Bridges: a tourist attraction and iconic element at urban cities’ tourism promotion websites

IF 3 Q2 HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM

International Journal of Tourism Cities Pub Date : 2023-08-28 DOI:10.1108/ijtc-06-2023-0119

L. Florido-Benítez

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Purpose The nuclear purpose of this research paper is to analyse representative bridges around the world as a tourist attraction and iconic element through destination marketing organisations’ (DMOs’) tourism official websites where these are localised and three online travel agencies’ (OTAs’) websites. Design/methodology/approach This research used a mixed method. The author carried out Google research (13 March 2023) that included the following search word string “iconic bridges around the world” and “the most famous bridges worldwide” to select the most relevant bridges around the globe. Moreover, this research used a content analysis to examine how Expedia, Booking and Orbitz OTAs promote the bridges through their websites in terms of a tourist attraction, iconic element, tourist package, images and information. Findings Findings suggest that the most representative bridges analysed in this study are promoted as iconic element and tourist attraction through DMOs’ websites. Nevertheless, Booking, Expedia and Orbitz OTAs promote and sell products and services related to bridges selected, except in the case of the Millau Viaduct in France, the Si-O-Se-Pol bridge in Iran, the Danyang Kunshan Grand bridge in China and the Royal Gorge in the USA. Furthermore, results support that OTAs need to enhance the quality and variety of products and services that are linked to iconic bridges sightseeing tours because at the moment, there is a great uniformity in the promotion of products and services provided. Originality/value This paper contributes to broader debates in the importance of bridges as a tourist attraction and iconic element to attract tourists through tourism promotion websites.

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桥梁:城市旅游推广网站中的一个旅游景点和标志性元素

本研究论文的核心目的是通过目的地营销组织(DMOs)的旅游官方网站(这些网站是本地化的)和三家在线旅行社(ota)的网站，分析世界各地具有代表性的桥梁作为旅游景点和标志性元素。设计/方法/方法这项研究采用了混合方法。作者进行了谷歌研究(2023年3月13日)，包括以下搜索词字符串“世界各地的标志性桥梁”和“世界上最著名的桥梁”，以选择全球最相关的桥梁。此外，本研究还采用了内容分析的方法，考察了Expedia、Booking和Orbitz在线旅行社是如何通过其网站在旅游景点、标志性元素、旅游套餐、图片和信息等方面推广桥梁的。研究结果表明，本研究中分析的最具代表性的桥梁通过dmo的网站被推广为标志性元素和旅游景点。然而，Booking、Expedia和Orbitz在线旅行社推广和销售与所选桥梁相关的产品和服务，但法国的米洛高架桥、伊朗的Si-O-Se-Pol大桥、中国的丹阳昆山大桥和美国的皇家峡谷除外。此外，研究结果表明，在线旅行社需要提高与标志性桥梁观光旅游相关的产品和服务的质量和种类，因为目前所提供的产品和服务的推广非常统一。原创性/价值本文对桥梁作为旅游景点和通过旅游推广网站吸引游客的标志性元素的重要性进行了更广泛的讨论。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Tourism Cities HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM-

CiteScore

5.90

自引率

11.50%

发文量

期刊介绍： A peer-reviewed journal, the International Journal of Tourism Cities provides an international forum for the critical study of urban tourism and tourism cities. The journal aims to be inter-disciplinary in its appreciation of tourism cities and tourism in urban areas, and welcomes original, theoretically-informed articles from those involved in the planning, management or marketing of tourism in city destination or places adjoining urban areas. Urban tourism and travel cover many disciplines and impinge on numerous aspects of daily life within cities. Moreover, they play a key role in domestic and international tourism in most countries, and cities often function as key travel gateways and tourism destinations. The International Journal of Tourism Cities contents include primary research articles, expert discussions on current urban tourism issues, and tourism city case studies. Articles are selected that are relevant to both academics and practitioners. The journal particularly encourages contributions on contemporary topics and issues in urban tourism including smart cities and tourism, environmental impact and sustainable tourism development in cities, citizen and stakeholder involvement in tourism, city destination governance, and the development of policies and standards for city tourism development. The International Journal of Tourism Cities has four distinct purposes: To encourage greater research and scholarship related to tourism in urban settings. To stimulate more interdisciplinary research on tourism in cities, particularly the integration of tourism and urban studies theories and principles. To generate more research studies on tourism at the edge of cities, where urban and rural areas converge. To create more literature on best practices in city tourism worldwide through in-depth analyses and the production of exemplary case studies.