structural Equation Modeling and Regression: Guidelines for Research Practice , 2000, Commun. Assoc. Inf. Syst..