UTAZOM ÉS MESÉLEK – AZ UTAZÓK (E)WOM SZEREPE A BALATONNÁL
TRAVELING AND TELLING STORIES – THE ROLE OF TRAVELER (E)WOM AT LAKE BALATON

Summary/Abstract: When making decisions on where to travel and what to see, the recommendations of our family and acquaintances are still the most important sources of information. As a result of the changes and technological advances in recent years the decision making ‘power’ of travellers have increased which meant both new potential and challenges for the service providers. Nowadays, tourism researchers not only put great emphasis on word-of-mouth, (WOM) but also its online version, the e-WOM. As part of the EFOP 3.6.2-16-2017-00017 project, the experiences of the travellers in the Balaton region were surveyed with a questionnaire, in spring 2018. As part of this questionnaire, the role of WOM could be analysed. We have separated the WOM, to inputs (such as motivating factors for travelling, and information sources from the Internet) and outputs (how was the experience shared, and why the destination would be recommended) focusing on a specific journey in the Balaton region in the case of 591 domestic travellers in total. The outcomes of the research show that the sample reflects the results of other surveys in similar topic. Among the motivational factors the recommendation of friends and family, previous experience, and special accommodation fee are the most significant. Facebook has the most prominent role among internet resources used before traveling as content generated by other travellers. On the output side of traveling, sharing photos and videos on social media sites during and after a specific journey and creating a travelogue are the most common ways to share personal experiences. With the help of the open questions, the survey also revealed, what would be recommended in the destination they visited. As a result of the questionnaire the role of travellers in the whole process of traveling could be examined, and as a result of the open questions, it also provided qualitative information.

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