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Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2013 pp 218–229Cite as

Destination Expertise in Online Travel Communities

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Abstract

Virtual communities rely on active and committed members who make regular contributions. These contributors typically get psychological and social rewards for their virtual community activities. Given their importance for community sustainability, it is essential for community platforms to understand who their most active members are and what status seeking strategies they employ. This research looks at TripAdvisor and its dedicated Destination Experts to examine how localized the expertise is in this community, how the community acknowledges expertise, whether status seeking strategies can be detected, and if the Destination Experts differ from general reviewers. The findings reveal that Destination Experts are active throughout the TripAdvisor platform and are indeed important and influential pillars of the community.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Electronic Commerce Group, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria

    Martin Hochmeister & Hannes Werthner

  2. Institute for Innovation in Business and Social Research, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia

    Ulrike Gretzel

Authors
  1. Martin Hochmeister
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  2. Ulrike Gretzel
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  3. Hannes Werthner
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martin Hochmeister .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Faculty of Communication Sciences, Università della Svizzera italiana, Via Giuseppe Buffi 13, Lugano, 6904, Switzerland

    Lorenzo Cantoni

  2. , College of Merchandising,, University of North Texas, Union Circle 1155, Denton, 76203-1100, Texas, USA

    Zheng (Phil) Xiang

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© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Hochmeister, M., Gretzel, U., Werthner, H. (2013). Destination Expertise in Online Travel Communities. In: Cantoni, L., Xiang, Z. (eds) Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2013. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36309-2_19

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