What Network Analysis of the Www Can Tell Us about the Organisation of Tourism Destinations

This research examines the comparative characteristics of two tourism destinations based on quantitative analysis of the network of hyperlinks among their tourism operators’ websites. Methods and techniques of the “science of networks” are used to characterise and compare the static and dynamic characteristics of a tourism destinations webspace. Network metrics are proposed as quantitative assessments of collaboration and cooperation among destination stakeholders. Using two cases, Fiji islands and the island of Elba (Italy), we show that the networks exhibit a topology similar to that characterising many complex social systems which have been studied and reported in the literature. The differences found of these tourism networks from other types appear due to the relatively poor connectivity among the elements of the networks. The structural characteristics are then interpreted in terms of the evolutionary growth of tourism destinations.