Digital marketing in the tourism sector: Evaluation of the official tourism websites of African countries destinations with content analysis

Digitalization has become a phenomenon that covers almost all sectors of activity. The tourism industry is one of the sectors that benefits most from digitalization through different channels including destination websites. Those websites are of great importance for destinations that use them for a better view of tourism products and services. In this research, where our field of study is the African continent, we decided to conduct study on the official destination websites of African countries, identify their situations and deficiencies, and make suggestions for improvement. In order to conduct this study, we did a literature review to find out the criteria that should be included on a destination website. Using the content analysis method, we analyzed 37 functional African destination websites out of 54 countries. According to the analysis results, African destination websites focus mostly on the promotion and presentation of tourist attractions, products and services, and are said to be less interested in dealing with transactions involving the reservation or sale of products and services. Key Words: Africa, Destination, Tourism, Destination Web Site, Digital Marketing