social media in tourism behavior

The main results of the study suggest that social media is used by tourists as the principal source of information when travelling. Social media platforms are perceived as user-friendly and as providers of non marketer information, thus, out of marketers’ bias.

Social Media in Tourism

Behaviour

By Irene Lucena Rodríguez

MA in European Tourism Management

Bournemouth University Université de Savoie

Abstract

The apparition of the Internet has completely revolutionized the world of commerce, and thus consumer behaviour Recently the static web pages have given way to more interactive web pages; which have lead to the apparition of the social media as an information web-based platform where users can share ideas, thoughts, pictures, experiences and so on This milestone in the Internet world has implied a new way of communication, which due to the high requirements of information that the tourism industry has, it has completely stirred up tourist behaviour in their search of information For this reason the main purpose of this research has been to analyse how tourists use social media along their decision-making process of tourism products in order to create a wider understanding on this recent subject

In order to achieve the aim of the research secondary data has been used to provide the desired framework in consumer behaviour and social media platforms Furthermore, primary research has been carried out using a qualitative approach which has taken the form of semi-structured interviews in order to explore and analytically describe in the best way how tourists use social media platforms along their decision-making process

The main results of the study suggest that social media is used by tourists as the principal source of information when travelling Social media platforms are perceived as user-friendly and as providers of non marketer information, thus, out of marketers’ bias However, questions of subjectivity and credibility of the contents placed in those platforms have arisen

as a determinant in the use of social media In addition, it has been also suggested that this credibility might be determined factors such as the previous knowledge of the UCC writer, the traveller experience in travelling, and the tourist experience in the use of ICT’s and social platforms This study concludes some recommendations for the tourism industry in order to take advantage of UCC and increase their presence on the new media; and some recommendations for similar future research in the subject of consumer behaviour

DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP

I declare that this dissertation is my own unaided work

I have not included any material or data from other authors or sources which are not

acknowledged and identified in the prescribed manner

I have read the section in the Student Handbook on Assessment Offences and understand

that such offences may lead the Examinations Board to withhold or withdraw the award of

Master of Arts

Author: Irene Lucena Rodríguez Signature:

Bournemouth, August 2009

Table of Contents

Abstract II

Declaration of authorship III

Table of contents IV

List of figures VII

List of tables VIII

List of abbreviations IX

List of appendices X

Acknowledgements XI

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE RESEARCH STUDY 2

1.1 Background to the research 2

1.2 Rationale of the research 3

1.3 Research aims and objectives 4

1.4 Layout of the dissertation 4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Introduction 6

2.2 Part 1: Consumer behaviour in travel and tourism 6

2.2.1 Introduction to consumer behaviour 6

2.2.1.1 Decision-making process 7

2.2.2 The tourism product 9

2.2.3 Complexity of Consumer behaviour in tourism 10

2.2.4 Tourist decision-making process and models 12

2.2.5 Factors influencing the decision-making process in tourism 14

2.2.6 Typologies of tourist behaviour 15

2.2.7 Online tourist behaviour: the new client, the new tourist 17

2.2.7.3 The new tourist 19

2.3 Part 2: Social Media, the new tourist information platform 21

2.3.1 Introduction to Social media: concept and evolution 21

2.3.2 Social media platforms 22

2.3.3 Social media as the new platform for “Word of Mouth” (WOM) 25

2.3.4 Perceived benefits of eWOM 26

2.3.5 Determinants of eWOM influence 28

2.3.6 Managing eWOM in tourism sector 30

2.3.7 Relevance of eWOM in tourism behaviour 32

2.4 Summary 33

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 34

3.1 Introduction 34

3.2 Outline of the method 34

3.3 Introduction to the method approach 34

3.4 Aims and objectives 35

3.5 Research Strategy 35

3.5.1 Data gathering 36

3.6 Secondary research 36

3.7 Primary research 38

3.7.1 Quantitative versus qualitative 38

3.7.2 Reliability and Validity 39

3.7.3 The instrument of the research: the Interview 40

3.7.4 Sampling 41

3.8 Data analysis 42

3.9 Limitations 43

3.10 Summary 44

CHAPTER 4: MAIN FINDINGS 45

4.1 Introduction 45

4.2 Decision-making process 45

4.2.1 Travel desire 46

4.3.2 Information search 46

4.2.3 Evaluation of alternatives 49

4.2.4 Purchase decision 53

4.2.5 Travel preparations and travel experience 55

4.2.6 Travel satisfaction and outcome 56

4.3 Push and Pull factors for using Social Media in tourism 58

4.4 Summary 59

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMENDATIONS 60

5.1 Introduction 60

5.2 Overall conclusions 60

5.3 Recommendations for the tourism industry 61

5.4 Recommendations for Future Research 63

BIBLIOGRAPHY 65

APPENDICES 76

List of tables

Table 2.1: Benefits of Word of Mouth communications 27

Table 3.1: Quantitative versus Qualitative 39

Table 4.1: Advantages and disadvantages of Social Media platforms as a

source of UCC information

58

List of figures

Figure 1.1: Dissertation layout and structure 4 Figure 2.1: Model of Consumer decision-making 8 Figure 2.2 The complexity of consumer behaviour in tourism 11

Figure 2.4: Factors influencing the holiday decision 15

Figure 2.6: Key Social Media platforms 23

Figure 3.2: Qualitative data analysis 42

List of Abbreviations

Acknowledgements

First of all I would like to thank to my supervisor and different teachers who have give me

some advices and guidelines in the completion of this dissertation

Second I would like to thanks to my parents and brothers for their dedication and strong and

continuous support and confidence they always place on me

Third I would love to thanks to all my interviewees, thanks to them I could apply the

research instrument and obtain lots of interesting information

Finally I would also like to thanks all my friends and classmates who have provide me with

their strong support and advices

Thanks

Chapter 1: Introduction to the research study

1.1 Background to the research

“We should look not to technology as our guide to future success, but to the consumer” Christie

and Collin (2000)

The apparition of the Internet involved a milestone in consumers’ life It revolutionised the developed countries of the world producing a real change in consumer behaviour, in how commerce is made and how consumers search for information when purchasing According to Internet World Stats (2009), in the last 9 years Internet users have grown up from 360 million in

2000 to 1596 millions in 2009 And focusing in Europe, nearly 400 million users have been registered in 2008 (Internet World Stats, 2009) Thus, this vastly evolution and number of users

in the world and in Europe has raised importance and interest on the topic

Furthermore, not only the apparition of the Internet but its evolution from the traditional static websites (web 1.0) to the creation of interactive websites (web 2.0) has involved another milestone in consumer behaviour The need and desire to communicate is in the very nature of people; and these interactive web pages or platforms which allow users to participate expressing themselves, they forms the new way of online communication Along the decades societies have changed, people have become busier, more stressed and immersed in a complex reality were information becomes a raw material in everyone life Due to this change, time has become a precious item; as a result, the Internet with interactive web pages and social platforms emerges

as a fast, effective and reliable way to communicate and find information Social media platforms are built from the “collective knowledge” of consumers and are directed to consumers (O’Reilly, 2004) It is more consumer oriented information and thus more better accepted as real and far away of marketer bias

Hence social media platforms are by no means the new platforms of communication since society has evolved requiring new ways of interaction and the Internet has evolved allowing consumers to establish a bidirectional flow of communications This fact is supported by

Universal McCANN (2008) in his report Power to the people, social media tracker , which

claims for instances that there are currently in the world more than 346 millions of people reading blogs, 307 millions visiting friends’ social networking sites, 248 millions sharing photos and 272 million users having a profile in a social networking site

This evolution of the Internet and the apparition of the social media platforms on scene are of great importance for the tourism industry, which according to Buhalis (2002) it is a very extensive information industry Tourists need of high levels of reliable information in the purchases of tourism products in order to reduce the risk caused by the complexity of the product In consequence, tourists search for quality and easy to access sources of information According to the IPK (2000) Internet is the main source of information when travelling Thus, the apparition of those online platforms which allow tourists around the world to share their ideas, thoughts, opinions, pictures and experiences; they have completely stirred up tourists’ behaviours when searching for information The new tourist emerged from the evolution of society is more experienced and sceptical in regards to marketed information sources Therefore, social media platforms emerge as tourist-friendly platforms where contents comes from the “collective intelligence” of tourists, opposed to traditional marketer-dominated sources, and thus, they are perceived as more reliable and trustworthy sources of information Hence, the have the potential to be the tourists’ information platform for excellence

1.1 Rationale of the research

The second phase of the Internet has supposed a complete revolution on consumer behaviours Internet users are not anymore a passive character but a more interactive one able to interact with other users sharing experiences, information, ideas via forums, social networks, chat rooms, video and photo sharing platforms and so on Thus a great change has happened and which the new generations of tourists have to overcome, adapt and take advantage of it This forms a recent and interesting phenomenon worthy to study

In addition, this recent phenomenon has motivated the researcher for different reasons In the first place, the researcher is greatly interested in tourism psychology and sociology; understanding how tourists behave is probably the best way to provide them with the best service/experience adapted to their specific needs and expectations And as Swarbrooke and Horner (2007) pointed out, understanding consumer behaviour forms the base for developing successful marketing strategies In the second place, the researcher is a regular user of just a few social media platforms, therefore the field of social media was presented like unexplored for her; as consequence, interesting to discover, learn and study And in the third place, the

researcher believes that peer to peer communications are not just the present but the future, thus, understand how they work was perceived as interesting

1.2 Research aims and objectives

In this world of constant technological evolution consumers, especially tourists are changing their behaviour patterns looking for more “tourist-friendly” sources of information Thus the aim of this dissertation is to analyse how tourists use Social media platforms along the decision-making process with the following objectives:

 Identify in which phases of the DMP and for which reasons tourists use the social media platforms

 Find out if there are differences in the use of the social media for the 3 generations of digital users and analyse them

 Examine UCC or the eWOM founded in social media platforms serve as a determinant

or just as a source of information of travel decisions

 Examine which factors determine UCC credibility

1.3 Layout of the dissertation

This research study is structured as illustrated in figure 1.1:

Chapter one: Introduction to the research study

In the first chapter the research study is presented Background information to the subject of study is provided as well as the aim and objectives proposed to achieve In addition, the insights

of the researcher for choosing the subject are also shown

Chapter two: Literature review

In the second chapter the relevant theories to the topic of study are presented Theory is divided

in two main lines: Consumer Behaviour and Social Media as a source of information Concerning Consumer Behaviour, the focus will be upon the decision-making process, the factors which influence the process as well as some touches of the new online consumer/tourist

In regards to Social Media as a source of information, the main platforms of social media are presented as well as its union to eWOM highlighting its importance for the tourism industry and consumer behaviour

Chapter three: Methodology

In the third chapter the research method and the different approaches used to achieve the aims and objectives will be presented and properly justified Furthermore additional information related to the sample, when, where how and why the respondents were selected and interviewed will be provided The limitations to the research study will also be shown in order to gain a wider understanding on the direction that the research method has followed

Chapter four: Main findings

In the fourth chapter the results of the primary research will be exposed and linked to the main lines of theory presented in the literature review The structure of the main findings have been devised from the literature review, thus, results will be structured according to the different stages of the decision-making process

Chapter five: Conclusions and Recommendations

In the fifth chapter the conclusions extracted from the main findings will be discussed and complemented with the theory Finally the researcher will propose some recommendations to the tourism industry and future research

Chapter 2: Literature review Social Media in the Tourism Behaviour

2.1 Introduction

This chapter reviews literature in Tourism behaviour with special focus in the decision-making process and social media as a source of information The literature will allow the author to create the theoretical base of the research trough the use of secondary data

2.2 Consumer behaviour in travel and tourism

2.2.1 Introduction to Consumer behaviour

The field of Consumer behaviour is a recent and young discipline which is form by contributions of many other disciplines such us sociology and economy in order to understand

the way consumers behave (Blackwell et al 2006) It focuses on individuals making decisions

about the use of their available resources (time, money and effort) in the purchase of goods and

services related to consumption (Schiffman and Kanuk 2005) Solomon et al (2007 p 7)

defined Consumer behaviour as the “processes involved when individuals or groups select, purchase, use or dispose of products, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy needs and

desires” Salomon identifies the existence of a process, process which normally implies a

sequence of stages by which a consumer has to overcome to purchase a good or service This process goes from the recognition of a need or problem until the outcome of the purchase; it is known as the decision-making process (Swarbrooke and Horner 2007)

As seen from Salomon’s definition, the purchase is made by consumers who might be individuals or groups and who can enjoy of a product, service or experience bought for themselves or by a third party In addition, this act of purchase is done in order to satisfy some needs and expectations which consumers need to fulfil Thus, Salomon’s statement implies questions such us who buys? what do consumers buy? How?, why?, where?, when and how frequently? Hence, from these questions it is possible to appreciate the huge dimension which consumer behaviour covers and its link to the marketing field Understanding consumer

behaviour is the key for the success of a firm’s marketing (Blackwell et al 2006)

2.2.1.1 Decision-making process

Many theories have been proposed to study and explain the consumer behaviour field However, due to the complexity of the theories proposed, models where developed in order to understand how consumers behave The first models of consumer behaviour were developed in the sixties borrowing theories from other sciences such us psychology or sociology Thereafter, the classical models of Consumer behaviour were developed by some of the following authors: Adreason (1965 cited Abdallat and Emam 2001) proposed a model focused on the importance

of the information along the purchasing process The author remarks the importance of consumer attitudes when deciding However, the model eventually fails to consider the attitudes

in the repetition of future purchases

Nicosia (1966) presented a model composed of four fields or stages where consumer and producer try to get involved in a relationship; the consumer goes trough and evaluation process;

a purchase process; and finally the post purchase process This model, however, it has not been empirically tested and it does not define several variables ( Lunn, 1974 cited Abdallat and Emam 2001)

Howard and Seth (1969) proposed a model identifying the consumer as a problem solver and whom depending on the knowledge the person had in regards to the market, three different levels of decision-making were presented: Extensive problem solving where the consumer has

no knowledge at all of the market; limited problem solving where the consumer has little knowledge of the market; and habitual problem solving, where the consumer has a wide knowledge of the market He also recognizes in his model the importance of the inputs introduced in the model and the idea that consumers arrange the inputs in different ways in order to choose among the possible alternatives

Engell, Kollat and Blackwell (1968 cited Williams 2002) presented their last version of their comprehensive model on the decision-making process in 1978 They produced one of the most important texts in the field of Consumer behavior creating a model designed to study the purchase of high risk items, as it is the case of tourism (Williams, 2002)

Figure 2.1: Model of Consumer decision-making

Source: Engell, Kollat and Blackwell (1968) in: Williams (2002)

As it can be seen from figure 2.1 and as it has been pointed out before, the decision-making process is a sequence of stages

Stage one: Motivation and recognition of a need In this very first stage the consumer

realizes, influenced by internal or external factors of himself that he needs to fulfil a need which has suddenly appeared

Stage two: Information search In this second phase, the consumer starts looking for

information about his purchase decisions Depending on the level of routine that this act

suppose, he will spend more or less time in this phase And as Blackwell et al (2006 p 75)

points out, the consumer will be influenced by two types of sources: “marketer dominated” and

“non marketer-dominated” The former one refers to all the information produced by marketers

in order to inform or persuade consumers; and the last one refers to friends, family and the

media As Engel et al (1992 cited Oorni 2004) claimed consumers usually rely on both types of

information; it is very rare that consumers just rely in one source And as Berelson and Steiner (1964 cited Oorni 2004) pointed out, all information sources are usually complements instead of competitors

Stage three: Evaluation of alternatives Once all the information has been collected, the

consumer has to evaluate all the alternatives which have appeared in the previous stage In this phase consumer is going to be influenced by his attitudes, values and motivation among other factors He has to select, evaluate the gains and losses of the different alternatives

Stage four and five: Purchase and Outcome After having evaluated the possible alternatives

a decision have to be taken Afterwards the consumer will sense a feeling of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the outcomes, and thus, depending on his level of satisfaction his next purchase will be influenced in a positive or negative way The experience of a purchase may modify the behaviour of future purchases

This model has been further criticised for being more descriptive than predictive (Williams, 2002), and for not taking into consideration the relationships which happen along the process (Bareham, 1995) However, it has to be pointed out the fact that all models fail in being very descriptive trying just to represent the complex theories of consumer behaviour Moreover, they are more than ten years old and little empirical research has been conducted to test them (Abdallat and Emam 2001)

2.2.2 The tourism product

Focusing on the tourism field and concentrating on the tourism product, it has to be considered its complexity in order to understand consumer behaviour in tourism The tourism product is not

a simple item, good or service of consumption; the tourism product is “a bundle of activities,

services and benefits that constitute experiences” (Medlick and Middleton 1973 cited

Carmichael 2005 p.185) It constitutes a mix of the characteristics of the services and the singular features of the tourism industry, what really differentiate the product from any physical good (Yilmaz and Bitizti, 2005)

According to Middleton (2001); Rey (2004); Seaton (1994); Kotler et al (2005) it is agreed that

the main characteristics of the tourism product are the followings:

Intangibility: Services cannot be seen, smelled or even touched, what means that they cannot

be perceived from the senses The tourist product cannot be proved before consuming; this is

one of the facts which make of tourism a high risk activity

Heterogeneity: Services are offered by people, what means that it is not possible to obtain two

products alike

Perishability: The product which is not consumed when it is offered, it is considered lost as

long as there is no possible stock

Inseparability: The tourist product is produced and consumed at the very same time, in a

simultaneous way

Seasonality: demand is highly fluctuating among the seasons of the year

High fix costs of operations: the basic infrastructures for the tourism activity suppose great fix

costs (E.g buildings and transport infrastructures)

Interdependence: Tourists consume not just a single product or service but a bunch of services

and products combinations, thus all of them are interdependent

Due to all the particularities and unique characteristics of the tourism product, tourists develop a special behaviour in their decision making process It is highlighted by authors such us Seaton and Bennett (1999) that tourism encompasses a great risk and involvement to consumers Thereafter it is possible to appreciate the immense relevance that the choice of a tourism product have upon consumers In addition, and as seen in Seaton (1994) tourism involves the expenditure of a large amount of money in a product which cannot be tested In fact, tourists buy promises about something which might be or might be not accomplished in the future (Werthner and Klein, 1999) And as Seaton (1994 cited Seaton & Bennett 1998 p.25) stated:

“the opportunity cost of a failed holiday is irreversible” Therefore the importance of a good choice is of great importance

2.2.3 Complexity of Consumer behaviour in tourism

The characteristics of the tourism product entail in a complex behaviour and decision-making process by consumers

Figure 2.2: The complexity of consumer behaviour in tourism

Source: Swarbrooke and Horner (2007)

The model shows that due to the uniqueness of the tourism product, its purchase implies a high involvement and commitment on the purchase decision due to the high risk decision it represents This fact implies the need of higher levels of information in order to reduce the risk

perceived, what derives in an extensive information search process (Urbany et al 1989 cited

Jang 2004) Furthermore, tourists are strongly influenced by other people because they need information and advice of people who have had a similar experience; might be family, friends or even people of the same online community The purchase of a tourism product is made in a long term decision implying a high emotional significance A holiday or a travel it is usually perceived as an important event in a person’s life which the moment of purchase and consumption are different in time, therefore, a careful selection of alternatives is usually carried out for reducing the perceived and constant risk (Swarbrooke and Horner 2007) There are high levels of insecurity which are due to the intangibility of the product Because as it has been mentioned before, the tourism product cannot be tested before purchase; and it might be or might not be accomplished in the future (Werthner and Klein, 1999); fact which as a consequence it produces strong effort in the collection of information in the pre-travel stages The more information the consumer has the less insecure he will feel

2.2.4 Tourist decision-making process and models

Now that the complexity of the tourism product has been explained, it is of great importance to present the different models of decision making process in tourism which has been proposed in the course of the years As it has been mentioned before, tourism is a high involvement activity and thus, in the present report only some of the high involvement models will be discussed Wahab, Crampon and Rothfield (1976) were ones of the first authors who tried to create a wider understanding on the subject They develop a basic model based on the classical grand theories models of behaviour upon the identification of the singularity of the tourism product

Schmoll (1977 cited Cooper and Gilbert 2008) propose a model based in the determinants of travel behaviour which are influenced by factors such us travel stimuli, image, confidence, cost and time constraints Although the model identifies significant attributes and values of tourist behaviour it has been criticised for being a static model as there are no inputs or feeback loop in

it (Cooper and Gilbert 2008)

Mayo and Jarvis (1981) based their model is the Howarth and Seth model where the decision making process is a sequence of stages where the consumer is seen as a problem solver They point out the special characteristics of the tourism product and they highlight the importance of the information and evaluation stages However they still fail in provide an activity based theory (Cooper and Gilbert 2008)

Mathieson and Wall (1982), created a model based in the classical models of consumer making process proposing a five stage model over a framework of four interrelated factors: tourist profile, travel awareness, destination resources and characteristics and trip features However, the model has been criticised for taking a product based perspective instead in a consumer based perspective (Cooper and Gilbert 2008) In figure number 2.3 it is possible to appreciate the five stages process that Mathieson and Wall (1982) proposed for the tourism product

The model represents a simple process of stages similar to EKB model; the main difference is

that the outcome stage proposed by Blackwell et al (1968 cited Williams 2002) it is divided in

this model by two separate stages: the pre-travel and during travel stage and the post travel stage As it has been mentioned before, tourism products are not bought and consumed at the same time, there is a gap in time since the travel is bought until it is consumed and this model represent it

As it has been pointed out before, due to the nature of the tourism product, the information research in tourism it is not just a single stage in a process, it is an ongoing process which goes

along the DMP as new options appear and new decisions have to be taken Snepenger et al

(1990) and Fodness and Murray (1998) argue that due to the high amount of information required by tourists when searching for information, information strategies are develop in order

to select the best sources Furthermore, Snepenger et al (1990) identifies four main factors

influencing the search process: first the composition of the holiday groups, second the presence

of family and friends at the destination, third the prior visits to the destination, and fourth the degree of familiarity linked to the destination Apart from these four factors, Moutinho (1987

cited Luo et al 2004) claimed that the purpose of the travel remains the biggest influence on the

tourist behaviour and in special on the information search This means that depending on the type of tourism tourist are going to practice at the destination they will look for different types

of information, use different sources of information as well as they will concede more or less importance to the information found in regards to the attributes of the tourism product sought Another interesting point to mention is the fact that decisions are not constant or have a lineal tendency; decisions might be affected by many internal and external factors which may change among people trough their life cycle (Swarbrooke and Horner, 2007)

All the models exposed above have been an interesting attempt to understand the tourist behaviour, however according to Horner and Swarbrooke (2007) most of them fail in the same points: first, models are based on little or no empirical research and most of them are at least fifteen years old; fact which represents a real weakness in a changing society where new technologies are revolutionizing consumer behaviours Second, many models do not recognize the importance of the motivators and determinants on the decision process Third, they assume that the purchase decision is a rational one; however, sometimes it is not Fourth, some models consider the purchasing process as constant, when depending on the travel or tourism product the tourist may change its preferences and may be influenced by other factors Fifth, they are very complex for marketers to use them And sixth, tourists are usually considered as a

homogeneous group However, the tourist can travel alone, in group, in family, can be experienced tourist or not experienced tourists, they have different personalities, as well as they are differentiated by economic, sociologic, psychological factors Understanding the tourist behaviour is the base to develop a successful marketing strategy And as Swarbrooke and Horner (2007 p 3) stated, “Consumer behaviour is the key to the underpinning of all marketing activity which is carried out to develop, promote and sell tourism products” Therefore it is of highlight importance the study of the subject

Although all the models are not perfect, all of them offer a wider understanding on the tourist decision making process field All of them explain the different stages and factors which may influence the decision-making process as well as take into account the complexity of the tourism product Thus, a general idea of the complexity of tourism behaviour may be created

2.2.5 Factors influencing the decision-making process in tourism

As it has been mentioned before, the choice of a tourism product is the outcome of a very complex set of decisions When buying a holiday, the tourist is buying several tourism products, products which are different in nature as well as interdependent As consequence the tourist will

be affected by many factors, might be internal to the tourist or external in the environment, and which will influence the different elements of the holiday separately (Horner and Swarbrooke, 2007)

The problematic of the tourist decision is that once the purchase of a holiday has been concluded, the tourist does not stop taking decisions The purchase of a holiday is not the ultimate decision; the person will continue taking decisions all over the holiday about the activities in which he may participate at the destination

The principal factors of which a tourist can be influenced into his decisions are the following:

Figure 2.4: Factors influencing the holiday decision

Source: adapted from Horner and Swarbrooke (1996) in: Horner and Swarbrooke (2007)

From the graphic it can be highlighted the wide range of factors which can influence the travel decision, both internal and external to the tourist As external factors it is interesting to highlight word of mouth communications and travel media for the purposes of the present research; they both influence decisions from an information source perspective It must be said that all these factors are strongly related to tourist motivations and determinants, and that depending on the very single tourist they will affect in different ways

2.2.4 Typologies of Tourist behaviour

Along the decades, researchers have tried to predict the tourism demand; with this, academics of specific areas of study such us psychologists, sociologists or even economists have formulated different typologies of tourist behaviour These classifications have been carried out with the

aim to explain and create a bigger understanding of factors and patterns which make tourist interact in different ways in the travel decision process of the various consumer segments

Cohen (1972 cited Cohen 2004) the sociologist, identified four types of tourists:

The organizational Mass tourist who buys tourists packages or all inclusive tours in order to

visit classical mass tourism destinations, where everything is predetermined before hand and has

a low degree of participation and involvement in the travel search for information There is no sense of adventure or exploration He/she belongs to an institutionalized type of tourism where the contact with the organizers of tourism industry is a constant

The individual mass tourist is similar to the organizational mass tourist, however this one is

flexibility on his/her decisions and want to participate more in the process The tourist strongly depends on the tourism industry but want to try some new things out of the closed and predetermined packages

The explorer is more adventurous, he wants to find his/her own experience participating actively

in this decision choice He arrange most of the elements of the travel by himself/herself, however sometimes he/she has to turn to a travel agency or tourism professionals to get some comfort or security amenities

The drifter looks for intensive experiences and he want to feel immerse in local communities

He/she completely abandon his relations with the institutions of tourism systems planning everything by him He practiced a non institutionalized type of tourism

With this classification of tourists Cohen established an interesting link between the need of living unique experiences and the need of the perception of security The more secure a tourist wants to feel, the more he will trust on tourism specialist and thus he will live less unique experiences (more standardized)

Stanley Plog (1974 cited Plog 1991) developed a similar psychociological model designed to explain what type of people prefer what type of destination according to its psychographics characteristics To the author, tourist population could be divided into a continuum of personalities distributed along the Gauss curve; from psychocentrics, individual travellers whom look for the unexplored, in one extreme to allocentrics, mass tourism tourists, in the other

After Cohen and Plog, researchers such us Dalen (1989), Smith (1989) or Urry (2002) for instances; they have attempted to create new categories of tourists based on their subject of research

It has to be pointed out that all the models proposed until now they are just descriptive and not relevant to the general tourism demand They are just focused in one area of study and not in the bigger dimension where the tourist is immerse In addition, they also fail in the same thing: they

do not take into account the factors which determine the different types of tourists (Sharpley, 1999) These factors might be grouped into demographic and socioeconomic factors such us age, life cycle, gender and income; and structural social factors such as the existence of non-tourists and capitalist tourism (Sharpley, 1999)

Every person goes trough different stages in life, and depending on the age, familiar circumstances or income tourist will change from one typology to another Moreover, in these classifications it is not always the tourist who can decide what tourist is going to be, but it is the society who is going to classify you (Swarbrooke and Horner, 2007)

2.2.6 Online tourist behaviour: the new client, the new tourist

2.2.6.1 The web as a platform: Web 2.0

The development of the information communication technologies (ICT’s) and the Internet, it has completely revolutionized the way people interact and behave with each others in the day to day activities The traditional commerce that our grandparents knew, it does not exist anymore, now most of the businesses belong to the electronic commerce world (ecommerce) Ecommerce can be defined as “the process of buying, selling, transferring or exchanging products, services

and/or information via computer networks, including the Internet” (Turban et al 2006 p4)

In this new world of ecommerce, ICT’s are continuously evolving, pushing consumers to the adaptation of the new technologies and emerging technological trends The Internet has suffered

a deep change from its very early stages where the web was static and users could only read the information which professionals upload to the Internet; it was a unidirectional flow of communication In 2005 Tim O’Reilly claimed that nowadays society is living the second phase

of the Internet, the so-called Web 2.0 In this new phase, the Web is considered as a platform where the user is not anymore a passive character; the user has become an active character able

to create and generate contents and services (Nafria, 2007); it is a bidirectional flow of communication (Dellarocas, 2003) Web pages have become interactive allowing users to establish relationships with other users (peer to peer) and meet via online communities, forums, chat rooms and different social media platforms; and this is done in order to exchange information concerning for instances products, experiences, opinions and ideas Thereafter, this bidirectional information exchange process supposes an enormous impact upon tourist behavior The tourist is not just using marketed information but also non marketed information sources via Internet; users are more than ever in power According to Chung and Buhalis (2008) in the Web 1.0 phase, tourists could just use the Internet as a mere source of information However in this Web 2.0’s phase tourists can use the Internet before the travel in order to find information and make purchases; during the travel trough blogs and forums and after the travel experience sharing photos, writing opinions, uploading pictures and videos and so on

Thus, it can be concluded that not only the web pages have changed, but consumers too And if web pages have evolved it is not only due to the new technologies but also to satisfy the needs and expectations of new customers

2.2.6.2 The new consumer, the digital user

Marketing Professionals such as Maldonado (2008) or Pons (2008), they have pointed out the fact that the new client is changing, is moving on to the ADPROSUMER (advertiser, producer, and consumer)

AD (advert) - the client is satisfied or dissatisfied with a product or service and thus he shares

his experience with others, turning into their major content advisor The viral strength which has

a satisfied client is incalculable (Maldonado 2008)

PRO (producer) - it is a new generation of clients which produce information (reviews,

comments, assessments, photos, videos, podcasts) and it share them with the others

SUMER (consumer) - the client does not only produce information but also he uses it

As consequence to this new phase of the Internet consumers not only consume products but produce contents and serve as advertiser of products To an adprosumer most of the TV advertisements, radio, magazines, touristic webs, and tourism offices might be unnoticed; they

trust more in the good experience of other clients of the same profile This means that they give more importance to the word of mouth generated by other consumer’s opinions of the same profile rather than professional information of businesses and professionals Thus, peer to peer communications are becoming the preferred way for communications

Some authors such us Presky (2001) or Maldonado (2008) have studied the new type of consumer emerged from the new society and technological trends Maldonado (2008) claims that in the world of the social software (web 2.0) it is possible to distinguish among three generations of users/consumers:

Digital natives are users of 12-30 years old whom adopt the new technologies in a very natural

way They have born in this new age of Knowledge and Information society; as consequence it

is something natural, they have or are growing up with this technology era They are the “native speakers” of the Internet language They use instant messaging, mobile phones, blogs, geolocalization and different social applications where they can share contents

Digital Immigrants are users of 30-50 years old They are on the peak of their professional

career; therefore they do not have enough time to be up to date with the technological advances However, they have to do it if they want to compete with younger generations They have to do

a big effort in order to adapt themselves to the new technologies and Internet applications

Digital wise people are users of 50 onwards who despite of the fact that their learning curve is

high, they have time to investigate and learn in order to be up to date

Digital consumers (adprosumers) belong to different generations; therefore, they have grown up with different values, attitudes, knowledge, experiences and technologies According to Teo (2001) age, gender, economic profile, technological knowledge and Internet skills (among other factors) determine the use that consumers might do of the Internet Studies such as that of

Sexton et al (2002) demonstrate that the level of computer or Internet skills and knowledge is

negatively related to the use that different generations give to the Internet as a source of Information This means that the older a person is, the less is supposed to use the new and different applications of the Internet; and that younger generations will make a wider use

2.2.6.4 The new tourist

When concentrating on the tourism sector, this new innovation in TIC’s and the new digital user leads to the new tourist This new tourist which according to Buhalis (2002) is more

sophisticated, more demanding, and requires high quality products; this tourist has a wider knowledge of tourism destinations and products, he is more experienced and he gives high value

to money and time The new tourist has clear preferences and he is always comparing the different alternatives

In addition, new tourists are more cultural and environmental educated, looking to get more involved in local societies when travelling Tourists from all part of the most important tourism generating regions in the world are becoming frequent travellers, and they are linguistically and technologically skilled (Buhalis 2002)

Figure 2.5: The new tourist

Source: Adapted from Poon (1993)

The tourist is not anymore a passive customer who goes to a travel agency and sits down for several hours so he goes out of the agency with a holiday purchased The new tourist is more active, like to get involved in the purchase process and it is flexible in the choice and service delivery (Poon, 1993) Now he is using less travel agencies focusing more on the Internet as the main source of information and purchase of tourist products According to Buhalis (2002) there are several factors which motivate tourists to use the Internet: first the richness and deepness of the information provided Tourists can get a great amount of information of the different alternatives at the same time; second the information provided is easy to use; third tourists can

access at the information at any time and with a low cost and fourth tourism products are usually offered at discounted prices as suppliers operate with fewer intermediaries This were the main motives for using the Internet in its first phase (Web 1.0), however in the Web 2.0, apart from the reasons named before, tourists go to the Internet to seek for the so-called Social Media platforms in order to find other users experiences and opinions, to share photos, videos, experiences, ideas and create new relationships And according to McGrath (2008) this is done for three main motives: Trust, it is non marketed information and thus it is perceived as more reliable; Simplicity, it is easier to participate; and Interactivity of the content, which is wide and varied

2.3 Social Media, the new tourist information platform

2.3.1 Introduction to Social Media: concept and evolution

The evolution of the internet, as well as the constant evolution of society has lead to conceive new forms of communication, thus, new ways of media Traditional forms of media are not anymore effective, because as has been mentioned before, the consumer has changed The new consumer is more sophisticated and thus he needs and requires more specialized media where he can take information from This new type of media is called Social Media, which in spite of the fact that its nature is in the very essence of the Internet, Communication; due to the novelty of the concept it lacks of an academic definition Some academics and professionals have tried to establish a definition for Social Media, for instances Universal McCANN (2008 p.10) defined social media as the “applications, platforms and media which aim to facilitate interaction, collaboration and the sharing of content”; and Safko and Brake (2009 p.6), whom have defined Social Media as the “activities, practices and behaviours among communities of people who gather online to share information, knowledge, and opinions using conversational media” Conversational media, as it is defined by the same author, are the Internet applications which allow users to upload and share content; might be words, photos, video or audio files From both definitions it is possible to appreciate the main features of Web 2.0: community and interaction among users Thus, in simple words, Social Media are those web-based platforms and applications which allow users to upload their own information and to share it with other Internet’s users This information upload by users is the so called “User Created Content”

(UCC); which according to the OCDE (2007) in his report Participative web: User created

content UCC is the online content which is produced by non professional’s users of the media as

an opposition to the traditional media

As seen in the same report of the OCDE (2007) not all contents upload by consumers are UCC, User Created Contents are just those contents which fulfill three essential requirements: first, the content has to be written and published online by users in a web page where at least a few number of people can have access to it Second, the content has to be creative; it must imply a minimum amount of creative effort, which means that the author has to add some personal value

to it For instances, a famous film uploaded is not considered UCC but a photos, videos or blogs

in which the author express his experiences it is UCC And third, the content has to be created outside professional’s routines and practices, what means that the content is not created in a professional context or with any aim of profit or remuneration It might be created for prestige, desire to express oneself and connecting with people among different reasons

UCC and social media platforms have suppose a real revolution on the Internet Nowadays, users can create content, uploaded it to the internet and share their own experiences, opinions, thoughts and so on This UCC and social media platforms form a new and more interactive source of information, essential and of highlight importance to the tourism sector which as Sheldon (1997) pointed out tourism is information intense industry due to the tourism product features In addition, it is also interesting to analyse UCC and its platforms because as OCDE (2007) claimed in its report, users will give more value to user generated content than to professional content as it may be more personalized on the demand side where users have the power In addition non marketed information might be seen as more credible information (Mill

& Morrison, 2002) However, in spite of the credibility which is attributed to UCC, the great amount of UCC upload on the Internet may confuse users pushing them to questioning the credibility and veracity of information as well as the quality (Chung and Buhalis, 2008)

2.3.2 Social Media Platforms

There are hundreds of platforms where internet users can interact and share information with other users, starting from blogs, forums, wikis, video and photo sharing to social networks, virtual communities, chat rooms and podcast According to the report presented by Universal McCANN (2008) the key social platforms can be appreciated in the figure 2.6:

Figure 2.6: Key social media platforms

Source: Universal McCANN (2008)

These platforms promote different ways of interaction among users since they are designed to supply all segments of consumers They encourage users and travellers to post and share their (travel) experiences, comments, opinions to serve as a source of information for other users (Xiang and Gretzel, 2009) Depending on the interests, motivations and attitudes of the users they will prefer to use one platform instead of another It is also important to mention the fact that several platforms may be used as applications in the same webpage

From the presented figure, it can be highlighted, described and analysed the main platforms (blogs, social networks, chat rooms, forums, video sharing and photo sharing) which according

to the author they may imply major sources of information and participation for tourists, as it is the main focus of the present study

As seen in Camilleri et al (2007), a blog or blogging is a type of website/platform formed by

entries or posts, which are normally short pieces of text which often included photos or link, and are organized in reverse chronological order For instances, very well known blogging platforms are Blogger, WordPress and Typepad And examples of blogs can be found in

http://jimmypons.vox.com/ or http://buhalis.blogspot.com/ Blogs allow users to express themselves about different topics of interest, might be someone’s experiences, opinions or thoughts

In regards to widgets, also called wikis, they are collaborative tools simple to use which allow

users to publish, edit or erase contents on the web The major example of wikis is Wikipedia, the free online encyclopaedia

Concerning Social networking platforms Boyd and Ellison (2007) defined them as those

platforms which provide to internet users of a series of applications to create a public or semi public profile within a community system of people who know each other or share same interests These platforms allow users to create a list of users to whom they share any connection and see other list and connections trough the community system Social networking sites have been identified by some authors as online communities which according to Preece

(2001 p.348) they are “any virtual social space where people come together to get and give information or support, to learn or to find company” Thus, they can be compared

The interesting fact when considering social networks as communities is the sense of group; opinions coming from people of the a same community are usually perceived as relevant and

unbiased information (Smith et al 2007); thus, more trustworthy According to Valkenburg et al

(2006) there are three types of social networking sites: friend sites such as Facebook, Tuenti and Myspace; dating sites such as Meetic and okCupid; and common interests web sites such as Trydadvisor, travellerspoint, Minube or Trabbudy which are related to tourism

According to OCDE (2005) a Chat room can be defined as a virtual space where two internet

users (they know each other) establish communication in real time, usually in writing form When one user type information the other receives it instantly Examples of chat rooms are for instances: ICQ, Yahoo chat room, Terra chat room or MSN chat room

Message boards, also known as forums or discussion groups, are those platforms where users

can write short messages about a topic of interest and wait for other user’s answers It not necessary to participate, it is possible just to check what people are talking about The interesting fact of these forums is that it can be a great source of specific information, over all when a topic is completely unknown for a person Examples of forums are: losviajeros.com, lonelyplanet forum and viajaraegipto.es

Regarding Video or photo sharing platforms, according to the PC magazine encyclopaedia

(2009), they are platforms which allow users to upload video or photo files, store them and share them with other users Examples of video sharing platforms are the worldwide known Youtube; and photo sharing: Picasa, Fotolog, Flirk

All of these Social Media platforms allow users to upload, interact and share information with other users They constitute an immense source of information where users can gather information or even participate However, it can be deeply discussed not only veracity and quality of the information, but the security and privacy of details that 2.0 web pages provide to users

In regards to the tourism sector, first it has to be highlighted the fact that, the tourism industry is not selling simple products, but experiences Experiences which are very depending on emotions, feelings, perceptions and even, on psychographic, demographic and sociological factors stocked on unique individuals As consequence, tourists, as human beings they are, need

to express their experiences and own feelings to third people; might be face to face or via Internet and Social Media In addition, as consumer’s experiences they are, people tend to trust more on them; on experiences lived by other consumers instead of the information produced by the owners of businesses And as Bickart and Schindler (2001) pointed out, the spread of electronic UCC or eWOM as marketers refer to it, produce more credibility, empathy and relevance rather than traditional marketer produced websites A recent study published by Gretzel and Yoo (2008) has shown that “reviews play an important role in the trip planning process for those who actively read them They provide ideas, make decisions easier, add fun to the planning process and increase confidence by reducing risk making it easier to image what places will be like” Thereafter all the platforms where tourists can express themselves, they will

be used by other tourists to gather for information from in order to take ideas, reduce the complexity of decisions and make the process less tedious

2.3.3 Social media as the new “Word of Mouth” platform (eWOM)

Information and knowledge society has lead to the digitalization of information processes, and then new forms of communications and sources of information have appeared on scene And focusing on the online world, many marketers have qualified Social Media as the perfect platform for the new Word of Mouth communications emerged For instances Bristor (1990 citet Bansal and Voyer 2000 p.167) pointed out that a WOM network is a “social network consisting on a set of people who engage in WOM, plus de relationship between them” Therefore, this sense of network and interpersonal relationships is what make social platforms

as the platform for the new word of mouth, the electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM)

eWOM has been boosted with the Internet and over all, with the apparition of the interactive web pages, the so called web 2.0 sites where the user has a great control upon the online media

In order to define it in a more academic way, Litvin et al (2008 p.461) defined eWOM communications as “all informal communications directed at consumers through Internet-based

technology related to the usage or characteristics of particular goods and services, or their

sellers” From the definition it is possible to appreciate the existence of interpersonal

relationships which are not necessarily pushed by marketers Informal communications can be

pushed by consumers promoting a peer to peer communication, which as Gruen et al (2006)

pointed out it is produced in order to exchange a specific know-how among consumers and which can be used as an information source enhancing competence and knowledge It is similar

to the traditional WOM, however, there exist three main differences: first the exchange of information is not produced synchronically, in other words, the receiver of the information does not receive and immediate feedback; however this information can be “accessed, linked and

search” (Litvin et al., 2008) Second eWOM is established in a one to the world information’s

platform instead of a one to one platform, characteristic of traditional WOM And third sender and receiver do not have to know each other, fact which carries along questions of credibility of the information (Dellarocas, 2003)

According to Henning-Thurau et al (2004) individuals participate in this exchange in order to

obtain all the necessary abilities to understand and use a product or service And the Internet forms a platform for the viral spread of Word of Mouth communication

2.3.4 Perceived benefits of WOM

As it has been mentioned before, in WOM communications there exist at least two participants,

a sender and a receiver of information Both participants engage in the communications in order

to gain something, what according to Blackwell et al (2006) the receiver gains valuable

information for a purchase decision; and the sender will gain confidence of the product or service he is talking about, reinforcing his purchase decision and behaviour influencing over other people behaviours This constitutes the core of WOM communications, the obtaining of benefits of an exchange of information

Blackwell et al (2006) remarked the main benefits of WOM communications in the following

chart

Table 2.1: Benefits of world of mouth communication

HEDONIC BENEFITS FUNCTIONAL BENEFITS Receiver Decrease risk of new behaviour

Increase confidence of choice Decreased cognitive dissonance Increase likelihood and acceptance

by a desired group or individual

More information about options More reliable/credible information Less time spent on search

Enhanced relationship with another individual

Sender Feeling of power and prestige of

influencing other behaviours Enhanced position within a group

Potential reciprocity of exchange Increased attention and status Increase in number of individuals with similar behaviours

Increased cohesion within group Satisfaction of verbal expression

Source: Blackwell et al (2006)

As it can be seen from the chart, there are several perceived benefits from WOM communications; benefits which mainly enhance the confidence of consumers However, if we focus the attention in electronic WOM communications, there are two factors which could be modified First, the satisfaction of verbal expression; in eWOM communications most information is written, just in some cases such us the use of podcasts or videos verbal expression can be produced And second, less time spends on search; it is true that the receiver just have to go online to check plenty of information, the problem comes when the receiver wants specific quality information If the receiver wants to find a high degree of credible information he will have to seek for it more deeply, looking several web pages Thereafter, it can be highly time consuming

According to Blackwell et al (2006), the benefits perceived by consumers are higher when (1)

consumer’s knowledge about a product is little or zero,(2) consumer does not have the ability to evaluate products, (3) the consumer does not trust marketers advertising (traditional media), (3) other information’s sources produced little credibility to the consumer, (4) consumer has great

needs of social approval, (5) the product or service is complex, (6) strong social ties exist between sender and receiver (Granovetter, 1973), (7) a product or service is difficult to test (8) and the product is highly visible to others

2.3.5 Determinants of WOM influence

Word of Mouth communications are based on interpersonal relationships, thus, most of the models which have tried to explain which factors determine WOM communications are based

on interpersonal forces (Cohen and Golden, 1972; and Bansal and Voyer, 2000)

According to Bansal and Voyer (2000), WOM communications are affected by interpersonal and non interpersonal forces In this manner, the authors recognize the importance of social relationships, and thus, social networks within the field of word of mouth communications In his model, they identify “active seeking” and “tie strength” as interpersonal forces; “perceived risk”, “sender’s expertise” and “receiver’s expertise” as the non interpersonal forces These forces interpersonal and non interpersonal are explained as the determinants of the influence and use of WOM

Concerning interpersonal forces, Bansal and Voyer (2000) suggest that the more active a message is sought, the more influence it will cause upon someone decision due to predisposition

to obtain a result In regards to the strength of ties, depending on the degree of the relationship among people the perception and influences over the consumer decisions making process will

be higher or lower (Brown and Reingen,1987; Granovetter, 1973) It has been also discussed the idea that sources of information linked with a strong tie, will be perceived as more credible than sources with a weak tie (Rogers, 2003); hence, sources with a strong tie will be perceived as more credible than weak tie’s sources

Regarding non interpersonal forces, Bansal and Voyer (2000) suggest that there are products like the tourism product, which are overlapped to high levels of perceived risk And that depending on the risk perceived consumers will get immersed in a deeper search of WOM sources of information (Arndt, 1967) Murray (1991) pointed out that WOM is the most relevant type of communication in reducing the perceived risk due to the explanation and feedback opportunities it allows.Concerning sender’s expertise, it is stated that the higher experience the receiver perceive the sender has in a subject, the higher credibility the receiver will attribute to