Subjects
-Abstract
Travel information sources play an essential role in the travel decision- making process. The goal
of this study is to investigate the most frequently used information sources by the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) travellers and to define the influence of travellers' socio-demographic
characteristics on their search behaviour. The study employed a cross-sectional descriptive
survey to achieve this goal. The survey was developed and conducted in Dubai, the second
biggest city in the UAE. Data analysis revealed that UAE travellers depend on the internet as the
major source for travel information followed by social media (SM) and personal experience. The
study findings also suggest that travel agents' services still sought by the UAE travellers as a
trustworthy source of information. Google and YouTube were found to be the most popular
online search engines while Instagram and Snapchat represent the most prevailing SM
applications pursued for travel information. The study results confirmed the growing significance
of SM as a reliable source of travel information and the challenges faced by traditional providers
of travel-related information. Implications for tourism marketers in terms of online marketing
strategies were discussed.
DOI
10.21608/ijhth.2019.35104
Keywords
UAE Arab travellers, information sources, Internet, Travel Agents, social media
Authors
MiddleName
-Affiliation
-Email
-City
-Orcid
-Link
https://ijhth.journals.ekb.eg/article_35104.html
Detail API
https://ijhth.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=35104
Publication Title
International Journal of Heritage, Tourism and Hospitality
Publication Link
https://ijhth.journals.ekb.eg/
MainTitle
Travel Information Sources among United Arab Emirates Travellers