THE IMPORTANCE OF WEB SITES IN DESTINATION PUBLICITY: A RESEARCH ON THE WEB SITES OF MUNICIPALITIES

Abstract

Sharing information about the destination is a duty imposed on municipalities by the legislation, but it is also a public responsibility. In this context, the importance of using correct and effective promotional tools for the promotion of the destination is revealed. Websites of municipalities are one of the tools that they can use to communicate with the public and share information. In this study, the use of corporate websites of Nevşehir Municipality and district municipalities as a promotional tool and their achievements in this regard were examined. Content analysis method was used to analyze the websites of municipalities. The websites were examined considering the features that are effective in the promotion of the destination. In general, it is seen that the features used in the evaluation are included in the corporate websites of the municipalities. However, it has been observed that the use of websites for the purpose of promoting the destination is insufficient. Municipalities can use their corporate websites to influence the demand for tourism destinations. It is also possible for them to use their websites more effectively as a promotional tool. In this regard, it will be more effective to include the information about the destination in a complete, up-to-date and more attractive way on the websites. Nevşehir is an important tourism region with many attractive destinations. Despite this feature, only a few destinations have succeeded in reflecting their efforts to announce and promote their attractiveness on their respective websites. The study is important in terms of contributing to the academicians and managers who will do research on this subject.