The role of demographics and travel motivation in travellers' use of the internet before, during, and after a trip

Abstract

This paper explores travellers' use of the internet before, during and after a trip. Data for the study were obtained using an internet-based questionnaire completed by members of an online panel of 513 respondents. Differences across socio-demographic characteristics confirm that the young, well-educated and affluent tend to be the first movers in taking advantage of the internet. A factor analysis identified eight motivational factors that are thematically similar to those found in other studies on travel motivation. The results show that the acquisition and sharing of travel information depends upon travel motivations. Travellers motivated by nature-and culture-related factors are characterised by intensive pre-and during-trip research and little information sharing, in contrast to travellers motivated by relaxation or social factors, who do less research but are more likely to share travel information and photos after their trips. The article ends with a discussion of the managerial implications of these findings for tourism service providers and destinations.

Destination Information Sources for Itinerant Holidaymakers: A Study of Island Hoppers in Greece

“…Despite high levels of internet use and Facebook membership among these island hoppers, conventional word-of-mouth was still decisive for destination choice. This corroborated some studies (Fodness and Murray 1997, Jensen and Hjalager 2013, Murray 1991 but was partly in opposition to the results of Kim et al (2015), who found a totality of internet sources to be prevailing. The results here indicate that although social status and self-esteem motivations seem to drive copious tourist information dispersal (Jensen and Hjalager 2013), information received through social networking sites like Facebook will not necessarily be much considered for destination choices (Bronner and de Hoog 2014).…”

“…Travel guidebooks were rated here among the four most important types of information sources, nearly in line with review sites, indicating a continued or renewed standing for analogue guidebooks compared with other sources (Mesquita 2016), contrasting some recent studies (Jensen andHjalager 2013, Xiang et al 2015). The results underscored a sustained emphasis on presumably autonomous information (Dann 1996, Zillinger 2006, not only guidebooks but also reports in newspapers and magazines, partly consistent with a continued print media influence disclosed by Morosan (2015).…”

“…Somewhat similarly, a study conducted in Denmark in 2010 revealed that travellers born after 1975 made much more use of review sites (e.g. TripAdvisor) than did respondents born in 1975 or earlier (Jensen and Hjalager 2013). Then again, it has been maintained that people's attitudes may often matter more than their age (Munar 2012).…”

“…Guidebooks are typically used by quite individualistic tourists (Zillinger 2006), although guidebook users' independence may vary (Caruanaet al 2008). In the United States, younger members of Generation Y have made less use of guidebooks for travel planning than have older travellers (Kim et al 2015), while Danes between 18 and 34 years of age made more use of such travel books than did Danes 35 and older (Jensen and Hjalager 2013). A study conducted in the United States between 2007 and 2012 found a generally low level of guidebook use (Xiang et al 2015).…”

“…Although many tourists have become more independent of intermediaries, various travel agencies and tour operators still influence destination decisionmaking (Jensen andHjalager 2013, Munar andJacobsen 2013). Individual holidaymakers seem generally more experienced than travellers who buy package tours (Lauring 2013) and may rely less on industry and mainstream sources of information (Ioannides and Debbage 1997).…”