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TRAVEL/TOURISM: GENERAL RESOURCES


BUBL LINK: World Travel and Tourism

•  Links to 28 travel/tourism-related sites, including “gateways,” city/destination guides, travel health information, lodging, transportation, “travel images”
•  Each link is annotated; includes a brief description, author/sponsoring body, resource type
•  International in scope, but primarily from the U.K. and the U.S.A.
•  Not extensive, but a great place to begin research

Digital Librarian: Travel

•  Maintained by Margaret Vail Anderson
•  Browsable directory of over 300 travel/tourism Internet resources, including state, national and international sites, associations, government sites, transportation, “special interest”
•  Brief annotations accompany many sites
•  Excellent; sites are well-chosen and representative of the basic types of travel-tourism information on the Internet; a good place for beginning researchers to familiarize themselves with this field

Free Reference Lists

•  Maintained by Andrew Yiannakis, Laboratory for Leisure, Tourism and Sport, University of Connecticut
•  Links to 68 bibliographies on travel-tourism, leisure and sports, including such topics as sports tourism, leisure/tourism motivation, tourism forecasting/time series analysis
•  Bibliographies compiled primarily by PhD candidates
•  Excellent; most bibliographies were compiled in the mid-to-late 1990’s, but are still very useful for anyone doing in-depth research

Free Travel Guides

•  Sponsored by Travelinformation.com
•  Provides links for online ordering of free travel brochures, vacation guides, maps, and travel planning kits
•  Primarily for the U.S., but includes travel-related materials from Canada
•  Most of these publications are produced by state tourism departments and city visitors’ bureaus
•  Annotations accompany links
•  Excellent; very useful for convenient vacation planning; easy-to-navigate

Hospitality & Tourism Complete  (JWU Database)

•  Restricted to the Johnson & Wales Univ. community
•  “A bibliographic database covering scholarly research and industry news relating to all areas of hospitality and tourism”
•  “Contains more than 480,000 records from 500 titles, with coverage going back to the mid-1960s”
•  Scope is domestic and international
•  Searchable by keyword; browsable by “Subject Terms”
•  Excellent abstracts accompany each citation or full-text article
•  May limit search results to full-text articles, peer-reviewed journals, specific publications, chronological parameters
•  This outstanding, comprehensive database is indispensable for conducting industry research for all sectors of the hospitality industry

Hospitality Links: Travel and Tourism

•  Maintained by the School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University
•  This directory links to over 190 sites for 7 sectors of the travel/tourism industry, including “General Travel Resources,” industry/professional organizations (national and international), regional travel (region and state), travel agencies/tour operators
•  Links are accompanied by excellent annotations
•  Outstanding; one of the best online directories for the industry; particularly useful for commercial sites


Office of Travel & Tourism Industries (OTTI)

•  Sponsored by the International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce,
OTTI is a federal agency which compiles statistics on the USA’s travel-tourism industry, with special attention to the impact of inbound tourism and the development of the U.S. travel industry in general
•  Provides news and statistics for world regions (and a limited number of countries), including inbound and outbound travel and market research/analysis
•  Statistical data may be downloaded; some reports are available for a fee
•  Free newsletter
•  Industry news archived from 1998
•  Outstanding resource for quantitative data on the travel/tourism industry


Tom Rourke’s Home Page

•  Created and maintained by Tom Rourke, Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and Public Affairs, Clemson University
•  Links to sites for the following travel/tourism topics and issues: ecotourism, travel tips (health, travel advisories, etc.), “travel hubs,” discount travel, lodging, destinations, journals/magazines, outdoor recreation, conferences
•  No annotations or evaluative commentary
•  Emphasis is on government and industry links
•  Excellent; informal in nature, this site connects to links which are representative of the basic types of travel/tourism information on the Internet; a good place for beginning researchers to familiarize themselves with the travel-tourism field


Tourism and Travel Information From the States Themselves

•  Maintained by Patrick Wall
•  “Designed to help a potential traveler find information about the state that is their intended destination; … a way for one to get an idea of what a particular state sees as its best features”
•  “All of the links here are to sites set up and maintained by the individual state governments”
•  Some sites link directly to a state’s department of tourism; others may be accessed through a state’s homepage
•  Annotations accompany the link to a state’s resources; these provide commentary on a state’s most significant attractions
•  Excellent guide to states’ travel/tourism resources; annotations are especially useful


Tourism Offices Worldwide Directory (TOWD)

•  “Your guide to official tourism information online since 1994”
•  Links only to official government tourism sites, convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce for the USA and worldwide
•  “Businesses such as travel agents, tour operators, and hotels are not included”
•  Links for foreign countries include national tourism agencies (including branches in other countries and regional/city links)
•  US links are to state tourist bureaus and regional/city links
•  Excellent; one of the best and most direct sources for official tourism information for the USA and the world

Tourism Research Links

•  Compiled and maintained by Rene Waksberg, Tourism Exchange Company (Canada)
•  “Intended for use by tourism researchers, NOT travelers”
•  Links to the following: conferences, event management, government, journals, news, organizations (academic and professional), resource management, sustainable development, transportation, consultants
•  No annotations or evaluative commentary
•  Primary emphasis is on Canada, the USA and the British Commonwealth
•  Also links to sites for schools with tourism programs, to technology-oriented sites and career information
•  Outstanding; great place for accessing many of the best professional, academic and industry sites in the English-speaking world

Travel & Geography Resources: The Best of the Internet

•  Sponsored by the New Hampshire State Library
•  Links to over 70 sites for the following: travel guides/directories, accommodations, airlines/transportation, geography/maps, health/safety issues, online travel agencies, specialty travel resources
•  Short annotations accompany each link
•  Although not comprehensive, this easy-to-navigated page has an excellent selection of links for the topics listed above; a great place for beginning research

Travel & Tourism

•  Sponsored by the Internet Public Library (IPL)
•  Links to 45 travel/tourism websites representing many of the most useful sites for accommodations, associations, guides, health, transportation and niche/specialty sites
•  Annotations accompanies each link
•  Links to IPL sub-pages for 9 region-specific sites, news, magazines, associations
•  Like other IPL internet guides, this one is excellent for the quality of its links, ease-of-navigation and suitability for users of varying degrees of research skills


Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA)

•  An international professional association for travel/tourism providers and researchers; “encourages professional development “ and standards for the travel/tourism industry
•  Sponsors “The Journal of Travel Research”
•  Provides information about TTRA’s services and activities, including membership, conference information, publications, calendar, industry links
•  Excellent; one of the most well-known and respected organizations in the industry


Travel Channel

•  Sponsored by the Discovery Channel
•  Wide-ranging site for a variety of travel-oriented topics and services, including schedules and program information for the Travel Channel’s TV station
•  “Destination Guides” profiles countries, including information on culture, environment, history, travel costs, transportation, attractions, best time to visit; provides similar information for a limited number of cities worldwide
•  Also links to general travel tips and booking information (airfares, car rentals, cruises, lodging)
•  Free newsletter (registration required); also provides information for subscribing to free newsletters from other Discovery Channel stations (Animal Planet, The Learning Channel, etc.)
•  Excellent; offers a great deal of practical and entertaining information for travel planning


Travel Industry Association of America (TIA)

•  Established in 1941, the TIA is one of the oldest and foremost nonprofit organizations in the travel/tourism industry
•  “TIA’s mission is to represent the whole of the U.S. travel and tourism industry to promote and facilitate increased travel to, and within, the United States”
•  “Web Site Links” (accessed through “About TIA”) to 11 categories of travel/tourism information; links to industry/professional organizations and to federal/regional/state government sites are especially useful; no annotations or evaluative commentary, however
•  Includes information on TIA’s initiatives, programs, publications, news/communications, meetings/events, membership information and related organizational information
•  This is a “mixed” site, i.e., it has both free links and links which are accessible only to members; ”Research” offers access to reports on industry trends, industry statistics and additional data to members
•  Outstanding; even though some data is restricted to members, what is available at no cost is excellent and worthwhile for users interested in industry research

Travel Industry Dictionary

•  Sponsored by the Home-Based Travel Agent Resource Center and The Intrepid Traveler
•  Provides definitions for abbreviations, acronyms and terms for the travel/tourism industry
•  Free newsletter
•  Very useful, especially for obscure or highly specialized terms

Travel-Library.com

•  Directory of links to many aspects of trip planning and general travel/tourism information
•  May be browsed by region or country
•  Links to sites for accommodations, tour operators/travel agents, “Travelogues” (personal narratives written by travelers)
•  “How to Get There” links to standard methods of transportation, but includes such unusual modes as motorcycles and freighters
•  Includes travel news
•  Best feature of this page is “Round-The-World Travel Guide,” which provides extensive commentary and well-chosen links for the following elements of trip planning to specific locales: “major decisions,” transportation, accommodations, money issues, health and safety, population-specific travel, communications, “final considerations,” information resources
• Outstanding; one of the best and most thorough overall travel/tourism sites, especially for the complete process of trip planning

Travel on the Web

•  Written by Brian Coutts, Department of Library Public Services, Western Kentucky University, for the August 2004 issue of College & Research Library News
•  Excellent overview of over 60 of the “best, reliable travel sources”
•  Links to destination research, travel guides, travel bookstores, maps, transportation, accommodations
•  Outstanding; with excellent annotations for all links, this is one of the premier sites for anyone interested in vacation/travel planning

Travel Resources on the Internet

•  Maintained by the Morton Grove Public Library (Illinois)
•  Directory of links to over 50 sites for the following topics: destination research, travel health, transportation, lodging, budget travel, ”What’s Left to Do” (currency conversion, language skills, weather, packing, consumers’ rights)
•  Brief but incisive annotations accompany each link
•  Updated December 2004
•  This “Webrary” guide provides an excellent overview for anyone interested in familiarizing oneself with travel/tourism; easy-to-navigate

World Tourism Organization (WTO)

•  An international organization under United Nations auspices which “aims at stimulating economic growth and job creation, providing incentives protecting the environment and cultural heritage, and promoting peace, prosperity and respect for rights”
•  Membership of 144 countries and over 300 “affiliate members” (local governments, private sector companies, tourism associations, industry practitioners)
•  Site provides information about membership, press releases, educational programs, statistics, regional activities
•  “Publications” include The Yearbook of Tourism Statistics and The Compendium of Tourism Statistics; over 160 additional titles are available
•  “Projects” include “The Tourism Recovery and Crisis Management,” “Child Prostitution and Tourism Watch,” “Global Code of Ethics,” and “Safety & Security Issues”
•  “Facts & Figures” includes statistical data (receipts & expenditures) for international tourism, world trends
•  Also available in French, Russian and Spanish
•  While much of the site is available to all, some research data is accessible only to members
•  Outstanding resource for up-to-date information for travel/tourism issues and trends; particularly useful for data on members


WorldofTourism.net

•  Compiled and maintained by Glenn A.J. Bowdin, School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Leeds Metropolitan University (UK)
•  “Aims to provide links to relevant information for tourism and travel industry professionals, educators, students and researchers”
•  Links to career information conferences, education/training, industry resources, journals, statistics, suppliers’ directories
•  Outstanding; one of the best resources for industry/professional information and commercial links

Yahoo! Directory Travel

•  Links to over 12,000 travel/tourism-related sites for 48 categories including general information, destinations, transportation, lodging, niche-specific sites (budget travel, cruises, ecotourism, etc.), population-specific sites (disabled, family travel, seniors, women), publications, travel health information, industry/professional organizations
•  Most categories are subdivided; for example, “Cruises” subdivides into 13 sub-categories
•  Minimal annotations accompany most links
•  Excellent; this constantly updated directory is probably the most comprehensive site online; especially useful for links to commercial sites Websites discussed on this page are for informational purposes only. Johnson & Wales University Library is not responsible for the accuracy, content or stability of any website linked to this page.

Compiled by Rick Keogh, 7/02; latest update 4/09

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