Microsoft Word 2007 ichrie conference Proceedings Final-Final 06-06-07. doc

Key Words
: Competitive benchmarking; website evaluation; tourism destination website; Dubai 
INTRODUCTION 
Dubai is an ambitious competitor for tourism business. The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce 
Marketing (DTCM) is charged with “… the international promotion of Dubai’s commerce and tourism interests …” 
and “… the planning, supervision and development of the tourism sector in the emirate …” (About DTCM, 2006). 
DTCM is chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Ruler of 
Dubai; strong evidence of the importance of tourism to the economy of the emirate of Dubai. Over the last several 
years, Dubai has experienced double digit growth in tourism with growth statistics of 14% to 30% recorded during 
the four quarters from October 2005 to September 2006 (DTCM, 2006). The annual number of arrivals in Dubai is 
rapidly approaching seven million visitors. By comparison the number of “virtual” arrivals or visitors to Dubai’s 
official website greatly surpasses the number of visitors to Dubai. According to Mr. Suhail Buhelaiba, IT Manager 
for DTCM, the DTCM website (www.dubaitourism.ae) averages 1.5 million visitors a day and plays a “… crucial 
role in broadening the international profile of Dubai …” (Press release 1218, 2006). Given the ubiquitous reach of 
the Internet, modern tourism destinations face global competition in cyberspace, competition more intense than 
experienced by the destination. This competitive phenomenon seems certain to continue. With Virtual Holidays 
cited as a future social trend (TUI, 2006) the need for destinations to compete electronically will increase. Online 
competition will drive destinations to continuously evaluate their virtual presence, their website. 
Benchmarking is one of the management strategies that an organization can use to measure its performance 
against “… the products, practices, and services of some of its most efficient global competitors …” (Hill & Jones, 
1998, p. 135). While benchmarking is making measured comparisons, competitive benchmarking is making 
comparisons against self-identified direct competitors. In the DTCM Strategic Plan: 2005-2010, DTCM identified 
five destinations as direct competitors of Dubai. These five destinations and their corresponding websites are: Egypt 
(www.touregypt.net), Singapore (www.visitsingapore.com), Mauritius (www.mauritius-info.com), Qatar 
(www.experienceqatar.com) and Bahrain (www.bahraintourism.com). Given these five destinations were identified 
by DTCM as Dubai’s competitors, their websites formed the competitive set for benchmarking Dubai’s website.