This study aims to examine tourists’ experience evaluation on the fast-growing but understudied peer-to-peer (P2P) tour/activity experiences provided by sharing economy platforms and non-professional local guides. The P2P tours are unique in providing guests with a personalized and immersive experience of local culture, derived from the expertise and charm of the local hosts. A total of 211,610 online reviews were retrieved and analyzed using a topic modeling approach. Fourteen key topics were identified; tourists highlighted their personal feelings during interactions, sensory experience, and achievements derived from the customized experience in their storytelling approach of the reviews. Tourists highly valued hosts’ personality and expertise, as well as the learning experience and comfortability of the tours. However, reviews with lower ratings primarily emphasized the issue of group interaction. The findings advanced the literature of P2P tourist experience in the sharing economy and provided new insights into tourists’ pursuit for industry practitioners.
AgapitoDMendesJValleP (2013) Exploring the conceptualization of the sensory dimension of tourist experiences. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management2(2): 62–73.
2.
AgapitoDPintoPMendesJ (2017) Tourists’ memories, sensory impressions and loyalty: in loco and post-visit study in Southwest Portugal. Tourism Management58: 108–118.
AlbrechtJNMoscardoGDwyerT (2021) Learning about learning in tourism: indigenous guide perspectives on their personal and professional development. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research 46(2): 320–343.
7.
AlderferCP (1969) An empirical test of a new theory of human needs. Organizational Behavior & Human Performance4(2): 142–175.
8.
AlyahyaMMcLeanG (2021) Examining tourism consumers’ attitudes and the role of sensory information in virtual reality experiences of a tourist destination. Journal of Travel Research 61(7): 1666–1681.
9.
BiJWLiuYFanZP, et al. (2019) Wisdom of crowds: conducting importance-performance analysis (IPA) through online reviews. Tourism Management70: 460–478.
10.
BuzindeCN (2020) Theoretical linkages between well-being and tourism: The case of self-determination theory and spiritual tourism. Annals of Tourism Research83.
11.
BuzovaDSanz-BlasSCervera-TauletA (2019) Does culture affect sentiments expressed in cruise tours’ eWOM?The Service Industries Journal39(2): 154–173.
12.
CamilleriJNeuhoferB (2017) Value co-creation and co-destruction in the Airbnb sharing economy. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management29(9): 2322–2340.
13.
CaviqueMRibeiroRBatistaF, et al. (2022) Examining Airbnb guest satisfaction tendencies: a text mining approach. Current Issues in Tourism: 1–16.
14.
ChangJC (2006) Customer satisfaction with tour leaders’ performance: a study of Taiwan’s package tours. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research11(1): 97–116.
15.
ChangRCKivelaJMakAH (2011) Attributes that influence the evaluation of travel dining experience: when East meets West. Tourism Management32(2): 307–316.
16.
ChenJSUysalMSPrebensenNK (2017) Challenges and research directions in co-creating tourism experience. In: ChenJSUysalMSPrebensenNK (eds) Co-Creation in Tourist Experiences. New York, NY: Routledge, 155–162.
17.
ChengMJinX (2019) What do Airbnb users care about? An analysis of online review comments. International Journal of Hospitality Management76: 58–70.
18.
CheungCTakashimaMChoiH, et al. (2021) The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological needs of tourists: implications for the travel and tourism industry. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing38(2): 155–166.
19.
ChungJY (2017) Online friendships in a hospitality exchange network: a sharing economy perspective. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management29(12): 3177–3190.
20.
DeciELRyanRM (2002) Handbook of Self-Determination Research. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.
21.
DickingerALalicicLMazanecJ (2017) Exploring the generalizability of discriminant word items and latent topics in online tourist reviews. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management29(2): 803–816.
22.
FalkJBallentyneRPackerJ, et al. (2012) Travel and learning: a neglected tourism research area. Annals of Tourism Research39(2): 908–927.
23.
FineECSpeerJH (1985) Tour guide performances as sight sacralization. Annals of Tourism Research12(1): 73–95.
24.
GagnéMDeciEL (2005) Self-determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior26(4): 331–362.
25.
GoffmanE (2021) The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York, NY: Anchor Publishing.
26.
GuoYBarnesSJJiaQ (2017) Mining meaning from online ratings and reviews: tourist satisfaction analysis using Latent Dirichlet Allocation. Tourism Management59: 467–483.
27.
GuttentagD (2015) Airbnb: disruptive innovation and the rise of an informal tourism accommodation sector. Current Issues in Tourism18(12): 1192–1217.
28.
HsuSYNingDWoodsideAG (2009) Storytelling research of consumers’ self-reports of urban tourism experiences in China. Journal of Business Research62(12): 1223–1254.
29.
HuangSHsuCHChanA (2010) Tour guide performance and tourist satisfaction: a study of the package tours in Shanghai. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research34(1): 3–33.
30.
HuangSSGrossMJ (2010) Australia's destination image among mainland Chinese travelers: an exploratory study. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing27(1): 63–81.
31.
HwangJLeeJ (2019) Relationships among senior tourists’ perceptions of tour guides’ professional competencies, rapport, satisfaction with the guide service, tour satisfaction, and word of mouth. Journal of Travel Research58(8): 1331–1346.
32.
JiaSS (2020) Motivation and satisfaction of Chinese and US tourists in restaurants: a cross-cultural text mining of online reviews. Tourism Management78: 104071.
33.
JinLHeYSongH (2012) Service customization: to upgrade or to downgrade? An investigation of how option framing affects tourists’ choice of package-tour services. Tourism Management33(2): 266–275.
34.
JuYBackKJChoiY, et al. (2019) Exploring Airbnb service quality attributes and their asymmetric effects on customer satisfaction. International Journal of Hospitality Management77: 342–352.
35.
KasserTRyanRCouchmanC, et al. (2004) Materialistic values: their causes and consequences. In: KasserTKannerA (eds) Psychology and Consumer Culture: The Struggle for a Good Life in a Materialistic Work. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 11–28.
36.
KimYGEvesA (2012) Construction and validation of a scale to measure tourist motivation to consume local food. Tourism Management33(6): 1458–1467.
37.
KrishnaA (2012) An integrative review of sensory marketing: engaging the senses to affect perception, judgment and behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology22(3): 332–352.
38.
LeeCKHTseYKZhangM, et al. (2023) What have hosts overlooked for improving stay experience in accommodation-sharing? Empirical evidence from Airbnb customer reviews. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 35(2): 765–784.
39.
LinHZhangMGursoyD (2022) Effects of tourist-to-tourist interactions on experience cocreation: a self-determination theory perspective. Journal of Travel Research61(5): 1105–1120.
40.
LinZWongIAZhenX, et al. (2021) Doraemon and snow white dreams come true: understanding cartoon pilgrimage travel motivations. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing38(2): 167–178.
41.
MackenzieSHKerrJH (2013) Can't we all just get along? Emotions and the team guiding experience in adventure tourism. Journal of Destination Marketing and Management2(2): 85–93.
42.
MahrDSteadSOdekerken-SchröderG (2019) Making sense of customer service experiences: a text mining review. Journal of Services Marketing33(1): 88–103.
43.
MathisEFKimHLUysalM, et al. (2016) The effect of co-creation experience on outcome variable. Annals of Tourism Research57: 62–75.
44.
MeacciLLiberatoreG (2018) A senses-based model for experiential tourism. Tourism & Management Studies14(4): 7–14.
45.
NajbrtLKapounováJ (2014) Categorization of museum visitors as part of system for personalized museum tour. International Journal of Information and Communication Technologies in Education3(1): 17–27.
46.
NeuhoferBBuhalisDLadkinA (2013) Co-creation through technology: dimensions of social connectedness. In: NeuhoferBBuhalisDLadkinA (eds) Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 339–352.
ParkEOChaeBKwonJ (2018) Toward understanding the topical structure of hospitality literature. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management30(11): 3386–3411.
49.
PearcePL (1984) Tourist-guide interaction. Annals of Tourism Research11(1): 129–146.
50.
PereiraVGuptaJJHussainS (2022) Impact of travel motivation on tourist’s attitude toward destination: evidence of mediating effect of destination image. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research 46(5): 946–971.
51.
PineBJGilmoreJH (2011) The experience economy. Harvard Business Press.
52.
PineJGilmoreJH (1999) The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre and Every Business a Stage. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
53.
PungJMDel ChiappaGSiniL (2022) Booking experiences on sharing economy platforms: an exploration of tourists’ motivations and constraints. Current Issues in Tourism25(19): 3199–3211.
54.
RátzT (2017) ‘Be global, go local’ – innovation and creativity in the development of alternative guiding services in Budapest. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change15(5): 476–489.
55.
ReisingerYSteinerC (2006) Reconceptualising interpretation: the role of tour guides in authentic tourism. Current Issues in Tourism9(6): 481–498.
56.
SantosoHBWangJCWindasariNA (2022) Impact of multisensory extended reality on tourism experience journey. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology13(3): 356–385.
57.
Sanz-BlasSBuzovaD (2016) Guided tour influence on cruise tourist experience in a port of call: an eWOM and questionnaire-based approach. International Journal of Tourism Research18(6): 558–566.
58.
SchmidtCJ (1979) The guided tour: insulated adventure. Urban Life7(4): 441–467.
59.
ScottROUnclesMD (2018) Bringing sensory anthropology to consumer research. European Journal of Marketing52(1/2): 302–327.
60.
SeyitoğluFAtsızO (2022) Discovering cities with peer-to-peer local-guided bike tours: tourists’ experiences and perceptions. Current Issues in Tourism: 1–7.
61.
ShenKNYuAYKhalifaM (2010) Knowledge contribution in virtual communities: accounting for multiple dimensions of social presence through social identity. Behaviour & Information Technology29(4): 337–348.
62.
SitumorangKHidayantoAWicaksonoA, et al. (2018) Analysis on customer satisfaction dimensions in P2P accommodation using LDA: a case study of Airbnb. Proceeding of the Electrical Engineering Computer Science and Informatics5(5): 542–547.
SuDNNguyenNANNguyenQNT, et al. (2020a) The link between travel motivation and satisfaction towards a heritage destination: the role of visitor engagement, visitor experience and heritage destination image. Tourism Management Perspectives34: 100634.
65.
SuLChengJSwansonSR (2020b) The impact of tourism activity type on emotion and storytelling: the moderating roles of travel companion presence and relative ability. Tourism Management81: 104–138.
66.
TaecharungrojVMathayomchanB (2019) Analysing TripAdvisor reviews of tourist attractions in Phuket, Thailand. Tourism Management75: 550–568.
67.
Tom DieckMCJungTHTom DieckD (2018) Enhancing art gallery visitors’ learning experience using wearable augmented reality: generic learning outcomes perspective. Current Issues in Tourism21(17): 2014–2034.
Van WinkleCMLagayK (2012) Learning during tourism: the experience of learning from the tourist's perspective. Studies in Continuing Education34(3): 339–355.
71.
WeilerBBlackR (2015) Tour Guiding Research: Insights, Issues and Implications. Bristol, UK: Channel View Publications.
72.
WeilerBWalkerK (2014) Enhancing the visitor experience: reconceptualizing the tour guide's communicative role. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management21: 90–99.
73.
XiangZDuQMaY, et al. (2017) A comparative analysis of major online review platforms: implications for social media analytics in hospitality and tourism. Tourism Management58: 51–65.
74.
XiongJHashimNHMurphyJ (2015) Multisensory image as a component of destination image. Tourism Management Perspectives14: 34–41.
75.
XueLLeungXYMaSD (2022) What makes a good “guest”: evidence from Airbnb hosts’ reviews. Annals of Tourism Research95: 103426.
76.
YangCLHwangMChenYC (2011) An empirical study of the existence, relatedness and growth (ERG) theory in consumers selection of mobile value-added services. African Journal of Business Management5(19): 7885–7898.
77.
YinCYPoonP (2016) The impact of other group members on tourists’ travel experiences. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management28(3): 640–658.
78.
ZatoriASmithMKPuczkoL (2018) Experience-involvement, memorability and authenticity: the service provider's effect on tourist experience. Tourism Management67: 111–126.
79.
ZhangJ (2019) Listening to the consumer: exploring review topics on Airbnb and their impact on listing performance. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice27(4): 371–389.
80.
ZhangYColeSRicciP, et al. (2019) Context-based leisure travel facilitation among people with mobility challenges: a self-determination theory approach. Journal of Travel Research58(1): 42–62.
81.
ZhengWLiaoZLinZ (2020) Navigating through the complex transport system: a heuristic approach for city tourism recommendation. Tourism Management81: 104162.
