Chapter 1. Communication: an introduction to its nature and history

1. Theoretical part: The etymology of communication and its major components
2. Case study: UNESCO World Heritage Sites and eTourism

Chapter 2. The Online Communication Model (OCM) and the quality of online contents

1. Theoretical part: The Online Communication Model
2. Case study: Analysis of the content quality in online communication

Chapter 3. Usability analysis and web analytics

1. Theoretical part: Usability and usages analysis of tourism websites, mobile apps and other online communication tools
2. Case study: Strategies to assess usability

Chapter 4. Localisation of online content

1. Theoretical part: Cultural translation / localization of messages for people with different cultural backgrounds and experiences
2. Case study: Localized website for domestic and international visitors. Case of Quito (Ecuador)

Chapter 5. B2B activities and eLearning within the hospitality and tourism domain

1. Theoretical part: The notion of eLearning and its use in the hospitality and tourism field
2. Case study: eLearning courses about Destination Management Organizations. Case of “Ticino Switzerland Travel Specialist” online course

Chapter 6. User Generated Contents (UGCs) & Web 2.0

1. Theoretical part: Communication opportunities given by UGCs and Web 2.0
2. Case study: Hotels’ communication strategies to respond to online reviews

Chapter 7. Reputation in online media

1. Theoretical part: The definition of the reputation construct and its relevance in the online domain
2. Case study: How to analyze the online reputation of a tourist destination

Chapter 8. Argumentation in online travel reviews

1. Theoretical part: Definition of argumentation
2. Case study: Argumentative analysis of Online Travel Reviews of a Chinese National Park

Course Staff

All instructors are active within the Master of International Tourism of USI - Università della Svizzera italiana.

Lorenzo Cantoni

Lorenzo Cantoni graduated in Philosophy and holds a PhD in Education and Linguistics and is professor at USI - Università della Svizzera italiana (Lugano - Switzerland), Faculty of Communication Sciences, where he served as Dean of the Faculty in the academic years 2010-2014. He is currently director of the Institute for Communication Technologies and scientific director of the laboratories webatelier.net, NewMinE Lab: New Media in Education Lab, and eLab: eLearning Lab. L. Cantoni is chair-holder of the UNESCO chair in ICT to develop and promote sustainable tourism in World Heritage Sites, established at USI, and president of IFITT - International Federation for Information Technologies in Travel and Tourism. His research interests are where communication, education and new media overlap, ranging from computer mediated communication to usability, from eLearning to eTourism, and from ICT4D to eGovernment.

Nadzeya Kalbaska

Nadzeya Kalbaska, PhD, post-doctoral researcher and lecturer at the Faculty of Communication Sciences of the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI, University of Lugano, Switzerland). She serves IFITT-International Federation for IT and Travel and Tourism as General Secretary. Skills: research, university teaching, distance education, coaching, public speaking Specialties: online communication and marketing, social media management, SEO, SEM, usability studies, web analytics, social media analytics, eCommerce, eLearning and MOOCs, learning analytics, Human Resource Management, eGovernment Industries: tourism and hospitality, fashion, event management Working languages: English, Italian, French, Russian Passion: fine food and slow travel.

Elena Marchiori

Dr. Elena Marchiori is a Postdoctoral Researcher and Lecturer at USI – Università della Svizzera italiana (Lugano, Switzerland), Faculty of Communication Sciences. She holds an M.Sc. in Media Management and a Ph.D. in Communication Sciences. She is the executive director of webatelier.net - the eTourism Lab at USI, and works for the Institute of Communication Technologies at USI. She is member of IFITT – International Federation for Information Technologies in Travel and Tourism, and general secretary of the IFITT Swiss Chapter. Her research interests are online tourism communication, reputation in online media, maturity of destinations and web adoption, and media effects. To know more about Elena visit: http://elenamarchiori.net

Silvia Matilde De Ascaniis

Silvia is a Postdoctoral Researcher and Lecturer at the Faculty of Communication Sciences at the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI - Lugano, Switzerland). She is the Executive Director of the doctoral school Cross-Field (www.cross-field.ch), and coordinator of the doctoral school Argupolis (www.argupolis.net), both founded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). Silvia got a Phd in Communication Sciences with a thesis about pragmatic and argumentative features of tourism related Online Travel Reviews. She was visiting scholar at the Institute for Innovation in Business and Social Research, University of Wollongong (Australia), under the guidance of prof. Ulrike Gretzel. Silvia is member of IFITT - the International Federation for IT and Travel & Tourism. Silvia’s research interests focus on argumentation dynamics in the online environment and the tourism field, religious tourism and pilgrimage, online communication, ICTs for promoting formal and informal learning.