THE USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES AS AN ELEMENT OF CREATING THE IMAGE OF A TOURISM COMPANY ON THE INTERNET

Abstract

Purpose. Analysis of opinions of Polish tourists staying in Krakow regarding the websites of tourist companies offering particular types of services. Method. To collect empirical material, surveys were conducted among Polish tourists staying in Krakow. The analytical part uses methods of analysis of structures and cross-tabulation showing the dependencies of the offer assessment of individual tourism companies on selected characteristics of respondents. Findings. The main conclusions obtained on the basis of the research were confirmation of the dominating role of accommodation and catering facilities in obtaining tourists’ opinions and a high tendency of tourists to share their opinions and memories via social media. Research and conclusions limitations. Among the main limitations that do not allow for the generalisation of results for all tourists in our country we may find the extent of data collection - of local nature. Moreover, the presented results show the online image of Kraków tourism companies perceived only by domestic tourists, which may be important for the objectivity of the obtained results. Practical implications. Among the practical implications, a clear signal should be given to selected tourism providers regarding the need to improve their image (e.g. by improving the visibility and availability of the offer). The obtained research results clearly confirm the necessity to use new technologies in the tourism industry, particularly, social media and mobile technologies, which have become the leading channels of communication and creating the image of companies on the Internet. Originality. Research in the field of evaluation concerning touristy company websites, with such a detailed breakdown into particular types of services, are not encountered in the literature. However, the issue of the image of companies on the Internet is a problem known and developed since the beginning of the 90s of the twentieth century. Type of paper. Research paper.