Travel journalism 2.0. Tourists’ motivations, expectations, and practices online

Abstract:

With travel culture increasingly moving online, from bookings to sharing photos on social networks, information concerning tourist destinations is also shifting to the web and digital sources. Whereas travel guides, magazines, and newspaper travel sections were once the gatekeepers of the tourism industry, online forums, review sites, and blogs driven by audiences are quickly becoming equally important sources of information for tourists. Audiences are increasingly producing, selecting, and distributing travel advice and critiques that are viewed as trustworthy, but without the transparency demanded of journalists. But when it comes to finding information, where do today’s tourists actually look and what do they trust? A sample of travelers interviewed in Paris helped explore how they search for information and what value they attribute to various categories, specifically blogs, in fulfilling their travel needs. Results reveal that travelers show a preference for audience-driven content like blogs and TripAdvisor when looking for “insider” or “authentic” information. They deem such sites more personal and akin to word of mouth advice sought by travelers. These same information sources, however, do not always adhere to journalistic standards of transparency or verification, putting into question their trustworthiness. While non-professional travel content gains more readers, professional media is not left behind. Travelers identified journalistic sources as valuable when it comes to more standard or perennial information that bloggers may not, or cannot, provide. Travelers also revealed they systematically search multiple sources – forums, articles, review sites, and blogs – before planning a trip. According to our interviews, this plurality of sources illustrates a lack of total confidence in any one particular source. What’s more, bloggers and other non-professionals are integrating into professional publications, and such convergence further blurs the lines between the journalist and audience, especially as bloggers often lack the ethics and codes of professionals.