Analysis of Perceived Quality of Information Resources and A Priori Web Usage at the Sydney Visitor Information Centre

This paper considers the change in information seeking behaviour of tourists as a result of the increased use of the World Wide Web as an information resource in the context of information services provided by visitor information centres (VICs). The theoretical approach adopts a model from information systems: the model of expectation-disconfirmation effects on web customer satisfaction. The paper proposes that VICs are analogous to an information system and that visitor experience at the VIC is partially explained by perception of the quality of its information resources and a prior use of the web. A survey was conducted at the Sydney VIC resulting in 519 responses. The perceived information quality of staff and brochures used at the centre explained half of the variance of the visitor experience; a priori use of the web did not explain any of the variance. The implications for VICs’ strategic information resource management are discussed.