Starting your Research
Encyclopedias, handbooks and subject specific dictionaries will help provide useful background information, as well as terms to use when searching the databases. For example:
Pizam, A. & Holcomb, J. (Ed.). (2008). International dictionary of hospitality management. Oxford; Boston, Mass: Butterworth-Heinemann. |
McCabe, S. (2009). Marketing communications in tourism and hospitality: Concepts, strategies and cases. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. |
Lee-Ross, D. & Lashley, C. (2009). Entrepreneurship and small business management in the hospitality industry. Amsterdam; Boston; London: Butterworth-Heinemann. |
Reece, W. S. (2009). The economics of tourism. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. |
A GOOGLE search can also help find background information and suggestions for more keywords.
Keywords & OPAC
Use OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue) to find books, journal titles and audio-visual materials in the Library. When searching for information, you need to use keywords. See below for some suggestions.
| Business travel | Ecotourism | Health resorts |
| Heritage tourism | Hospitality industry management | Hospitality industry marketing |
| Hotel maintenance | Hotel management | Incentive travel |
| Leisure industry | Special events management | Strategic planning |
| Summer resorts management | Tourism | Tourism marketing |
| Tourism Terminology |
Finding Articles Online
The articles inside magazines, journals & periodicals are very useful sources of information. Articles are different from books because:
- they are much more up-to-date
- they are shorter (less to read!)
- they concentrate on topics or specific aspects of topics
- there are many articles being published all the time so you have more choice.
The library catalogue, OPAC, does NOT tell you what articles the Library has, only which journals or periodicals, so the easiest way to find articles is to use the online databases.
Speciality Searches from Business Source Premier
- Country Reports - for reviews of countries, including economic studies and political risk.
- Company Profiles - for Datamonitor reports.
- Industry Profiles - for identifying the competitive landscape, market size, and more.
- Market Research Reports - for news and analyses on major events in specified markets.
- SWOT Analyses - looking at strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats within specified companies.
Newspaper Articles
Newspaper articles are also very useful sources of information, and can be found in the LexisNexis Academic and the Factiva databases.
Click here for a list of all the databases subscribed to by TP Library.
Recommended Websites

- South African Tourism - provides a comprehensive online source of information on travel to and in South Africa. It also provides access to over 3000 royalty-free digital photos of South Africa and a wide range of research documents such as tourism growth strategy and statistics.
- Tunisian National Tourism Office - history, sightseeing, restaurants and hotel information about Tunisia.
- Bali Tourism Authority - news and events and tourism statistics.
- China National Tourist Office - travel tips and tourism statistics.
- India Department of Tourism - trip planners, traveler’s tools, feature articles, guidelines for travel agents and tourism figures.
- Japan National Tourism Organisation - provides up-to-date information on travel to and in Japan.
- Macau Government Tourist Office - promotes Macau as a unique destination with a multicultural heritage alongside state of the art tourism facilities. Includes a full calendar of festivals and special events for the whole year.
- Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board - calendar of events and tourism statistics.
- Philippines Department of Tourism - travel packages, trip planner, travel essentials, calendar of events and statistics.
- Sabah Tourism Board - places of interest, accommodation, culture, Advisory, statistics and more.
- Singapore Tourism Board - This website provides information about the tourism industry in Singapore and South East Asia. It contains detailed information on Singapore's national tourism plan and how the Board can assist those interested in pursuing tourism business opportunities in Singapore. It also has links to industry-specific information and other tourism sites.
- Tourism of Cambodia - facts of Cambodia, tourist highlights, travel tools e.g. hotels, car rentals.
- Tourism Authority of Thailand - destination guide, activities and adventures, TAT marketing plans and statistics.
- Vietnam National Administration of Tourism - tour programs, news and events, statistics.
Australasia and Pacific Ocean
- Fiji Official Bureau - official Fiji islands travel guide.
- Tourism Australia - tourism news, research and statistics, market intelligences and opportunities.
- Tourism New Zealand - news and issues, glossary and industry resources.
- Austria National Tourist Office - provides country facts and comprehensive information on how the office promotes tourism in Austria such as its marketing strategy and marketing mix.
- British Tourism Authority - provides information on market intelligence including the latest tourism figures, market information, trends and forecast.
- Finnish Tourism Board - facts about the country, Things to do and see, travel themes, and more.
- German Tourism Board - destination overview, travel tips, route planner, historical highlights, facts and statistics.
- Malta Tourism Authority - provides global industry news in addition to tourism information and statistics on Malta.
- Portugal - This site is created by Icep Portugal, a government agency tasked with promoting Portugal image internationally. The site offers information about the country as well as its tourism, trade and investment.
- Swedish Tourism Authority - provides in-depth market research report such as visitors profile and tourism statistics.
- Embassy World - a comprehensive list of contact resources for all of the world's diplomatic offices. The database is searchable by both host location and hosted embassy.
- Tourism Offices Worldwide Directory - an index to government tourism offices, convention and visitors bureaus, and similar agencies.
- Club Med - an inclusive travel and tourism company with hundreds or villages, villas and cruise ships located at some of the most beautiful spots in 40 countries around the world.
- Egyptian Tourism Office - culture, adventure, convention and more.
- Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism - facts and statistics.
- Fodors - provides ideas and bargains from the Fodor's Travel wire, hotel and restaurant reviews and forum.
- Frommers - provides extensive information on destinations around the globe and includes activities, reviews, feature articles and message board.
- Let’s Go - world wide travel guides researched, written and produced by students who know first-hand how to se the world on the cheap. The site also provides message forum, travel links and guides for certain cities online.
- Lonely Planet - offers travel advice, detailed maps, travel news and popular messge boards and health information.
- Rough Guide - an online destination guide covering cities and countries around the world and also provides travel talk forum and newsletter.
- National Association of Travel agents Singapore (NATAS) - It is the official website of travel agents and tour operators in Singapore. Provides information such as member’s directory, business links, travel tips, travel links and online newsletter, "Trav-News".
- Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) - PATA is the recognised authority on Pacific Asia travel and tourism. PATA provides marketing, research and educational opportunities to a membership of government tourist offices, airlines, hotels, travel agencies, tour operators and related companies. PATA's mission is to enhance the growth, value and quality of Pacific Asia travel and tourism for the benefit of its membership.
- World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) - a leading international organisation that serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues and a practical source of tourism know-how. It provides tourism statistics, news bulletin and regional tourism activities.
- World Travel & Tourism (WITC) - is the global business leaders' forum for travel and tourism. Its members are chief executives from all sectors of the hospitality and tourism industry.
- Decipher - is an online data warehouse for tourism research and business intelligence. It catalogues and accesses more than 2000 information resources from over 100 suppliers.
- Tourism Research Link - is a comprehensive international directory of resources by Rene Waksberg. It is intended for use by tourism researchers and industry practitioners.
- United Nations Statistics Division - compiles a variety of world statistics and provides links to national statistics sites by country.
- Statistics Singapore - is the national statistical authority of Singapore. It provides official data on population, demographics, social and economic indicators, literacy and education, employment and productivity, culture, recreation and public safety and more.
- Star UK - is the official website of the UK Research Liaison Group. It provides information and statistics on UK tourism, survey reports and links to official tourism bodies.
- MapQuest - MapQuest is a one-stop portal for mapping, auto travel and navigation needs. It provides travellers with city-specific information such as dining, entertainment, shopping, Best of City and visitor's guide information. Allow user to access detailed maps and driving directions, customize road trip plans and create, save, download or email personalized maps.
- National Geographic Travel - choose "Travel" in the menu on the left. The site provides destination guides, maps and geography, photography and travel news, adventure and exploration feature stories and more.
- World Travel Guide - offers detailed country profiles and comprehensive travel information such as city guide, attractions, events and weather.
- Infomap - Your 1 stop portal to Singapore.

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Pizam, A. & Holcomb, J. (Ed.). (2008).
McCabe, S. (2009).
Lee-Ross, D. & Lashley, C. (2009).
Reece, W. S. (2009).