Research into the Motivations and Contents of Domestic Tourists' Online Information Search

Information searching is a crucial part of the decision-making process of tourists seeking to participate in tourism.And tourists as a whole have become increasingly inclined to search travel information through the Internet due to the overall popularity of the Internet and the development of information technology(IT).Western research findings related to information searching have been considerably abundant.However,the few domestic papers that exist only focus on specific information types which tourists always search.Although western research is rather mature,the previous research mainly focused on searching motivations in traditional information channels resulting in a lack of research focusing on the searching motivations of those using the Internet.Compared with normal information channels,online information-searching motivations have unique characteristics affecting the information contents that tourists search.Consequently,in order to thoroughly comprehend information searching behaviors,it is necessary to explore the information-searching motivations and the search contents that are affected by searching motivations. Based on the combination of web survey and on-scene survey,using demographic statistics,factor analysis and correlation analysis methods,this paper analyzes domestic tourists' online information-searching motivations,search contents and the relationships between them.The findings are as follows:(1) Tourists who frequently search travel information online appear to be young,higher education and low income.The young or middle-aged tourists who have higher level of education,considerable income and abundant web-surfing experience are most likely to search travel information online.Tourists with lower income level,who are sensitive to cost,are cautious and need a lot of information to assist their travel decisions,and hence prefer to the network as their travel information channel.(2) Tourists' searching motivations for tourism information online can be divided into five categories: planning,transactional,experiential,entertaining,and recreational motivation.The planning motivation is the key driver,and entertaining motivation is stronger than transactional motivation,which indicates that tourists' need of broadening visions is stronger than that of purchase.Tourists wish to enjoy the delight and excitement of the searching process in addition to finding information to assist with their travel decisions.Additionally,tourists always embrace mixed motivations,of which the intensity is different.(3)The information contents searched by tourists can be divided into three groups:main information,subsidiary information,and network reputational information.Main information consists of transportation,accommodation,and travel information,and it has the greatest impact on tourist's travel decision.Subsidiary information involves factors relating to shopping,entertainment,and food service,and has a weak influence on the travel decision,although it is important in travel planning process.Network word-of-mouth information concerns recommendatory information such as travel strategies,logbooks and comments,and often has a decisive functionin the final travel decision.(4)Information contents searched by tourists differ due to different motivations.Tourists with planning motivation usually searches main information,including travel transportation,accommodation,destination,and scenic spot information.Tourists with transactional motivation is mostly concerned about network word-of-mouth information and subsidiary information such as local specialty,travel souvenir,entertainment facility or activity,and special food service information.However,tourists with experiential,entertaining and recreational motivations mainly focus on subsidiary information. In the end,based on the findings mentioned above,some suggestions for the construction of tourism websites and promotion are discussed,including mining the features of travel information searchers,enriching contents and functions of travel websites,matching the information needs of tourist,and broadening the visual angle of the market segment.