Usability

Background: Official websites of tourism destinations provide an important digital content and are considered as widely-used tools of introducing destinations and presenting tourism products to the potential tourists. Improving the usability of websites helps the tourism destinations in achieving their goals. Websites usability is measured based on different criteria. Purpose: This paper evaluates and compares the usability of Iran and Malaysia official tourism destination websites –which are regarded as quite comparable in their tourism products and market- using seven criteria of content, visual attractiveness, infrastructure, interaction and responsiveness, navigation, customization, and product provision. Method: In order to do this evaluation, pairwise comparison questionnaires of the criteria were developed based on DEMATEL and ANP techniques and were answered online by 10 tourism experts in Iran. Websites’ usability analysis was performed using a combination of two MCDM (Multiple Criteria Decision Making) techniques that are DEMATEL and ANP so that the causal relations of the criteria are identified along with the ranking of their significance. Findings: The findings of the research show “infrastructure” as the dispatcher criterion, “product provision” as the receiver, and “content” as the most important criterion in the usability of tourism destinations’ websites. The findings also revealed the superiority of Malaysia’s official tourism website as compared to that of Iran.

This paper explores the usability of Augmented Reality (AR) applications specifically designed for visually impaired individuals, focusing on how these technologies can enhance their accessibility and daily living. AR offers potential benefits in areas such as navigation, object recognition, environmental awareness, education, social interaction, and entertainment. However, visually impaired users face significant challenges, including complex interfaces, reliance on visual cues, and limited access to assistive technologies. This paper identifies key usability guidelines to address these challenges, such as ensuring compatibility with assistive technologies like screen readers, maintaining consistency in design, providing clear and accessible user interfaces, and integrating alternative sensory cues like audio and haptic feedback. Furthermore, customization options, collision detection, contextual information, and user-centered design principles are emphasized to enhance the AR experience. The study concludes that incorporating these usability guidelines is crucial for creating AR applications that are intuitive, effective, and tailored to the unique needs of visually impaired users. Continuous user testing and feedback are also vital to further refine these technologies and ensure their accessibility.