Travel information online: navigating correspondents, consensus, and conversation

Abstract

Travel information exists in paper guides, word of mouth, and countless websites. Organizing a trip has never been more accessible and simultaneously riddled with doubt. Professional journalists produce travel journalism while often anonymous reviewers on TripAdvisor provide their commentaries, and in between, there are blogs, wikis, tourism boards, vendors, and a host of other information sources available. How does the twenty-first-century tourist make sense of all of this information? \ud \ud Through a study of tourists in Paris, this study seeks to understand the methods and strategies that they employ in order to identify trustworthy and useful information. Interviews with a sample of travellers reveal that each person has his/her own unique process guided by their personal motivations, but they also share several practices along the way. This research reveals that tourists ultimately exhibit a multistep process of verification using both professional and non-professional sources. No one type of author or website appears to be a unique or singular influencer when it comes to primary or trustworthy sources. These findings will lead to larger discussions about destination management and transparent practices among information providers

Tourist information channels as consumer choice: the value of tourist guidebooks in the digital age

“…This is especially true in regard to their ability to provide up-to-date information (Fujii et al, 2016;Peel & Sørensen, 2016a;Tan & Chen, 2012). Being able to trust an information source is fundamental for tourists, and most people develop criteria or strategies to assess credibility, such as combining multiple media, double checking information, and identifying indicators of trust, such as the quality of writing or the authorship of the content (Pirolli, 2018).…”

“…More recent research has shown that the use of online channels for information search may lead to a phenomenon called online confusion, where Internet users feel overloaded with information when browsing online (Lu et al, 2016;Zillinger, 2019). However, the underlying idea is still that information seekers have strategies to overcome confusion, for example by relying on familiar information sources online, or delegating the task and search for additional information (Lu et al, 2016;Pirolli, 2018).…”

“…Credibility is a fundamental source of utilitarian value as it reduces uncertainty and ensures quality information (Pirolli, 2018;Vogt & Fesenmaier, 1998;Wong & Liu, 2011). Celine explains:…”

Searching and sharing of information in social networks during the different stages of a trip

“…But this search for information must be based on the trustworthiness of the media and sources. Although some users are afraid of biased information, false comments (Hensel and Deis, 2010), and have trouble determining whether to believe official websites or users reviews (Ruzic and Bilos, 2010)s, 2010), the reality is that they trust social media (Pirolli, 2018) because consumers do not make reservations before searching for online advice or information (Kim, Chung and Lee, 2011;Xiang and Gretzel, 2010).…”

Business Sustainability Model for Logistics Management in Travel Agencies.

“…The integration of the Internet in the travel and tourism industry is a challenge for the traditional role of travel agencies (Law, Law, & Wai, 2002;Pirolli, 2016). Travel agencies are classified in retail and wholesale (Hernández & Hernández, 1998), depending on the volume and quantity of the tourist package they offer (in this research the wholesaler is studied).…”