Analyzing Travel Blogs Using a Realist Evaluation Approach

Abstract

The emergence of virtual social networks has enabled people to communicate and gather information at the click of a button. Although it has been generally accepted that Internet blogs are an important factor influencing consumers' purchase decisions, the content of travel blogs has commonly been reduced by current research to statistical data and mere categories. This article suggests that it is only by incorporating qualitative analyses of travel bloggers' experiences that destination marketers can extrapolate, comprehend, and ultimately incorporate into marketing strategies the meanings tourists assign to their tourism experiences. A brief review of the current research methods on blogs establishes the need to apply a realist evaluation of travel blogs using qualitative techniques to complement quantitative research methods. This would allow for both objective and subjective travel experience components to be examined and considered for research and marketing purposes.

An environmental social marketing intervention in cultural heritage tourism: a realist evaluation

“…(Pawson & Tilley, 2004, p. 5). While a case for critical realism has been made in the context of tourism research (Platenkamp & Botterill, 2013), the principles of realist evaluation have been only recently and scarcely applied to tourism-related areas such as heritage crime prevention (Grove & Pease, 2014), analysis of travel blogs (Banyai & Havitz, 2013) and community-based programmes (Nilsson, Baxter, Butler & McAlpine, 2016).…”

Site Management and Use of Social Media by Tourism Businesses: The Case of Quebec

“…Zelenka (2009) discusses current trends in ICT in the tourism sector, particularly emphasising the increasing importance of tourist communities on websites such as blogs. If the fact of publicizing its assessment of certain products, services or tourist destinations is good for consumers (Banyai & Havitz, 2013;Gavalas et al, 2014), this trend is also considered as a marketing and promotional tool for an inexpensive, strategic tool for tourism and hospitality, according to Litvin et al (2008). The impact of websites on consumer behaviour, especially with regard to the choice of tourist destinations (Frias et al, 2008;Steinbauer & Werthner, 2007), and the effect of the electronic word-of-mouth on the process of consumer decision making (Litvin et al 2008;Jalilvand et al, 2012), have been studied by some researchers.…”

Discourse Analysis of Blogs: Analyzing Language to Maximize the Value of Consumption-Oriented Blogs as Data Source

“…This has also been observed in existing literature on travel blogs. According to Banyai and Havitz (2012), content of travel blogs has commonly been reduced to statistical data and mere categories [3]. There are only a few studies on travel blogs using qualitative research methods such as narrative analysis, qualitative content analysis and discourse analysis [4,5,6,7,8].…”

“…Bosangit, McCabe and Hibbert (2009) call for researchers to explore other frameworks that are appropriate to maximizing the use of blogs in understanding rapid and continuously changing consumption experiences such as tourism [7]. Banyai and Havitz (2012), suggest that a realist evaluation approach could maximize the potential of travel blogs by using qualitative techniques alongside quantitative methods [3].…”