A Netnographic Approach on Cyber-Customer Experience in Online Visitor Attractions

Abstract

Customer experience (CX) has become a major concern of business managers around the world and is considered a determinant factor of continuing corporate success. Despite the growing number of research studies focusing on the topic, knowledge remains underexamined in general, and specifically in terms of online users. Understanding how online platforms inspire travel experience is increasingly pertinent as visual contents acquire insignificance. This is especially relevant when travel is restricted such as during the COVID-19 outbreak. Nevertheless, there is a gap in the literature research on online CX in online visitor attractions. The study aimed to investigate the visitors' reviews of online visits during the lockdown. The research has followed the Netnography approach as modern qualitative research to understand the online CX of visiting virtually the attractions.

The results revealed three dimensions of cyber-tourist experiences related to the tourism-driven with its four subdimensions, the emotional reaction and expectation, and satisfaction and behavior intentions. The study adds to the better knowledge of the modern research methods dealing with the cyber-customer experience (CCX) by examining the Netnography method.

This research is a pioneering attempt to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on tourists' experience and to highlight the opportunities for tourism practitioners to profit from the online presence, to be more accessible, and to increase their traffic to guaranty their online visibility.

Citation

Aloui, N. and Sdiri, I. (2022), "A Netnographic Approach on Cyber-Customer Experience in Online Visitor Attractions", Jaziri, D. and Rather, R.A. (Ed.) Contemporary Approaches Studying Customer Experience in Tourism Research, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 65-87. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80117-632-320221009