Abstract
This study investigates in depth the effect of website aesthetics on Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) in Customer Purchas Decisions (CPD) when choosing and booking hotels online. Although there are many new developments in IT to better understanding the influence of eWOM on CPD, few researchers studied the influence of web environment on eWOM in the tourism sector. A quantitative method will be implemented for the investigation of this research. Based on the existing literature on Web Quality (WQ) and eWOM in the tourism industry a conceptual framework has been developed. The research applied interviews, focus groups (10 PhD students, 3 academics and 3 professionals) and a pilot study (100 undergraduate students) in order to validate the reliability of the survey instrument. An online survey has been used to collect the main data. This research will use Structural Equation Modelling to test the validity of the proposed framework. The main aim of this study is to contribute to the current knowledge of WQ and eWOM. This study will help academics better understand the influence of WQ on eWOM. In addition, this study will provide practitioners with a framework that can be used in their companies to enhance revenue.