Grouping tourist complaints: what are inbound visitors’ problems with Chinese destinations?

This study aims to examine inbound tourists’ complaints when visiting China and how these complaints differ in terms of tourist demographics. Tourists’ spontaneous reviews on TripAdvisor were analysed through manual coding and online automated software. Seven categories of complaint attributes with seventy-eight specific items were identified. The results showed different relationships between tourists’ demographic characteristics (age, gender, origins and travel pattern) and complaint items. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed with regard to Chinese tourism management as well as future research.     

In the absence of a main attraction – Perspectives from polar bear watching tourism participants

Wildlife watching tourism has recently received more attention in the tourism literature. However, research is still needed on participants' perceptions on the unpredictable nature of wild animals as main attractions. Information on this topic may help providers keep participants satisfied in the absence of wildlife and move away from exploitative practices sometimes used to guarantee close encounters. Using polar bear tourism as a case study, content analysis of TripAdvisor reviews from Churchill (Canada) and Svalbard (Norway) was used to examine participants’ comments on unpredictable wildlife and reactions when polar bears were not found. Findings indicate that to keep participants satisfied, wildlife watching tourism providers should focus on more controllable parts of the experience, such as high-quality guiding, expectations management, and secondary, more guaranteed side activities. They should also make the most of the natural surroundings, other wildlife in the area and signs of the focal species when encountered.     

‘Troll alert!’: Provocation and harassment in tourism and hospitality social media

With the advent of Web 2.0, social media have emerged as new spaces of hybrid interaction, comprising customer-to-customer, as well as customer-to-business/service-provider communicative exchanges. In the best case scenario, social media sites are communities where members find and share information, experience a sense of belonging, and provide mutual support. However, in many instances, the relatively anonymous nature of social media relieves some of the inhibitions of social interaction, resulting in negative behaviours such as harassment (for instance, in the form of trolling), flaming, and hate speech. This paper examines the phenomenon of trolling as a form of online provocation and harassment which targets users (including customers and businesses) in tourism social media spaces. Trolling remains largely unaddressed in the context of tourism (and hospitality) social media. Specifically, drawing data from TripAdvisor and other online media, the paper examines the incidences of (perceived) trolling and considers TripAdvisor's responses to trolling behaviours.     

A social media analysis of the contribution of destinations to client satisfaction with hotels

To what extent do the ratings of hotels in social media depend on the hotels themselves and to what extent do they depend on the destination of the hotel? That is, if we were able to place a hotel with the same characteristics and services at two different destinations, would both have the same rating or would they differ? By using multilevel regression analysis, we have quantified the extent to which differences in client satisfaction with hotels can be attributed to the destination in which the hotels are located. We have measured this through ratings provided through social media outlets. Data downloaded from TripAdvisor from a sample of 7173 hotels were used. After controlling for specific variables, an 11.38% of the variance could be attributed to the destination. Thus, both hotels and destination management organizations (DMOs) are involved in client satisfaction and must work jointly to secure it.     

Experiencing the real village – a netnographic examination of perceived authenticity in rural tourism consumption

There is an upsurge of research interest regarding authenticity in contemporary tourism consumption as modern tourists have been found to prefer involve in real backstage experiences to participating in pseudo-events and mass congregations. This paper presents a netnographic analysis of tourists’ reviews on village destinations and explores how authenticity is experienced by tourists in a village setting and the indicators pertaining to it. Trip Advisor reviews of three Indian villages were downloaded and analysed. Findings reveal that tourists consider authenticity as a critical factor in rural village experience. The indicators of rural authentic experience and their implications are also highlighted.