User-Generated Content and Its Influence on Tourists’ Choices: How Do the Spanish Make Hotel Reservations Online?

This study aims to analyse referral and conversion traffic from user-generated content (UGC) to other key online/offline information sources and when consumers use UGC along with their information-search and the related cross-visitation. Data were collected by sending a semi-structured questionnaire by e-mail to Spanish consumers aged 18 years and above. A snowball sampling technique was used, and a total of 825 complete questionnaires were returned. Manual coding of open-ended questions and descriptive statistics were applied. Findings revealed that UGC plays a relevant role, along with all the online searching and booking behaviour, particularly UGC within online travel agencies (OTAs), which appears to be significant in the early stage of the tourist information search process. Contributions to the body of knowledge and managerial implications are discussed and suggestions for further research are given.