Abstract:

Abstract In line with the increasing use of digital information by tourists in making their holiday booking decisions, this study aims to explore and compare the websites of 5 star hotels in Bodrum, Turkey. The study, particularly, aims to investigate and determine the effectiveness and efficiency of the websites of these hotels. Bodrum, has been especially chosen for the study, as in 2021, Bodrum was selected as one of the top 100 World’s Greatest Places in the World by the Time magazine. Given the volume of readership of the Time magazine, a further influx of tourists is expected to this resort in the following tourist seasons. The data set was analysed by using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) and frequency tables were generated regarding the various aspects of marketing communications efficiency and effectiveness of the websites of the hotels. Based on some of the common weakness identified, recommendations were made for the practitioners, hotel owners and managers in the region, in designing/re-designing their websites and other marketing communications activities in the future. The study shows that there are variations among the hotels in terms of the value they have attached to their websites as a promotional tool.

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