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The aim of this study is to determine social media use by consumers for travel-related purposes.

A quantitative study was conducted after reviewing the related literature. The primary data were collected by means of an online questionnaire, and the results were analyzed using a statistical package program.

The respondents use social media intensively both in their daily lives ( > 96 per cent) and in travel-related activities (95 per cent). In addition to the detailed analyses of their usage, a model was developed to identify the factors behind social media use for travel-related purposes.

As a result of an online questionnaire method, only consumers having an Internet access could respond to the survey. Additionally, the sample was not random, and the respondents were selected only from Turkey. Consequently, the study may suffer from a generalization problem, especially for markets with major different cultural characteristics.

The findings of the study may assist academics and practitioners to better understand social media and Web 2.0 technologies and their effects on consumers.

One of the dominant trends affecting consumer behavior and tourism marketing in recent years is the use of social media. It is critical to understand such developments and their effects on consumer behavior that may impact on the distribution and accessibility of travel-related information.

The aim of this paper is to develop a comprehensive model that combines brand awareness, brand image, brand emotional attachment, brand evaluation and also shows how these constructs affect e-loyalty through the use of travel-related online social network (OSN) websites.

Based on an in-depth literature review, a conceptual e-loyalty model was developed. Empirical data were collected through a web-based questionnaire from 236 respondents. A structural equation modeling was utilized to test the e-loyalty model.

Results indicate that brand awareness positively affects brand image. Brand awareness directly and indirectly influences brand emotional attachment and brand evaluations. The total effects of brand awareness and brand image suggest that higher awareness level and positive image encourage OSN users to be more loyal. In return, this increases the probability that OSN members will repurchase through the OSN websites that they are emotionally connected with. Study results further suggest that there is no difference between the conceptualization of loyalty and the medium used when brands attempt to create consumer loyalty either in the traditional offline medium or the online medium.

Study results suggest that travel-related brands should consider brand emotional attachment and brand evaluation as the most important antecedents to e-loyalty, while e-loyalty results in the increased transaction intentions of online users.

Very few studies have so far looked at the cause-and-effect relationship between brand emotional attachment and brand evaluation, and e-loyalty through the use of travel-related OSN websites. Study results confirm that the conceptualization of loyalty is similar to the conceptualization of e-loyalty.

The on‐line purchase of travel related products has become an important sector to researchers to study the business success of the Internet. Early indications suggested that the Internet was likely to alter the travel industry from a structural perspective leading to a more consumer responsive environment. In this paper we examine the on‐line travel market and determine where the benefits have been for consumers and where problems still exist. We use theories related to market mechanisms to help assess the impact of the Internet on the travel industry.

This research aimed to examine the role of cloud infrastructure capabilities of tourism small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism supply chain, increasing the online consumption value of tourists.

This study uses stratified random sampling. A value model was formulated, and the study distributed 2,000 surveys; 412 valid responses were received and analyzed using the structural equation modeling approach.

The cloud-based architecture provides tourism SMEs a competitive advantage in the dynamic tourism market and the ability to develop next-generation system capabilities while providing tourism SMEs with a new application foundation to adapt to the ever-changing tourism market.

For tourism SEMs, the cloud allows adjusting strategies and procedures for tourism supply chain management; this agility enables tourism SMEs to anticipate changes in the travel market and respond to changing consumer demands in the tourism industry.

Tourist confidence plays an important role in people’s decision-making, including decisions related to consuming tourism products. However, little research has explored this concept in depth to provide proper guidance on its operation and measurement. This paper aims to explore the concept of tourist confidence, develop and test a measurement and test the effects of tourist confidence on people’s travel intentions at different periods of time.

This study used repeated cross-sectional data and collected responses from three waves of national surveys of U.S. residents in 2021.

The results revealed three underlying dimensions of tourist confidence: (1) confidence in tourism/hospitality service providers, (2) self-confidence in tourist competency and (3) confidence in travel safety. The validity and reliability of the instrument were deemed satisfactory. The results also indicate the positive associations between tourist confidence and people’s travel decisions.

This study developed a measurement that is specific to the domain of tourist confidence. The findings of this paper reveal the multidimensional nature of tourist confidence. When translated into practice, the findings of this study can help practitioners understand how to effectively enhance tourist confidence in challenging, difficult and uncertain times.

This study aims to examine the impact of online travel reviews (OTR) on tourists’ intention to travel based on the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) model. Further, it explored the mediating effects of tourist trust in OTR.

In this direction, this study proposes and empirically validates a conceptual model after collecting data from 299 Indian consumers. Proposed hypotheses were tested by applying the structural equation modelling technique. Bootstrapping method was used for mediation testing.

The findings revealed that various attributes of OTR exert differential impacts on travel intention. The study also confirmed the mediating role of tourist trust in OTR.

This study offers significant practical implications for travel marketers. To capitalize on OTR, travel marketers are recommended to develop an effective and efficient online reviews management system. This will improve the quality, valence, quantity and consistency of OTR, which in turn will enhance tourist trust in OTR, leading to improved travel intention.

No empirical evidence has been traced on how OTR enhances tourist trust in OTR and their travel intention. In support of this, the present study proposes and empirically validates an extensive model to comprehend the role of various drivers of OTR in improving tourist trust in OTR, leading to enhanced travel intention based on the SOR model.

This study, first, reviews the existing literature on electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and, using communication theory, examines its impact on its readers’ decision-making processes. Second, this paper aims to propose some elements of eWOM communications that might be further researched.

A literature review of relevant academic articles produced 97 works related to social communication theory, eWOM and new artificial intelligence trends in hospitality. Thereafter, potential avenues for future research were explored.

The study results showed: valence, relevance, understandability and visual cues are the most important antecedents of message usefulness and the reader’s behavioral intentions; source credibility is the sender characteristic that most affects the reader’s behavioral intentions and consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence is the receiver characteristic that most influences their attitudes and behavioral intentions. In addition, the study highlights four relevant aspects for future research. First, more research into online fake reviews is needed to better understand sender motivations. Second, companies should actively manage negative reviews. Then, the careful choice of platforms on which companies promote their products/services. Finally, the role of artificial intelligence in increasing the effectiveness of eWOM in the hospitality industry.

This paper integrates – grounded on communication theory – results from previous studies about the central elements of communication (message, sender and receiver) and discusses the main trends in hospitality-related eWOM. In addition, the paper examines the potential of specific eWOM elements as future lines of research, in particular: fake reviews, strategies for dealing with negative reviews, the eWOM platform used and artificial intelligence applications.

Este estudio, en primer lugar, revisa la literatura existente sobre el boca-oído electrónico (eWOM) y, utilizando la teoría de la comunicación, examina su impacto en los procesos de toma de decisiones de sus lectores. En segundo lugar, proponemos algunos elementos de las comunicaciones eWOM que podrían investigarse más adelante.

Una revisión de la literatura de artículos académicos relevantes produjo 97 trabajos relacionados con la teoría de la comunicación social, eWOM y nuevas tendencias de inteligencia artificial en hotelería. A partir de entonces, se exploraron posibles vías de investigación futura.

Los resultados del estudio señalaron: 1) la valencia, la relevancia, la comprensibilidad y las señales visuales son los antecedentes más importantes de la utilidad del mensaje y las intenciones de comportamiento del lector; 2) La credibilidad de la fuente es la característica del emisor que más afecta las intenciones de comportamiento del lector; 3) La susceptibilidad del consumidor a la influencia interpersonal es la característica del receptor que más influye en sus actitudes e intenciones de comportamiento. Además, el estudio destaca cuatro aspectos relevantes para futuras investigaciones. Primero, se necesita más investigación sobre las reseñas falsas en línea para comprender mejor las motivaciones del emisor. En segundo lugar, las empresas deben gestionar activamente las críticas negativas. Luego, la cuidadosa elección de las plataformas en las que las empresas promocionan sus productos/servicios. Por último, el papel de la inteligencia artificial en el aumento de la eficacia de eWOM en la industria hotelera.

Este artículo integra –con base en la teoría de la comunicación– resultados de estudios previos sobre los elementos centrales de la comunicación (mensaje, emisor y receptor) y analiza las principales tendencias en eWOM relacionadas con la hostelería. Además, el artículo examina el potencial de elementos específicos de eWOM como líneas futuras de investigación, en particular: revisiones falsas, estrategias para lidiar con críticas negativas, la plataforma eWOM utilizada y aplicaciones de inteligencia artificial.

Palabras clave: eWOM, Teoría de comunicación, Revisiones falsas, Revisiones negativas, Inteligencia artificialTipo de artículo: Revisión de la literatura

本研究, 首先, 回顾了现有的关于电子口碑（eWOM）的文献, 并利用传播理论, 研究了它对读者决策过程的影响。其次, 我们提出了一些可能需要进一步研究的电子口碑传播的要素。

对相关学术文章的文献回顾产生了97篇与社会传播理论、eWOM和酒店业新的人工智能趋势有关的作品。此后, 对未来研究的潜在途径进行了探讨。

研究结果显示。1）价值、相关性、可理解性和视觉线索是信息有用性和读者行为意图的最重要的前因; 2）来源的可信度是最能影响读者行为意图的发送者特征; 3）消费者对人际影响的易感性是最能影响他们态度和行为意图的接受者特征。此外, 该研究还强调了未来研究的四个相关方面。首先, 需要对网上虚假评论进行更多的研究, 以更好地了解发送者的动机。其次, 公司应该积极管理负面评论。然后, 谨慎选择公司推广其产品/服务的平台。最后, 人工智能在提高酒店业eWOM的有效性方面的作用。

本文以传播理论为基础, 整合了以往关于传播中心要素（信息、发送者和接受者）的研究结果, 并讨论了与酒店业相关的电子WOM的主要趋势。此外, 本文还研究了特定的eWOM要素作为未来研究方向的潜力, 特别是：虚假评论、处理负面评论的策略、使用的eWOM平台和人工智能应用。

关键词：eWOM, 传播理论, 虚假评论, 负面评论, 人工智能。

The purpose of this paper is to reexamine several issues about disintermediation from the perspectives of tourism product/service suppliers (hotels) and traditional intermediaries (travel agencies), considering the move of the current distribution landscape toward disintermediation. Internet and mobile technologies offer various tools for consumers to search and purchase products/services from suppliers directly. Consequently, the necessity and role of traditional intermediaries in the industry become questionable.

In all, six focus group interviews were conducted to collect primary data from ten managers of three traditional travel agencies and 11 managers from three business hotels in Hong Kong, which is a major travel destination in Asia with many world-class hotels and tourism facilities.

Despite their different business backgrounds, the interviewees agreed on the increasing importance of Internet technology in the distribution of tourism products. The interviewees also posited that traditional travel agencies are still needed to serve certain customer groups, albeit their role may have little importance.

Practitioners should adapt to technologically induced changes to remain competitive in the e-business era.

This paper provides several original contributions. First, this paper supplements the extant literature by revealing how modern practitioners perceive disintermediation in the tourism and hospitality industry. Second, this paper is the first to investigate the disintermediation issue from the perspectives of tourism product/service suppliers and intermediaries. Finally, this paper provides a reference for industry practitioners to establish adequate strategies that take advantage of Internet technology.

The purpose of this paper is to segment travelers by their predispositions regarding the adoption of smartphones to purchase travel-related services, which is crucial for developing specific marketing strategies for each group of tourists.

A survey was conducted with 1,014 Brazilian travelers assessing their smartphone usage frequency and predispositions regarding travel purchases. The authors selected three variables related to the users’ acceptance of technology (perceived usefulness, ease of use and intentions to use smartphones for tourism purchases) and m-commerce perceptions of risk. Segmentation was conducted employing cluster analysis.

The authors identified three significantly different clusters of travel consumers: “Risk Ignorers,” “Cautious Users” and “Conservatives.” Risk perceptions appeared to be the main discriminating variable, followed by perceptions that smartphone apps are useful and free of effort.

The non-probabilistic snowball sampling technique of Brazilian travelers may limit the generalization of the findings. Also, the use of intentions as one of our clustering variables instead of actual purchase behavior might bring limitations.

Segmentation enables the development of specific marketing strategies for each group, encompassing different risk profiles. Cautious travelers demand the development of safe and trustworthy m-commerce environments, as well as reassuring communication approach to reduce their perceptions of risk in performing mobile-mediated transactions. Conservatives demand marketers to build simpler and more straightforward apps to entice them.

The study reveals more fine-grained nuances to the role of mobile technology and its impact on travelers, unveiling important differences across travelers’ predispositions toward smartphone adoption that is distinctively associated with usage patterns regarding their risk profiles.