This issue of the Journal of Information Technology and Tourism includes a series of papers presented at the first JITT workshop, which focused on Search on the Internet and was hosted at MODUL University Vienna in November 2008. The Journal initiated the Workshop series with the aim of providing a platform for high level discussion and collaboration of scholars and industry in the field of tourism and information technology. With more than two thirds of travelers engaging in online search the Internet has changed how information is provided and how consumers search for travel related information. Thus, the first JITT workshop focused on this phenomenon.  A total of 35 academics and industry players met at MODUL University for a very productive two day event filled with lively discussion stimulated by eleven presentations and one keynote speech.  One topic of interest at the Workshop was recommendation systems that enhance the search process for travelers. Further, users’ online decision making, perceptions of usability of search metaphors and search in the trip planning process were focal aspects of two sessions. Other papers discussed issues related to the social web as an information channel.  Last, papers focusing on information extraction through semantic technologies and ontologies were presented and represent the more technological aspects of extracting the right information for travelers. As such, both the user perspective as well as the requirements from information and communication technology were debated.   The following briefly summarizes five of the papers presented at the Workshop and included in this volume of JITT.