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This article reports the findings of a study that examined Hong Kong online users who use travel websites for travel planning and online travel experience sharing. The empirical findings from a large-scale domestic survey conducted in 2010 reveal that 32.7% of the respondents had used at least one travel website for travel planning in the past 2 years. In addition, 24.5% of these respondents had shared their travel experience online. On the whole, the travel website users were young, highly educated, and had a high level of personal income. In general, the propensity to share travel experiences decreased with age. In contrast, education level up to college/university level positively influenced the respondents’ willingness to share travel experiences, but the propensity decreased with higher levels of education. This study, although limited in scope, will be of interest to academic researchers and industry practitioners who are seeking to better understand the behavior of travelers using the Internet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews website evaluation studies in the tourism and hospitality fields published between January 1996 and September 2009. A website evaluation framework that includes evaluation by phases, evaluation by features, and evaluation by features and effectiveness is developed. The strengths and weaknesses of each method of evaluation are analyzed, and research gaps and future research directions are explored. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]