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Profiling of English Tourists Visiting Turkey Based on Attitudes Toward Internet Use in Vacation Decision Making

2011; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 20; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/19368623.2011.536071

1936-8631

Teoman Duman, Abdullah Tanrısevdi,

Media, Gender, and Advertising

Abstract The profiling of tourists according to their decision behavior is not new, but the popularity of the Internet and its increasing role in tourist decisions is becoming an important area of research. This study aimed to profile English tourists visiting the Turkish Aegean summer resort of Kuşadası based on their attitudes toward Internet use in vacation decision making. Research data was collected from tourists in the hotels of Kuşadası. A total of 338 surveys were used in the analysis. The tourists' attitudes toward Internet use in vacation decision making were measured with a 20-item scale. The tourists' profiles were then identified with a cluster analysis that used the tourists' vacation and Internet use behaviors. The results showed that the vast majority of participating tourists were occasional or experienced Internet users, had online vacation reservation and purchase experience, had visited the Web site of the hotel before their vacation, and used the Internet primarily to search value for the price paid. In addition, the results indicated that three dimensions categorize tourists' attitudes toward Internet use: information search, comparison of alternatives, and reservation–contact–purchase. A cluster analysis based on these three dimensions showed that the majority of the surveyed tourists had high involvement with Internet use in vacation decisions. Marketing implications are discussed based on these research findings. Keywords: Internet usetourist attitudesvacation decision makingEnglish tourist profilesKuşadasıTurkey