Consumers are increasingly turning to the online environment to provide information to assist them in making purchase decisions related to travel products. They often rely on travel recommendations from different sources, such as sellers, independent experts and, increasingly, other consumers. A new type of online content, user-generated content (UGC), provides a number of legal and social challenges to providers and users of that content, especially in relation to areas such as defamation, misrepresentation and social embarrassment. This paper reports research that examined the level of trustworthiness of online travel information from these different sources. The study used a survey of Australian travel consumers (n=12,000) and results support the notion that there are differences in the level of trust for online travel information from different sources. Respondents 'tended to agree' that they trusted information provided by travel agents, information from commercial operators and comments made by travellers on third party websites. However, the highest level of trust was afforded to information provided on State government tourism websites. These results suggest that greater trust is placed in online travel comments when they are on a specific travel website than when they are on a more generic social networking website. However, respondents were 'not sure' that they trusted comments made by travellers on weblogs and on social networking sites. Some 88% of respondents that had not visited UGC websites (or were unsure if they had) indicated that they thought that UGC would be useful in the future -suggesting that they feel that any concerns they may have in relation to legal and social problems resulting from its use will be resolved.
While tourism research has already considered the specific travel behaviors and preferences of people from different cultures (e.g., Hispanics, Chinese, etc.), there has not been as much emphasis placed on understanding how the travel behaviors of people may change when they migrate to another country. Despite the growth of migrant populations in many countries throughout the world, studies have tended to look at the behavior of travelers from a particular country (e.g., all Australians) without considering how acculturation experienced by migrants (e.g., Koreans who immigrate to Australia) may alter their travel behaviors. This study focuses on the travel behavior and lifestyles of Korean immigrants in Australia and examines the influence of acculturation on their travel lifestyle. A survey of Korean immigrants in Australia was conducted to explore the relationship between the degree of acculturation experienced by respondents and their travel lifestyle preferences, specifically related to their attitudes and opinions towards travel as well as their travel interests. Cluster analysis identified four distinct groups of Korean immigrants, based on their travel lifestyles, referred to as "Korean socializers & sports seekers," "relaxation seekers," "cultural & entertainment seekers," and "FIT travel enthusiasts." Results suggest that respondents who were more acculturated significantly differed in their travel lifestyle from those who were less acculturated. The study conclusions suggest ways that tourism marketers can better understand ethnic minorities and develop suitable products and services to meet the needs of these markets.
Consumer-generated media (CGM) are created when consumers submit, review or respond to online content. The bulk of research into CGM has focussed upon its use by consumers, with less research examining the use of CGM by small businesses. This article discusses small business sector use of online technologies such as CGM, concentrating on tourism small businesses as a key industry sector affected by CGM activities. A CGM 'strategy' framework, developed from an existing small business strategy framework, is proposed. This serves as a practical tool for developing CGM strategies and as a theoretical foundation for conducting research into the use of CGM.
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