Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and possibly interact with, resulting in real-time simulation of one or more of the user's fi ve
senses' (Guttentag 2010: 638). These virtual experiences can seem to be quite close to real life
(Buhalis and Law 2008). The most well-known virtual environment is Second Life, where the
user can explore a virtual world, represented by an avatar (Guttentag 2010). Users in Second Life
can do pretty much a lot of what they can do in the non-virtual world, speaking, creating
content, and even selling using Linden dollars (Kaplan and Haenlein 2010). Tourism themes are
apparent in Second Life, and the Dresden Old Masters Picture Gallery was the fi rst to have a
virtual representation of a museum on Second Life (Guttentag 2010).
Blogs are essentially personal web pages, mainly text based where the blog owner posts
personal commentary, and there may also be a response feature (Kaplan and Haenlein 2010).
Blogs are increasingly used by companies to inform employees and customers, but have the risk
of facilitating comment from employees and customers which may not be favourable to the fi rm
(Kaplan and Haenlein 2010). Consumers are increasingly going online to record their views and
experiences on blogs.
Implications of Internet for tourism brand experience at different
stages of consumption
The Internet is particularly important in tourism, which relies on description and also
representation, as it facilitates communication of tourism offerings and transactions (Buhalis
2011). The Internet has had major benefi ts for the sector, allowing tourism fi rms to communicate
their offerings at much lower cost, bypassing intermediaries such as travel agencies and also
critically functioning as a distribution channel, allowing tourists to reserve beds or fl ights directly
(Raventos 2006). All consumer interactions with the brand comprise the brand experience
(Prahalad and Ramaswamy 2004; Brakus
et al
. 2009). Brand experience does not necessarily have
to involve consumption; it can be indirect exposure through brand communications (Brakus
et al
.
2009). Therefore, it is problematic to associate the brand experience exclusively with the actual
consumption of the service. If the tourist is browsing the Web looking at various hotel bedroom
offerings and settles on a particular one, perhaps using a virtual tour or online user review to
inform the decision, the brand experience has already started. When the tourist arrives at the
hotel, and the holiday or business stay commences, the brand experience is intensifi ed. The tourist
may also blog his/her experience while staying. Subsequent to the stay, the tourist may post a
review online, or join a virtual community. Therefore, it is useful from a management perspective
to investigate the different stages of brand experience prior to consumption, at consumption, and
post consumption, and this is consistent with the defi nition of tourist experience by Tung and
Ritchie (2011). In particular, this will allow analysis of the infl uence of the Internet on the brand
experience of the consumer from fi rst awareness of the brand through to post consumption
refl ection.
Figure 11.1
illustrates the different stages of brand experience, and the social media
which can infl uence the brand experience at each stage. It also highlights the co-creation by the
tourism fi rm/DMO and consumer of the tourist brand experience. The increasing engagement
by DMOs with visitors in the tourism brand experience is apparent from the Experience
Nottinghamshire website web page, 'Your Experience', where the DMO is explicit about how it
intends to use social media to involve the visitor (Experience Nottinghamshire 2012).
Pre-consumption brand experience
The tourist brand experience begins in advance of the actual consumption of the service. A
consumer investigating a potential holiday experience in France becomes exposed to commercial
