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Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2006 04:32:19 -0500
From: "Werthner Hannes" <hannes.werthner@uibk.ac.at>

Journal Of Information Technology & Tourism (JITT) Special Issue On
"Travel Information Search"
Deadline: September 30, 2006

CALL FOR PAPERS

A search for the keyword "travel" produces over 2.7 billion results on Google.com, a number that has dramatically increased over the past five years.  Also, the Pew Internet & American Life Project reports that 73 percent of American Internet users have obtained travel related information on the Web.  This clearly stresses the abundance of travel information available and the importance of travel information search as an online activity.  It also demonstrates the great need for systems that can support travelers in finding relevant information.  In addition, newly emerging technologies have the potential to significantly change travel search behavior beyond the online context and, thus, are expected to have great impact on overall travel search strategies, information needs, and the use of various information sources before and during a trip.

To expand our understanding of the theoretical foundations of travel information search in online and mobile contexts and to derive implications for the design of systems that can effectively cater to the information needs of modern travelers, the Journal of Information Technology & Tourism (JITT) presents a special issue on travel informationsearch.

The Guest Editor invites interested researchers, practitioners, and government policy-makers to contribute papers related to the theme of this special issue. Technical or managerial manuscripts, involving either empirical or theoretical research, on any topics relating to travel information search are welcomed. The topics of potential manuscripts could include, but are not limited to:

• Online travel information search behavior
• Information needs of the new consumer
• Impact of emerging technologies on travel information search
• Search engines and portals
• Semantic search
• Natural language queries
• En route travel information search and mobile applications
• Persuasive communication of travel information
• Travel information search support through recommender systems
• Role of user-generated content in travel information search
• Analysis strategies for travel information search log data
• Use and impact of customization/personalization tools
• Cultural differences in Website use for travel information search

Time Schedule
All submissions should be sent to the guest editor, Ulrike Gretzel, and arrive no later than September 30, 2006. The evaluation process is expected to be completed by the end of 2006.

Evaluation
IT&T is a refereed journal. All manuscripts are evaluated by at least three referees from different disciplines. The evaluation of the paper is a double-blind and anonymous process.

Electronic Manuscript Submissions
Please send both the "cover page" and the article in electronic format – using MS Word format – to the Guest Editor at E-mail: ugretzel@tamu.edu. If authors have no Internet access, they are invited to send five hardcopies and a computer disk to the Guest Editor:

Dr. Ulrike Gretzel
Director, Laboratory for Intelligent Systems in Tourism
Department of Recreation, Park & Tourism Sciences
Texas A&M University – TAMU 2261
College Station, TX 77843-2261, USA
Phone: (979) 862-4043
Fax:   (979) 845-0446
E-mail: ugretzel@tamu.edu

Guidelines for Papers can be found at