scholarly journals Positive reviews on TripAdvisor: a cross-linguistic study of contemporary digital tourism discourse

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Cenni ◽  
Patrick Goethals

The emergence of the Web 2.0 profoundly changed the tourist experience and its modes of interaction and communication. Among the most pervasive forms of contemporary tourism discourse we find online reviews posted on social media platforms as TripAdvisor. Previous research on online travel reviews focused almost exclusively on negative reviews and mostly considered monolingual English dataset. In the present study we will explore positive reviews and we will add a cross-linguistic analysis comparing reviews written in English, Italian and Dutch. In this contribution, we first explore the move structure of reviews, and then delve into their different linguistic realizations, paying particular attention to potential cross-linguistic similarities and divergences. Our results show that positive reviews are generally formed by four main moves: positive and negative evaluations, offering extra/background information and future-oriented recommendations. These moves represent stable and recurrent features in reviews written in all three languages under examination. Further, also the topics of the reviews display a cross-linguistic tendency towards similarity, with the preferred topics being the accommodation, its services and the staff. The findings also highlight some divergences among the three language groups, especially not on what is said but on how it is said. For instance, in reviews written in Italian we found expressions of thankfulness and congratulations to the staff, while these are practically absent in the other languages. Moreover, we observed that Italian reviewers tend to realize positive evaluations in a more intensified way (e.g. through the use of superlative lexical expressions) while these strategies are used far less frequently in British and Dutch reviews. With this study we seek to contribute to research in the field of (digital) tourism discourse providing one of the first discourse-oriented analyses on reviews of positive polarity. Moreover, performing a comparative analysis, we aim at gaining a deeper insight on the issue of multilingualism within (online) tourism communication.

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-293
Author(s):  
Sabrina Mazzali-Lurati ◽  
Chiara Pollaroli ◽  
Silvia De Ascaniis

Abstract In this paper we reconstruct the hierarchy of discourse acts that reviewers build in multimodal online reviews for tourist attractions. We aim at showing (1) how reviewers employ different semiotic modes to fulfil the communicative action of tourist recommendation, and (2) the pragmatic function of photographs in the hierarchy of discourse acts. By adopting the framework of Congruity Theory (e.g., Rigotti, 2005; Rocci, 2005), we analyze a sample of positive and negative multimodal reviews of the Great Cathedral and Mosque in Cordoba (Spain) published by tourists on TripAdvisor. We show that the multimodal elements of the reviews fulfil different pragmatic functions within the overall communicative action of providing advice on the tourist site.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy Assaker ◽  
Rob Hallak ◽  
Rania El-Haddad

The present study examines a comprehensive model of travelers’ use of online travel reviews as a form of user-generated content (UGC) through an expanded unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 (UTAUT2) framework. The UTAUT2, which includes Performance Expectancy (PE), Effort Expectancy (EE), Social Influence (SI), Facilitating Conditions, Hedonic Motivation (HM), Price-Saving Orientation, and Habit, within this study incorporates two new variables: Trustworthiness and Homophily. We empirically examine the expanded model on a sample of 200 residents in the United Kingdom. The partial least squares–structural equation modeling analysis revealed that Homophily, PR, and Price-Saving Orientation are the strongest predictors of individual usage intentions’ of UGC. Moreover, the dimension of Habit, operationalized as a subjective measure of impulsive and automatic use of UGC, was found to be the strongest predictor of travelers’ actual UGC usage. This study enhances our understanding of the explanatory variables driving the usage of online reviews (e.g. contrary to prevalent knowledge from previous works, Trustworthiness in the present study was nonsignificant), thus providing far-reaching theoretical and practical recommendations for tourism researchers and practitioners.


Author(s):  
Jin Ling ◽  
Nadezda Sorokina

AbstractThis research employs two samples of heritage sites of the Great Wall of China (Ba daling Great Wall and Mu tianyu Great Wall) and their 21000 reviews on TripAdvisor to visualize and induce feature-related comparisons. Word2vec and D3.js are applied for statistical computing and graphing Minimal Spanning Tree (MST) and ThemeRiver. The applications of MST and ThemeRiver are used to delineate outstanding features and clearer feature relationships. In terms of methodology, we applied an innovative research route to combine MST with ThemeRiver to visualize travellers’ online comments. At the same time, the visual results obtained are combined with qualitative analysis to generate valuable, intuitive summaries that can be used for reference in future research. Practically, the results disclose that although both sites are highly enjoyed by tourists, they are significantly different in terms of service, infrastructure and scenery. This article has implications for policymakers and practitioners with regard to making use of online reviews to gather authentic visitor comments on the Great Wall.


2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 33-49
Author(s):  
Natàlia Lozano-Monterrubio ◽  
Assumpció Huertas

Since the emergence of Online Travel Reviews (OTRs), the collective co-creation of a destination brand image has been more evident than ever before. Stories and emotions expressed in these platforms by experienced tourists can significantly influence other users’ intention to visit. This study explores the extent to which political matters like the incidents that occurred during the last quarter of 2017 related with the Catalan independence process may have a negative impact on the brand image of a destination. This paper has used a specific methodology for content analysis of social media in the field of tourism to study the worst rated OTRs (one-star) of seven different attractions of Barcelona in three social media platforms that are able to geolocate places (TripAdvisor, Google Maps and Facebook) to determine the nature, discourses and the emotions raised. Although most complaints refer to the intrinsic problems of the attractions like high entrance prices and long queues due to tourism overcrowding, results reveal that OTR platforms also include tourists’ personal opinions on such issues as politics and religion. The originality of this research paper is that it delves into users’ co-creation of destination brand image through the analysis of negative OTRs and the emotions expressed in their comments.


Author(s):  
Thea Turkington

Landslides and flash floods result in many fatalities around the globe. Understanding what triggers these events is therefore vital, although how to approach this problem is not straight forward. After background information for the experiment and some guidelines, two options are presented to learn more about the triggers of debris flows: (A) using rainfall or (B) the atmospheric conditions. You can then choose the option that appears more useful and interesting to you (you can always go back and read the other experiment afterwards). The article then ends with a reflection on the results.


1991 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 501-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. H. Whalen ◽  
Andrea G. Levitt ◽  
Qi Wang

ABSTRACTThe two- and three-syllable reduplicative babbling of five French-learning and five English-learning infants (0;5 to 1; 1) was examined in two ways for intonational differences. The first measure was a categorization into one of five categories (RISING, FALLING, RISE-FALL, FALL-RISE, LEVEL) by expert listeners. The second was the fundamental frequency (F0) from the early, middle and late portion of each syllable. Both measures showed significant differences between the two language groups. 65% of the utterances from both groups were classified as either rising of falling. For the French children, these were divided equally into the rising and the falling categories, while 75% of those utterances for the English children were judged to have falling intonation. Proportions of the other three categories were not significantly different by language environment. In both languages, though, three-syllable utterances were more likely to have a complex contour than two-syllable ones. Analysis of the F0patterns confirmed the perceptual assessment. Several aspects of the target languages help explain these intonational differences in prelinguistic babbling.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 43-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peunjodi Naidoo ◽  
Prabha Ramseook-Munhurrun ◽  
Jing Li

Scuba diving is a popular activity in small island destinations which is on the rise. However, it is particularly important to preserve the physical environment for small island developing states due to their unique biodiversity and fragile ecosystems. Scuba diving tourism in island destinations is provided mainly by dive operators who are responsible to deliver the scuba diving experience to tourists. However, despite the importance of sustainability for the tourism industry, it is unclear to which extent the marine environment or green issues are important for consumers. Studies are increasingly suggesting that sustainability is an important feature considered by consumers. However, information is sparse regarding the extent to which sustainability is a key component for customers when evaluating the scuba diving experience. In this study, 3109 text reviews from the Trip Advisor website across all 57 listed diving operators in Mauritius were selected for data analysis. Th e present study uses Leximancer, a text analysis software that conducts unsupervised analysis of natural language texts provided in an electronic format.The Gaze: Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Vol.9 2018 p.43-52


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (10) ◽  
pp. 3083-3099 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panagiotis Stamolampros ◽  
Nikolaos Korfiatis

Purpose Although the literature has established the effect of online reviews on customer purchase intentions, the influence of psychological factors on online ratings is overlooked. This paper aims to examine these factors under the perspective of construal level theory (CLT). Design/methodology/approach Using review data from TripAdvisor and Booking.com, the authors study three dimensions of psychological distances (temporal, spatial and social) and their direct and interaction effects on review valence, using regression analysis. The authors examine the effect of these distances on the information content of online reviews using a novel bag-of-words model to assess its concreteness. Findings Temporal distance and spatial distance have positive direct effects on review valence. Social distance, on the other hand, has a negative direct effect. However, its interaction with the other two distances has a positive effect, suggesting that consumers tend to “zoom-out” to less concrete things in their ratings. Practical implications The findings provide implications for the interpretation of review ratings by the service providers and their information content. Originality/value This study extends the CLT and electronic word-of-mouth literature by jointly exploring the effect of all three psychological distances that are applicable in post-purchase evaluations. Methodologically, it provides a novel application of the bag-of-words model in evaluating the concreteness of online reviews.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 154-182
Author(s):  
Cadence Kinsey

This article analyses Camille Henrot’s 2013 film Grosse Fatigue in relation to the histories of hypermedia and modes of interaction with the World Wide Web. It considers the development of non-hierarchical systems for the organisation of information, and uses Grosse Fatigue to draw comparisons between the Web, the natural history museum and the archive. At stake in focusing on the way in which information is organised through hypermedia is the question of subjectivity, and this article argues that such systems are made ‘user-friendly’ by appearing to accommodate intuitive processes of information retrieval, reflecting the subject back to itself as autonomous. This produces an ideology of individualism which belies the forms of heteronomy that in fact shape and structure access to information online in significant ways. At the heart of this argument is an attention to the visual, and the significance of art as an immanent mode of analysis. Through the themes of transparency and opacity, and order and chaos, the article thus proposes a defining dynamic between autonomy and automation as a model for understanding the contemporary subject.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Santho Vlennery Mettan ◽  
Aldo Hardi Sancoko

Indonesian’s Millennials are estimated to reach 70% of the productive population in 2020-2030 (BPS 2018), who cannot be separated from the internet and social media (Harahap 2017). Due to this fact, (Hsu 2018) and (Benini 2018) claim that millennials are afraid of being left behind by ephemeral content which will disappear within 24 hours so that many social media platforms are equipped with these temporary content features and companies are using temporary content strategies to reach more consumers. SMEs on the other hand have low knowledge of ephemeral content, even though 84% of millennials buy products due to the influence of social media, where ephemeral content lies within (Boen 2016). In the other hand, word-of-mouth has a significant impact on customer purchasing decisions until now. Along with the change to the digital era, word-of-mouth is being accelerated with the help of the internet, it called e-WOM, where many businesses use social media or other online platforms to promote business. The results showed that the two variables of ephemeral content and word-of-mouth with the help of the internet had a significant effect on customer purchase intentions, especially the millennial customer for SMEs in Surabaya City. In the future, by implementing ephemeral content in SMEs media social will increases their customer’s e-WOM.


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