Carmen Cox

The role of user generated content in tourists' travel planning behavior

This article reports on research that investigates how websites containing user-generated content (UGC) are used by consumers and the role they have on their information search and travel behavior. The research, conducted via an online survey, represents the views of more than 12,000 hospitality and tourism consumers. The results suggest that although these sites are popular, they are not yet considered to be as credible or trustworthy as existing sources of travel information such as government-sponsored tourism websites. UGC (or Web 2.0 sites, as they are also known) appear to act as an additional source of information that travelers consider as part of their information search process, rather than as the only source of information. The study is significant in that it appears to be one of the few investigations that captures the perceptions of the travel consumer and the way they relate to the information value associated with Web 2.0 sites.

Trust perceptions of online travel information by different content creators: Some social and legal implications

Consumers are increasingly turning to the online environment to provide information to assist them in making purchase decisions related to travel products. They often rely on travel recommendations from different sources, such as sellers, independent experts and, increasingly, other consumers. A new type of online content, user-generated content (UGC), provides a number of legal and social challenges to providers and users of that content, especially in relation to areas such as defamation, misrepresentation and social embarrassment. This paper reports research that examined the level of trustworthiness of online travel information from these different sources. The study used a survey of Australian travel consumers (n = 12,000) and results support the notion that there are differences in the level of trust for online travel information from different sources. Respondents ‘tended to agree’ that they trusted information provided by travel agents, information from commercial operators and comments made by travellers on third party websites. However, the highest level of trust was afforded to information provided on State government tourism websites. These results suggest that greater trust is placed in online travel comments when they are on a specific travel website than when they are on a more generic social networking website. However, respondents were ‘not sure’ that they trusted comments made by travellers on weblogs and on social networking sites. Some 88% of respondents that had not visited UGC websites (or were unsure if they had) indicated that they thought that UGC would be useful in the future – suggesting that they feel that any concerns they may have in relation to legal and social problems resulting from its use will be resolved.

Best Practice Marketing for Regional Tourism Destinations

ABSTRACT This article reports on destination marketing best practices from 21 regional destinations around Australia. The results advocate an integrative approach to destination marketing that aligns with destination management and development objectives. From this, a framework is developed, within which nine best practice principles are identified as essential to successful and sustainable marketing of regional destinations. The key initiatives used to achieve success are discussed in detail, highlighting the need for destination stakeholders to foster a cooperative and strategic approach and ensure consistent design and delivery of a destination brand and image which is supported by tactical advertising and promotional strategies, effective visitor information services, and events to support the destination brand and image to target appropriate visitor markets.

Building brand equity between manufacturers and retailers

In the literature on product branding, significant attention is given to brand equity in the consumer context, but relatively little attention is paid to the application of the concept in the business-to-business (B2B) context. Even less research exists on the role of brand equity in the retailing context. Retailers are often seen as irrelevant to the source of brand value, resulting in manufacturers not targeting retailers to help them build stronger brands. Potential occurs, therefore, for some channel conflict to exist between manufacturers and retailers. On the one hand, retailers tend to focus on building their own, private brands to differentiate themselves from other retail competitors and to increase their power in relation to manufacturer brands. At the same time, most retailers still need to create a good image in the consumer marketplace by selling famous, manufacturer-branded products. In other words, retailers often have to sell famous brands even if they would prefer to sell other brands including their own. Manufacturers tend to focus their brandbuilding efforts on the consumer market to entice consumers to insist that retailers stock their brands, rather than placing any real emphasis on building a strong and positive brand relationship with the retailer directly.

Consumer Experiences of Accommodation Deals Purchased via Social Coupon Promotions: An Australian Perspective

The growing popularity of social coupons presents new marketing opportunities for the travel industry, with accommodation properties promoting deals to entice new visitors through the promise of a highly discounted stay. While their popularity has been well determined, little is known about the experience of guests who have purchased via these deals. This article explores guests’ evaluations of Australian accommodation properties by travelers who purchased their accommodation through daily deals, otherwise known as “social coupons.” A qualitative analysis of approximately 500 online reviews from travelers who had purchased an accommodation “daily deal” reveals 11 key themes in their poststay evaluations. Key issues integral to the success of social coupon promotions are delivering on the value adds promised, providing deal guests with an equitable level of service compared to nondeal guests, and ensuring that consumers are fully aware of the conditions associated with the deal.

Consumer insights and the importance of competitiveness factors for mature and developing destinations

ABSTRACT This article aims to understand the importance of various destination attributes to the competitiveness of tourism destinations from a consumer perspective, while at the same time contrasting these in a mature versus developing destination. A sample of Australian-based domestic tourists were surveyed to assess the relative importance of tourism destination competitiveness (TDC) attributes in the context of developing and mature destinations. This research firstly appears to verify that the importance of many TDC elements, highlighted by consumers, is not dissimilar from other stakeholder-based TDC studies. Furthermore, this research effort established that in terms of attribute performance, relative destination immaturity may well constrain a developing destination’s ability to satisfy the needs of consumers.

Sealing the deal: Factors influencing guest satisfaction with accommodation daily deals

ABSTRACT This research explores the underlying determinants of guest satisfaction with accommodation purchased through daily deal promotions. The results of a survey of three hundred buyers find a generally high level of satisfaction with the overall experience of accommodation daily deals. The research contributes to the literature by identifying five factors, which underpin guest satisfaction with accommodation daily deals. It presents the first published research, which identifies the factors which significantly influence the level of satisfaction reported by guests for accommodation daily deals. The five factors identified are trade-offs associated with purchasing via a daily deal; the value and integrity of the deal; customer delight with the stay; hotel staff’s knowledge of the deal; and redemption challenges. With the exception of redemption challenges, all other factors are shown to have a significant influence on the guest’s overall satisfaction with their accommodation deal stay experience.

Advances in Business Marketing and Purchasing

In the literature on product branding, significant attention is given to brand equity in the consumer context, but relatively little attention is paid to the application of the concept in the business-to-business (B2B) context. Even less research exists on the role of brand equity in the retailing context. Retailers are often seen as irrelevant to the source of brand value, resulting in manufacturers not targeting retailers to help them build stronger brands. Potential occurs, therefore, for some channel conflict to exist between manufacturers and retailers. On the one hand, retailers tend to focus on building their own, private brands to differentiate themselves from other retail competitors and to increase their power in relation to manufacturer brands. At the same time, most retailers still need to create a good image in the consumer marketplace by selling famous, manufacturer-branded products. In other words, retailers often have to sell famous brands even if they would prefer to sell other brands including their own. Manufacturers tend to focus their brandbuilding efforts on the consumer market to entice consumers to insist that retailers stock their brands, rather than placing any real emphasis on building a strong and positive brand relationship with the retailer directly.