IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/infott/v20y2018i1d10.1007_s40558-018-0113-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Understanding European tourists’ use of e-tourism platforms. Analysis of networks

Author

Listed:
  • Tatiana David-Negre

    (Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria - University Institute of Tourism and Sustainable Economic Development (TIDES))

  • Arminda Almedida-Santana

    (Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria - University Institute of Tourism and Sustainable Economic Development (TIDES))

  • Juan M. Hernández

    (Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria - University Institute of Tourism and Sustainable Economic Development (TIDES))

  • Sergio Moreno-Gil

    (Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria - University Institute of Tourism and Sustainable Economic Development (TIDES))

Abstract

This paper analyses the use of the main e-tourism platforms by European tourists. A computer-aided Web interview (CAWI) was used to conduct the research in 19 European countries: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom. The final sample consisted of 13,243 tourists. Through the methodology of Social Network Analysis (SNA), the study focuses on detecting key network players (social media, OTAs, etc.) in the e-tourism ecosystem. The network analysis reveals the structural characteristics of the network of networks in the European e-tourism ecosystem: number of platforms (473), centrality degree and betweenness, and the specific characteristics of the networks by country. The results show an e-tourism network of platforms following a pattern known as core-periphery. Four platforms show a predominant role: Facebook, TripAdvisor, Google, and Booking. These ‘big four’ ego-networks are graphically represented to better understand the e-tourism network. The results also show that different networks are formed by country according to the use of e-tourism platforms. This study helps understand in a novel way the behaviour of European tourists when using e-tourism platforms to choose their travel destination. The results obtained are useful for companies and Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs), understanding how e-tourism platforms are connected in order to design their segmentation and promotion strategy through e-tourism platforms in the European market.

Suggested Citation

  • Tatiana David-Negre & Arminda Almedida-Santana & Juan M. Hernández & Sergio Moreno-Gil, 2018. "Understanding European tourists’ use of e-tourism platforms. Analysis of networks," Information Technology & Tourism, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 131-152, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:infott:v:20:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s40558-018-0113-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s40558-018-0113-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s40558-018-0113-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s40558-018-0113-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bernard J. Jansen & Mimi Zhang & Kate Sobel & Abdur Chowdury, 2009. "Twitter power: Tweets as electronic word of mouth," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 60(11), pages 2169-2188, November.
    2. Anonymous, 2014. "Introduction to the Issue," Journal of Wine Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(1), pages 1-2, May.
    3. Kaplan, Andreas M. & Haenlein, Michael, 2010. "Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 59-68, January.
    4. Koo, Bonwoo & Mantin, Benny & O'Connor, Peter, 2011. "Online distribution of airline tickets: Should airlines adopt a single or a multi-channel approach?," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 69-74.
    5. D. König Michael & Stefano Battiston, 2009. "From Graph Theory to Models of Economic Networks. A Tutorial," Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, in: Ahmad K. Naimzada & Silvana Stefani & Anna Torriero (ed.), Networks, Topology and Dynamics, pages 23-63, Springer.
    6. Baggio, Rodolfo, 2007. "The web graph of a tourism system," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 379(2), pages 727-734.
    7. Verhoef, Peter C. & Kannan, P.K. & Inman, J. Jeffrey, 2015. "From Multi-Channel Retailing to Omni-Channel Retailing," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 91(2), pages 174-181.
    8. Anonymous, 2014. "Introduction to the Issue," Journal of Wine Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 109-110, August.
    9. Suzanne Amaro & Paulo Duarte, 2017. "Social media use for travel purposes: a cross cultural comparison between Portugal and the UK," Information Technology & Tourism, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 161-181, June.
    10. Scott Neslin & Kinshuk Jerath & Anand Bodapati & Eric Bradlow & John Deighton & Sonja Gensler & Leonard Lee & Elisa Montaguti & Rahul Telang & Raj Venkatesan & Peter Verhoef & Z. Zhang, 2014. "The interrelationships between brand and channel choice," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 319-330, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Deukhee Park & Sunmi Yun, 2023. "Comparing Tourism Activity Patterns Influenced by a Tourism Information Source: A Case of the Gyeonggi Province, South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-15, February.
    2. Marcello Mariani, 2020. "Web 2.0 and Destination Marketing: Current Trends and Future Directions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-17, May.
    3. Gelashvili, Vera & Martínez-Navalón, Juan Gabriel & DeMatos, Nelson & de Brito Correia, Marisol, 2024. "Technological transformation: The importance of E-WOM and perceived privacy in the context of opinion platforms," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    4. Alharmoodi, Ahmed Abdulla & Khan, Mehmood & Mertzanis, Charilaos & Gupta, Shivam & Mikalef, Patrick & Parida, Vinit, 2024. "Co-creation and critical factors for the development of an efficient public e-tourism system," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    5. Giorgos Stamatelatos & George Drosatos & Sotirios Gyftopoulos & Helen Briola & Pavlos S. Efraimidis, 2021. "Point-of-interest lists and their potential in recommendation systems," Information Technology & Tourism, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 209-239, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Torres de Oliveira, Rui & Indulska, Marta & Steen, John & Verreynne, Martie-Louise, 2020. "Towards a framework for innovation in retailing through social media," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    2. Alexander, Bethan & Blazquez Cano, Marta, 2020. "Store of the future: Towards a (re)invention and (re)imagination of physical store space in an omnichannel context," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    3. Willems, Kim & Smolders, Annelien & Brengman, Malaika & Luyten, Kris & Schöning, Johannes, 2017. "The path-to-purchase is paved with digital opportunities: An inventory of shopper-oriented retail technologies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 228-242.
    4. Cheah, Jun-Hwa & Lim, Xin-Jean & Ting, Hiram & Liu, Yide & Quach, Sara, 2022. "Are privacy concerns still relevant? Revisiting consumer behaviour in omnichannel retailing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    5. Watanabe, Chihiro & Akhtar, Waleed & Tou, Yuji & Neittaanmäki, Pekka, 2021. "Amazon's New Supra-Omnichannel: Realizing Growing Seamless Switching for Apparel During COVID-19," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    6. Hu, Tun-I & Tracogna, Andrea, 2020. "Multichannel customer journeys and their determinants: Evidence from motor insurance," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    7. Marco Melacini & Elena Tappia, 2018. "A Critical Comparison of Alternative Distribution Configurations in Omni-Channel Retailing in Terms of Cost and Greenhouse Gas Emissions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-15, January.
    8. Saghiri, Soroosh & Wilding, Richard & Mena, Carlos & Bourlakis, Michael, 2017. "Toward a three-dimensional framework for omni-channel," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 53-67.
    9. Olga E. Ustinova, 2019. "Social Media In The Digital Ecosystem: Functions, Role And Value In Marketing," Annals of marketing-mba, Department of Marketing, Marketing MBA (RSconsult), vol. 4, December.
    10. Irene Y. L. Chen & Yi-Shun Wang & Bo-Ruei Li, 2021. "Investigating the Relative Performance of Bricks-and-Mortar, Clicks-and-Mortar, and Pure-Click Firms in Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-17, March.
    11. Hallikainen, Heli & Alamäki, Ari & Laukkanen, Tommi, 2019. "Individual preferences of digital touchpoints: A latent class analysis," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 386-393.
    12. Philipp Hübner, 2017. "Why Do Customers Use Smartphones for Shopping in Omnichannel Environments? Proposition and Testing the Factor Structure of Items for Customer–Smartphone Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM)," Journal of Emerging Trends in Marketing and Management, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, vol. 1(1), pages 22-29, October.
    13. Marcello Sansone & Roberto Bruni & Annarita Colamatteo & Maria Anna Pagnanelli, 2017. "Dynamic capabilities in retailers? marketing strategies: Defining an analysis model," MERCATI & COMPETITIVIT?, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2017(2), pages 17-42.
    14. Gaetano Aiello, 2017. "Products moving along channels, consumers cross channels," MERCATI & COMPETITIVIT?, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2017(1), pages 7-11.
    15. Li, Gang & Zhang, Tao & Tayi, Giri Kumar, 2020. "Inroad into omni-channel retailing: Physical showroom deployment of an online retailer," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 283(2), pages 676-691.
    16. Stephan Kull & Philipp Hübner, 2016. "Why Do Consumers Use Technologies for Shopping in Omnichannel Environments? Examining a Special Relationship Between Consumers and Devices," Journal of Emerging Trends in Marketing and Management, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, vol. 1(1), pages 62-69, September.
    17. Damla İzmirli & Banu Y. Ekren & Vikas Kumar & Siwarit Pongsakornrungsilp, 2021. "Omni-Chanel Network Design towards Circular Economy under Inventory Share Policies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-21, March.
    18. Tueanrat, Yanika & Papagiannidis, Savvas & Alamanos, Eleftherios, 2021. "A conceptual framework of the antecedents of customer journey satisfaction in omnichannel retailing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    19. Wang, Xueqin & Wong, Yiik Diew & Liu, Feng & Yuen, Kum Fai, 2021. "A push–pull–mooring view on technology-dependent shopping under social distancing: When technology needs meet health concerns," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    20. Hietanen, Joel & Mattila, Pekka & Schouten, John W. & Sihvonen, Antti & Toyoki, Sammy, 2016. "Reimagining Society Through Retail Practice," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 92(4), pages 411-425.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:infott:v:20:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s40558-018-0113-z. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.