DMO Websites and the Role of Complementary Media in Tourism Advertising

ABSTRACT

While destination marketing organizations' (DMO) websites are increasingly popular in tourism advertising, this study examined the extent to which DMO website advertising is effective when complemented by several offline advertising media. As the combination of website and local/state travel guide advertising results in high tourist visitation/impact, it was concluded that DMOs should not yet abandon their print advertising in favor of the Internet. A comparison of DMO website users and non-users revealed that the website users generate a stronger impact on the destination than the nonusers.

KEYWORDS:

• Internet
• information search
• tourism advertising
• DMO websites