2. Over 80 members in different parts of the world
Developing timely research outcomes for industry, destinations, government and international agencies
Generating funding to support PhD student and masters student development
Over 80 members in different parts of the world
8 research program areas including community economic development; heritage and culture; tourist behaviour; tourism and ICT.
4/01/2018

3. Recent NZ Research
Golden Bay
Wellington

4. Recent Global Research

5. Backpacker Use of User-Generated Content (UGC)
4/01/2018
NZ Backpacker Industry Conference
Backpacker Use of User-Generated Content (UGC)
Name
Luiz Mendes-Filho
Auckland University of Technology
In cooperation with
The New Zealand Tourism Research Institute
NZTRI I Private Bag I Auckland 1142 I New Zealand I Ph (+64 0) I I

6. Outline of Presentation
4/01/2018
Outline of Presentation
User-Generated Content (UGC)
Traveller Reviews
Focus Group Results
Implications for BP Industry
4/01/2018

7. User-Generated Content (UGC)
4/01/2018
User-Generated Content (UGC)
Data, information, or media produced by the general public on the Internet such as photos, videos, ratings, reviews, blogs
4/01/2018

8. User-Generated Content (UGC)
Travel reviews -> web users share their experiences
Online travel reviews are used frequently to transmit travel-related decisions
97.7% of Internet travellers read other travellers’ reviews during the process of planning a trip
TripAdvisor.com -> boasts close to 25 million reviews and opinions on more than 490,000 hotels and attractions
4/01/2018

9. Traveller Reviews
4/01/2018

10. Traveller Reviews
4/01/2018

11. Focus Group Results
YHA Auckland - 10 backpackers from 6 different nationalities: England, Ireland, Wales, Australia, Germany and Korea
90% used UGC when choosing which accommodation to book
90% think that UGC has influenced their travel decision
Travel Consumer Review websites most used
LonelyPlanet.com 70%
TripAdvisor.com 50%
Hostelworld.com 20%
Mytravelguide.com 20%
Hostelbookers.com 10%
RealTravel.com 10%
4/01/2018

12. Focus Group Results
Content generated by the Internet users is empowering online travellers in the planning and buying processes of their trips
8 components of Consumer Empowerment:
Argument Quality
Information Framing
Source Credibility
Information Consistency
Recommendation Consistency
Recommendation Rating
Medium
Entertainment
4/01/2018

13. Focus Group Results
Argument Quality - Participants consider argument quality important (“If the review is from 2 years ago, the hostel may be deteriorated by now”)
Information Framing - Participants feel more confident to make the decision to book accommodation if they have both positive and negative comments in their hands (“Looks more believable when there are both positive and negative comments”)
Source Credibility - Participants are concerned with the user-generated content on the Internet because they do not know who they are dealing with (“You have to be careful with the user comments”)
Information Consistency - Participants are keener to accept information that is similar to their own (“When I read the first comment about a hostel on the web and it has the same opinion as me, I stop researching and go for it”)
4/01/2018

14. Focus Group Results
Recommendation Consistency - Participants believe that if similar experiences are repeatedly posted by different people on the web, the likelihood of backpackers trust in that experience is higher
Recommendation Rating - Recommendation ratings are considered quite important for the backpackers participants (“I used hostelworld.com looking for information about Auckland. I looked at anything above 60% rating first”)
Medium – Participants agree that medium such as technology, websites, search engines are essential for them to use before booking accommodation (“Websites are more updated than books. You can read a review posted yesterday from hostelworld.com”)
Entertainment - Participants feel entertaining by reading review comments on the Internet. They feel excited surfing on the websites to get opinions about the accommodation and its facilities
4/01/2018

15. Implications/Lessons to BP Industry
Backpackers read traveller reviews before making decisions
Consider the 8 components in the design of the hostel websites:
Argument Quality
Information Framing
Source Credibility
Information Consistency
Recommendation Consistency
Recommendation Rating
Medium
Entertainment
Next stage of the research……..
4/01/2018

16. Imaginative Travel: experiential aspects of user interactions with destination marketing websites Tim West-Newman
NZTRI I Private Bag I Auckland 1142 I New Zealand I Ph (+64 9) Ext 8890 I I
4/01/20184/01/2018

17. Background: Tourists and the Internet
Tourists are purchasing an experience rather than a collection of services.
Travellers consider many different kinds of kinds of information (e.g. functional, aesthetic) from a variety of sources (e.g. other traveller’s stories, guide books, documentaries)
These can work together to create a picture of what the traveller will experience.
This information is often sought through the Internet
4/01/20184/01/2018

18. Research Interviewed backpacker travellers to N.Z.
Participants were interacting with destination website during interview
Sessions recorded on video with screen capture
Interested in what was going through their minds when they looked at website …
4/01/20184/01/2018

19. Findings: Authenticity…
4/01/20184/01/2018

20. Findings: Authenticity
‘ It’s kind of [like] you can see that nature is bigger than you. This person is totally dwarfed by the rocks around them yet they’re obviously able to navigate it. The falling water is very cool I don’t think it’s very typical of many places you find, it seems like it would be a great experience. There’s a huge rock which is a way of conveying some danger, make it risky ..it’s like you’re really navigating something, really doing something. Not like a museum where you just go there and look at something.’ …
4/01/20184/01/2018

21. Findings: Authenticity
Now the key factor in product differentiation
Used in the sense that experiences ‘resonate’ with expectations
Product of a ‘probing comparison between self and Other’ …
4/01/20184/01/2018

22. …
4/01/20184/01/2018

23. ‘This is more geared towards tourists
‘This is more geared towards tourists. In all that video it gives me the impression that you need a lot of money … not to go to new Zealand. But to do all that stuff.’ …
4/01/20184/01/2018

24. Authenticity, Narrative and Self
People like to tell stories about themselves
They place themselves as protagonists in a story when consuming media
They also consume other’s stories
These stories allow people to explore different aspects of their identity/self
Such stories are seen as authentic when they resonate with personal constructions …
4/01/20184/01/2018

25. …
4/01/20184/01/2018

26. Authenticity, Narrative and Self
‘It’s really about being active, being outdoors. Really exploring not just getting to a place by bus and just getting off the bus taking a picture. Really hands on if you really want to see a place, a really original place then you need to do some walking.’ …
4/01/20184/01/2018

27. Authenticity, Narrative and Self
‘It seems to me that the person who wrote the text might not be a backpacker … it sounds strange [for example] “more and more people are now choosing this kind of holiday”...I think backpacking is more… a way of life in the sense that....It is a holiday in the end [but] you’re also working and trying to make a living.’ …
4/01/20184/01/2018

28. Implications/lessons
Representations on the Internet have to fit with user expecations
Credibility is important
The perceived credibility of information on the internet depends on the nature of the content, who it’s from, and how it is presented …
4/01/20184/01/2018