Internet Resources for Leisure and Tourism
Authors' Website

William Theobald Professor and Chairman Emeritus, Recreation and Tourism Programme, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA H.E. Dunsmore Department of Computer Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA

Welcome to Internet Resources for Tourism and Leisure, a comprehensive introduction to the Internet and World-Wide Web as well as an expansive guide to hundreds of tourism and leisure sites that may be found there.

Communication methods have dramatically changed over the past twenty years. Prior to the 1970s, communication with others was either by post , by telephone or in person. In the decade of the 1980s, communication methods underwent marked change with the introduction of cellular telephones, fax machines, personal computers, electronic mail and other new telecommunication technologies.

During the time that this book was under development, the authors have seen evolutionary, and sometimes revolutionary changes in computer technology. At the beginning stages of the Internet, pages on the World Wide Web were rather drab combinations of gray backgrounds, large black text, blue links, and often large photographs that loaded extremely slowly. Within a few years, graphic designers and artists have exerted their influence. Now, Web page design and programming often incorporate fill-in forms and clickable links and image maps.

When we first started working on this book, we were worried that there would not be enough sites to fill the pages. Instead, we found more than we could mention. And every day, we were happily surprised by at least one new discovery that may or may not have had anything to do with the subjects of this book -- tourism and leisure. The planning, imagination and intelligence that make for the best sites on the Web simply boggles the mind. We are looking forward to seeing even more advances.

By now, millions of people have used the World Wide Web and they are starting to realize something: While the Web is entertaining and packed with useful information, it is often difficult to find what you are looking for. This is especially true when Websites can be there one day and be gone the next. Since the Web is so dynamic, no book describing it or providing specific online information on tourism and leisure resources can continue to be current for very long. Therefore, as a service to current and future readers of Internet Resources for Leisure and Tourism, the publisher and the authors have agreed to maintain this Website and to update it on a quarterly basis. We hope that you find it useful, and if you would like to suggest additional information or specific Websites you feel should be included, please feel free to contact the authors by email (theobald@purdue.edu or dunsmore@purdue.edu).