China in the Eyes of Western Travelers as Represented in Travel Blogs

Travel blogs provide a new way of understanding consumers' perceptions on destination and its associated products. The purpose of this study was to examine international tourists' destination image of China as represented in travel blog discourse. Data were obtained from blog entries relating to trips to China posted on three dominant travel blog websites. Content analysis facilitated by Atlas.ti 6.0 was performed on a total of 89 China-related travel blogs. The study identified the most frequently discussed aspects of tourists' experiences in China. The results also indicated that the blog authors had mixed and paradoxical images of China as identified by previous research. Marketing implications for China's tourism development based on the results were discussed.     

The perceived usefulness of blog postings: An extension of the expectancy-disconfirmation paradigm

Today millions of consumers connect with one another on travel blogs as both contributors and users. Contributors share detailed narratives of their recent experience with specific hotels/resorts leading to recommendations, while users acquire information from them to base their purchase decisions on. Hotel managers carefully monitor what previous guests say in the evaluations assuming that negative evaluations will deter future customers. Framed in the expectancy-disconfirmation paradigm, this study focused on clarifying the impact consumers who post on travel blogs have on blog users by analyzing user reactions to 134 travel matched blog recommendations. Findings demonstrate that as expected a higher percentage of blog users find multiple evaluations that are congruent with one another (both negative and positive) helpful, and that negative postings were not necessarily bad if followed by a positive counter reaction. Furthermore, the paper addresses the issue of deception attempting to determine if it exists and what effect it has on the web 2.0 medium. Implications for managers and researchers are discussed.     

Involvement theory in constructing bloggers' intention to purchase travel products

Blogs recently have demonstrated their enormous marketing potential, and more and more travel advertisements are being posted in blogs. In light of this observation, this study aims to provide insights into the structural relationship among travel bloggers' involvement level, the advertising effect from blog messages, and travel bloggers' intention to purchase travel products. A travel blogger's purchase intention model was constructed and empirically tested. A total of 900 questionnaires were distributed to identified travel bloggers; 398 valid responses were returned. The data were examined with Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results demonstrated the positive impact resulting from the ad effect as well as the ad effect on purchase intention, which could be verified in travel blog environments. It also indicated that high-involvement travel bloggers are more likely to form favourable impressions with regard to ads in travel blogs. Travel blogs play a positive role in the processing of ad messages; brand management is essential to business marketers since brand attitude is the most influential factor related to the ad effect on purchase intention. Meanwhile, while ad attitude is not significantly effective concerning purchase intention, it remains essential in forming brand attitudes. Several implications for posting advertisements in travel blogs will be discussed and suggested in this paper.     

The Perceived Destination Image of Hong Kong as Revealed in the Travel Blogs of Mainland Chinese Tourists

This study investigated travel blogs as a manifestation of the travel experience, along with the destination image of Hong Kong from the perspective of tourists from mainland China. Recently published blog entries were selected and analyzed using content analysis. Empirical results indicated that the overall perceived destination image of Hong Kong was positive, with particular strengths in transportation, the harbor, and outlying islands. The major weaknesses of Hong Kong as a travel destination were the price of meals outside hotels, rooms in five-star hotels, and the quality of cosmetics and skincare products. This article has implications for policymakers and practitioners with regard to making use of travel blogs to gather authentic visitor comments on Hong Kong.     

Social Media as a New Play in a Marketing Channel Strategy: Evidence from Taiwan Travel Agencies' Blogs

With social media playing an increasingly important role in marketing strategies for travel agencies, this study explores travel agencies that develop their own travel blogs as a marketing channel in order to differentiate their products or services and their strategic performances. The paper herein adopts a two-stage research design, with the first stage developing a three-round Delphi research. According to this research, Taiwanese travel agencies consider four external environment forces, five internal motivations for investment, four developing differentiated strategies, and four channel performance measurement indicators for managing travel agencies' own blogs as a marketing channel. The second stage explores a quantitative survey, Structural Equation Modeling, with the structural equation testing the business model of a travel blog marketing channel strategy. Finally, the findings provide innovative approaches for effectively exploiting differentiated marketing channel strategies when targeting maximum profits.     

Exploring the factors of gastronomy blogs influencing readers’ intention to taste

In recent years gastronomy blogs providing an important channel for electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) to take place are quickly becoming a popular new source of reading material for blog readers. However, little is published to understand what factors from gastronomy blogs play critical roles in predicting readers’ intention to taste local food and beverages. Based on reviewing previous studies, this study developed a research model containing three main categories of variables: (1) inspiring taste desire (i.e., experiencing appeal and generating empathy), (2) forming taste awareness (i.e., providing image, delivering knowledge and presenting guides) and (3) facilitating interpersonal interaction (i.e., social influence and cybercommunity influence), and suggested that these potential variables can influence readers’ behavioral intention to taste directly. Data collected from 329 respondents in Taiwan were tested against the research model using the structural equation modeling approach. The results indicated that excluding delivering knowledge, all the other proposed variables (i.e., experiencing appeal, generating empathy, providing image, presenting guides, social influence and cybercommunity influence) were the critical components significantly influencing online readers’ intention to taste, and the proposed model accounted for 70% of the variance. The findings of this study will not only help hospitality and tourism practitioners in understanding the perceptions of potential customers, but also provide insights into research on technology's influence on hospitality and gastronomy.     

Storytelling approach of the self-reported slow adventure to Tibet: Constructing experience and identity

Most of our travel experiences are stored, recorded, and relived in the form of stories; tourist blogs have emerged as a modern form of travel story. These stories provide information about exciting moments and memorable events, which are usually emotional highpoints that can be useful for tourism marketers. Based on the sociological concept of storytelling, this study investigates which aspects of the slow adventure experience travelers present in their travel blogs through a rubric elaborated on extant literature. The findings reveal three types of slow adventure stories, and each type of story relates to a different identity construction. The article concludes with a discussion of its theoretical contributions in terms of adding to the literature of adventure tourism and storytelling. In revealing the themes and identities relating to specific slow adventure experiences, it provides potential practical implications of travel blogs for slow adventure product designers and marketers.     

北京旅游目的地形象的感知——中西方旅游者博客的多维话语分析

目前,很少有学者采用旅游者博客这一新兴的方式研究游客对旅游目的地形象的感知。文章选择中西方旅游者博客话语为切入点,从“文化繁荣”、“宜居和生态”、“现代化大都市”、“社会和谐”和“经济发展”5个维度探讨中西方游客对北京旅游目的地形象感知的异同,并讨论了两个不同旅游群体在文化背景、意识形态和消费水平方面的差异。最后,文章对如何提升来京中西方游客的体验评价提出了切实的建议。此研究意在强调旅游者博客在旅游目的地形象研究中的重要意义,同时亦希望能够对话语分析的跨学科发展作出贡献。     

Place Familiarity and Attachment: Moderators of The Relationship Between Readers’ Credibility Assessment of A Travel Blog and Review Acceptance

This study examines how the readers’ credibility assessment of a travel blog article written about a destination relates to the following: intention to adopt the opinions expressed in the article; intention to recommend the article to others; intention to visit that destination; and place familiarity with and attachment to that destination. Partial least squares analysis revealed that past experience with the destination is needed for readers to use their credibility assessment of the article to recommend it to others. Place identity negatively moderates between blog’s credibility and review acceptance. Past experience is needed for place familiarity to be a moderator.     

Island residents' identities and their support for tourism: an integration of two theories

Most studies that examine tourism impacts and community attitudes have been carried out from the perspective of industrialized economies, making the findings less valid for small islands. This paper discusses some pertinent issues in relation to tourism development and community attitudes in small islands, and it develops and presents a conceptual framework based on social exchange theory and identity theory. The different facets of identity relevant to small-island communities that are likely to influence attitudes and support for tourism are incorporated in the framework and discussed. These include occupational identity, environmental identity and gender identity. Based on these, five propositions are developed. The study concludes that inclusion of identity variables in behavioral models could increase their predictive power in explaining attitudes to tourism and consequent support for the industry.     

Residents’ support for tourism: An Identity Perspective

Studies on residents’ support for tourism have primarily been conducted in the developed world. This study analyzes community support in the island economy of Mauritius by testing a model based on the social exchange theory and the identity theory. The model proposes that the resource-based occupational identity, environmental identity, and gender identity of the residents influence attitudes to tourism impacts and support (behavior). Results indicate that one’s identity has a direct bearing on support, but may not always influence attitudes. Findings confirm the relevance of the social exchange theory and the identity theory in explaining community support for tourism in island economies. The study’s practical implications and limitations are discussed.     

Understanding Chinese girlfriend getaways: an interdependence perspective

The Chinese word guimi refers to a female's best same-sex friend. The guimi holiday of Chinese women, as a sub-segment of girlfriend getaways, has not yet been well addressed in the existing literature. This study extends interdependence theory, a social psychological theoretical framework for examining dyads and small groups, to the study of Chinese female tourists undertaking girlfriend getaways. The findings from 35 travel blogs reveal that Chinese girlfriend getaways demonstrate two types of power relations: power over and power to. The blogs exemplify four types of mutual dependence: skill, time, knowledge, and psychological dependence; as well as three types of conflict: cognitive, process-related, and relationship-related conflict.     

Chinese recreational vehicle users in Australia: A netnographic study of tourist motivation

This study analysed the blog postings of an influential set of Chinese tourists who share on-line their recreational vehicle (RV) travelling experiences in Australia. It used a netnographic approach to collect qualitative data from 22 rich and detailed Chinese blogs which in total consisted of 77 pages of Mandarin text plus images. The archival work was supplemented by online messages and email interaction with the RV travellers. Coding followed a consultative thematic approach. Segments from the narratives were used to illustrate some of the themes. The travellers' motive items were consistent with much previous motivation work and fitted into an experimental and experiential framework and revealed parallels with the career patterns of experienced western tourists. The need for further samples and contexts, and suggestions for exploring and developing this emerging market were offered.     

The influence of place identity on perceived tourism impacts

This study aims to investigate if local residents’ senses of place identity could affect their attitudes toward tourism. Deploying a survey on urban residents in a Midwest state in the USA, the present study finds place-based self-esteem and self-efficacy affect residents’ perceptions of tourism impacts and support for tourism. While tourism literature suggests social exchange theory to be a useful tool in predicting resident perceptions and attitudes from the perspective of the quality of social exchange of resources (i.e. depending on getting more or losing more), this study adds a new perspective in gauging resident perceptions and attitudes by utilizing place identity theory as a theoretical underpinning instead. This study recommends that place identity theory and social exchange theory complement each other and be both utilized in assessing resident attitudes toward tourism development.     

What makes Airbnb likeable? Exploring the nexus between service attractiveness,country image,perceived authenticity and experience from a social exchange theory perspective within an emerging economy context

As a result of the growth of the notions of collaborative consumption and sharing economy in the tourism industry, this paper applies social exchange theory to investigate how the Airbnb platform influences the Airbnb experience and authenticity, which might lead consumers to like Airbnb and influence their behavioural patterns. By recruiting 466 tourists who had stayed in Airbnb accommodation in Istanbul, Turkey via travel-related Telegram, Twitter, travel blogs, and Facebook groups, this study revealed the importance of the platform and its features in enhancing service attractiveness, perceived authenticity and experience. Furthermore, the results revealed that visitors’ experiences have an influence on Airbnb likability, where Airbnb likability influences their intention to re-visit and to recommend. Significant implications for tourism planning, management and researchers are highlighted.     

Hotels and group identity

The aim is to develop an evolutionary theory which will explain changes in the character and shape of a hotel industry over time. The basis of the theory proposed is that hotels are related to the identity of social groups and therefore to processes of group differentiation. Following discussion of the theoretical framework the theory is illustrated through examples of the UK hotel and public house industries and their relationship with a particular form of group differentiation, namely social class.     

The main paths of eTourism: trends of managing tourism through Internet

Drawing from the tourism and hospitality literature, this paper highlights the main research trajectories and themes in the context of eTourism. We use main path analysis to investigate the development trend of the synergistic relationship between innovative tourism applications and the new technologies. Further, the literature is classified into six groups through discovering the coherence structure in a citation network. The analyses show that research on websites, blogs, and social media on tourism is experiencing accelerated growth, which hints that there is a pendulum shift whereby the information and negotiation power asymmetry between the supply and demand sides are moving from provider-centric to consumer-centric. This study also elucidates the associated market disintermediation phenomenon and long tail effects on the distribution of destinations.     

Too close to work together? Identity conflicts induced by coworker friendships in cyberspace

The meteoric rise in the popularity of social networking sites (SNSs) has connected many employees with their contacts from work. However, clashes are catalyzed when individuals’ professional identities collide with their social ones. This paper aims to explore hotel employees’ identity conflicts stemming from cross-boundary friendships. Building on cognitive dissonance theory and conservation of resources theory, a multilevel model is proposed to examine how befriending colleagues on SNSs induces unfavorable workplace consequences through the mediation effect of identity conflict. The model further scrutinizes whether task interdependence intensifies this negative spillover. This study probes a novel identity issue aroused by SNS interactions in a professional context and advances research on interpersonal dynamics in organizations. It also provides new insights on the role of team-level situational factors. The results generate managerial implications for hotels and employees, suggesting that both groups should be better prepared for possible dilemmas embedded in cross-boundary relationships.     

Travel blogs on China as a destination image formation agent: A qualitative analysis using Leximancer

The Internet spreads tourism information around the world and specifically travel blogs function as an online version of word-of-mouth (eWOM). This research explored the role of blogs as a destination image formation agent for China's inbound tourism. Data were collected from 630 bloggers who wrote on two blog websites about their travels within China in 2011 and 2012. The bloggers on TravelBlog.org and TravelPod.com were mainly from English-speaking countries. Qualitative analysis using Leximancer software was applied and identified nine major textual themes and the relationships among these themes. In order of relative importance, the themes were place, Chinese, people, food, train, city, hotel, China, and students. The research indicated that international tourists tended to have positive images of China.     

Investigating festivals and events as social gatherings: the application of social identity theory

Festivals and events as social gatherings have become an increasingly important sector of the tourism and leisure industries. The present study applied social identity theory to examine the causal relationship between the three mental stages experienced by event visitors: social categorization (fundamental and hedonic values), social identification (social identity), and social comparison (self-esteem), as well as another two consequential factors (revisit intention and electronic word-of-mouth). Data were collected at the Harbin Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in Harbin, China. The results confirmed that fundamental and hedonic values influence visitors’ social identity, which consequently influences self-esteem. The study provides a theoretical foundation for understanding visitors’ attitudes and behaviors in the contexts of festivals and events.