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Cross‐cultural Perceptions of Onshore Guided Tours: A Qualitative Approach Based on eWOM
Author(s) -
Buzova Daniela,
SanzBlas Silvia,
CerveraTaulet Amparo
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
psychology and marketing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.035
H-Index - 116
eISSN - 1520-6793
pISSN - 0742-6046
DOI - 10.1002/mar.20939
Subject(s) - perception , set (abstract data type) , cruise , thematic analysis , tourism , port (circuit theory) , advertising , perceptual mapping , thematic map , psychology , marketing , world wide web , qualitative research , business , sociology , computer science , geography , engineering , cartography , social science , neuroscience , electrical engineering , archaeology , programming language , aerospace engineering
Recognizing the importance of the study of guided tour experiences and being aware of the cross‐cultural variations of services’ perceptions, the purpose of this article is to examine if cruise tourists from the two main generating markets (Europe and North America) perceive differently a port of call guided tour based on the content of the eWOM generated. The data set was comprised of 334 reviews on guided tours undertaken in Spanish ports of call and published during the period 2009–2015 on the major travel Web site Tripadvisor. The thematic content analysis of the data was performed using the text mining software Leximancer. The results yielded different pictures for the experiences described by both cultures, with Europeans valuing the tour in terms of efficiency and North Americans praising guide's performance and tailor‐made tour services. Based on these findings, practical implications are discussed.