Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
information technology fundamentally transforms the conditions of information search and calls
for a paradigm shift. Finally, the future of travel information search behaviour and its implications
for tourism marketing are discussed.
Travel information search
Understanding the uniqueness of travel and tourism products has always been of primary
interest to tourism researchers because they are intangible personal service products which can
induce functional, fi nancial, physical, psychological and social risks. Traditional perspectives of
travel information search have focused on functional needs. According to this perspective, the
search for information enables travellers to reduce the level of uncertainty and to enhance
the quality of a trip (Bieger and Laesser 2004; Fesenmaier and Vogt 1992; Fodness and
Murray 1997; Vogt and Fesenmaier 1998). Vogt and Fesenmaier (1998) expanded the conven-
tional functional information search perspective by identifying four additional needs: hedonic,
innovation, aesthetic and sign needs. This view argues that information needs other than func-
tional needs capture the basic psychological, sociological, aesthetical and symbolic aspects
of information searching. Based on this model, it is understood that not everyone who collects
information actually intends to travel, and many of the travel information search motivations
can be considered as leisure and recreation-based. In a similar vein, Cho and Jang (2008) explored
vacation information value structure for the pre-trip information search and identifi ed fi ve
information value dimensions, i.e. utilitarian, risk avoidance, hedonic, sensation seeking and
social, and empirically validated them.
With its roots in consumer information processing theory, the process-based perspective of
travel information search has a long history and a prominent presence in tourism research
(Woodside and Lysonski 1989; Um and Crompton 1992). Based on this view, travel decision
making consists of several stages of information search and processing: travellers begin the
information search process by accessing internal memory sources to list product alternatives after
recognizing a purchase need. If this initial list of alternatives is satisfactory, the evaluation phase
can begin; however, if the list derived from internal memory is not satisfactory, individuals start
searching for information using external sources such as word-of-mouth from friends and social
circles, mass media channels, etc. Once a satisfactory amount of information is accumulated, the
various alternatives are evaluated and subsequently selected or eliminated.
Considerable research has examined traveller information search strategies where the most
widely applied classifi cation distinguishes between pre-purchase and on-going information
search (Bloch, Sherrell and Ridgway 1986). Pre-purchase information search efforts are those
that aim at increasing product-related knowledge to inform a specifi c purchase decision.
On-going search, on the other hand, provides additional benefi ts by focusing on the future use
of the obtained information as well as satisfaction with the search activity itself. Most research on
travel information search considers pre-purchase information search as the key component in
decision making (Vogt and Fesenmaier 1998; Bieger and Laesser 2004). Stewart and Vogt (1999)
proposed an alternative model that describes the
en route
information search and decision
making behaviour. According to this model, travellers develop trip plans before their trip, but
these plans are subject to change, especially when they fail to satisfy travellers' timely needs
during the course of the trip. Plan failure then initiates plan revision. They further argued that
the occurrence of unplanned behaviour, which leads to revision of a travel plan, is likely when
travellers are exposed to new information, disparities between expectations and actual experience,
unanticipated constraints during a trip. Following from their model, Hwang (2011) proposed a
two-phase framework that recognizes a pre-trip phase and an
en route
phase and seems to be an
