Website Marketing Communication in Health Tourism: A Content Analysis of Website Attributes of Thermal Tourism Facilities in Turkey

The aim of this exploratory study is to analyze the effectiveness of website communications regarding thermal tourism and to evaluate the website attributes of thermal tourism facilities in Turkey. In order to achieve this aim, seven main categories (contact information, general information, facility information, thermal/medical and wellness services information, surrounding area information, booking and external contracts information, and technical items) and 55 sub-items are identified. Then websites are analyzed with a content analysis method. One hundred and sixty four thermal facilities in Turkey could be listed and accepted as the population. Systematic sampling method was used with a sample size of 33 thermal facilities. After the frequency analysis, results showed that most of the thermal facilities do not have an efficient website management in Turkey. Although official websites are very critical tools for effective marketing communication, thermal facilities are utilizing only a small potential of their websites.

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