Hybrid tourist information search German tourists' combination of digital and analogue information channels

Malin Zillinger

doi:10.1177/1467358420935164

Abstract

In a rapidly digitalizing world, both tourism actors and researchers are striving to keep pace with developments in tourist information search. This is not an easy task, as research results are pointing at different directions. Moreover, while tourism research is indicating the importance of analogue and digital information sources in parallel, tourism actors focus mainly on digital development. This does not make sense. This study aims to contribute to the academic debate on the importance and combination of information channels. The paper is based on a multi-method approach including surveys and interviews. Results show that tourists are hybrid information searchers who are loyal to their information channels and who dismiss too much of information. Empirically, the study is based on German tourists in Sweden.

Highlights

The subsequent question many tourism actors are posing is: Which information channels are tourists using? This question is of special importance, as tourists usually reduce their search to a handful of sources (Gursoy, 2019)
This research letter aims to problematize tourism actors’ strong belief in digital progress when it comes to tourist information, and to contribute to a more nuanced discussion on the topic
The respondents’ age may have influenced this strong result. This statement is based on previous research that partly states a correlation between higher level of digital information use, the younger the tourists are

Summary

Introduction

Regional destination organizations, and national administrations are striving for a quick and efficient digitalization of their supply (Gursoy, 2019). This results in information that is becoming more and more ubiquitous and accessible with minimal effort This article shows that while the importance of digital information is growing, this does not necessarily mean the end of the analogue era. This question is of special importance, as tourists usually reduce their search to a handful of sources (Gursoy, 2019) The subsequent question many tourism actors are posing is: Which information channels are tourists using? This question is of special importance, as tourists usually reduce their search to a handful of sources (Gursoy, 2019)

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