The Role of the Internet as a Tool to Search for Tourist Information

The internet has become the main tool to search for information. This is particularly the case for the tourism industry, where online searches are becoming increasingly popular. The ongoing growth of e-commerce has ruptured the existing relationship with the old management information systems and products. Given the vast range of available information, search and meta-search engines have become key elements in gaining a competitive advantage and establishing differentiation strategies within the sector. This paper aims to compare tourism e-commerce search engines and meta-search engines based on website structure and content. It analyses the main attributes and categories found to create clusters and a ranking from which to compare the position of search and meta-search engines from the perspective of the supplier, as opposed to that of the traditional consumer market preference. This paper will contribute to the industry by providing valuable information for best management practices about the tourism website's structure and offering, and determining factor in implementing successful strategies.