The role of information technology in tourism destination marketing

The aim of this research is to understand the relationship between information technology, knowledge management and tourism destination marketing in the context of Iran and the Persian Gulf States.The findings of three surveys of experts, users and the interviews would help tourism authorities in these countries to improve and develop tourism marketing through: design and content of their official website; understand what attracts tourists towards their destination;manage knowledge transfer within their organization.In this study, it was recognized that a travel related website needs the cooperation of three areas of expertise: computer experts for the technical aspects of a website,the information professionals for the content and information point of view and tourism for the sake of travel information. This study is helpful for other researchers and future studies as it is one of the first examinations of e-tourism in Persian Gulf States;it is the earliest attempt of studying knowledge management and e-tourism in Persian Gulf States;it is one of the studies which carries out empirical work such as interviews with authorities of national tourism organization in the region.