Excerpt
Table of contents
Abstract
Acknowledgments
Table of contents
List of figures
List of tables
List of Abbreviations
1. Introduction
1.1 Thesis outline
1.2 Aims and objectives
1.3 Research questions
1.4 Research design
2. Theoretical background
2.1 Website (Online) Communication Model as a guiding metaphor
2.2 Reputation in online media applied to tourism destination
2.2.1 Defining the Reputation concept
2.2.2 Country and destination reputation
2.2.3 Defining a tourism destination
2.2.4 Relevance of reputation studies for online reputation of tourism destinations
2.3 e-WOM and tourism.
2.3.1 Word-of-Mouth
2.3.2 Electronic word-of-mouth
2.3.3 Online Information Search in Tourism.
2.4 Official online communication of tourism destination
2.4.1 DMO website characteristics
3. Research design
3.1 Phase A: Analysis of the online reputation of Baku city as a tourism destination
3.1.1 The DORM model
3.1.2 Search engine investigation
3.1.3 Social media investigation
3.1.4 Analysis of the relationship between search engine and social media results
3.2 Phase B: Possible mismatches between official and unofficial communication
3.2.1 Official online communication investigation
3.2.2 Unofficial online communication investigation
3.2.3 The comparison of official and unofficial communication
4. Findings
4.1 Phase A: What is the online reputation of Baku city as a tourism destination
4.1.1 Results for the Search Engine
4.1.2 Results for the Social Media
4.1.3 Relationship between search engine and social media results
4.2 Phase B: Possible mismatches between official and unofficial communication
4.2.1 Official communication
4.2.2 Unofficial communication
4.2.3 The comparison of official and unofficial communication
5. Discussion
6. Conclusion
6.1 Managerial implications
6.2 Limitations and future research
7. Literature
8. Appendices
Abstract
In the last decade the study of online reputation was the focus for many scholars. The advent of the Web 2.0 allowed Internet users to produce online contents, and as consequence increased the needs to better understand how to manage the online reputation of an object, person, a company, and a tourism destination as well. Indeed, in the current dynamics of a business environment, the monitoring of online reputation became an essential part of management for organisations, and also DMOs (Destination Management Organizations) are also involved in such a phenomenon. The focus of the thesis is to investigate the current online reputation of the tourism destination Baku (Azerbaijan), and to underline the importance of examination of the online reputation for this tourism destination. In particular, existing communication gaps between official and unofficial online communication will be closely investigated.
Finally, throughout the research, scientific literature devoted to the reputation concept will be analysed and based on the findings the existing lacks in this field will also be addressed.
Keywords: Online reputation, Tourism destination, Reputation, e-WOM, Web 2.0
Acknowledgments
This thesis is written as the conclusive step of my master degree at Universita della Svizzera italiana. It wouldn’t be completed without assistance of some people whom I would like to thank.
First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Elena Marchiori, who supported me throughout the 6 months long period of writing a thesis. Thank you for your ceaseless support, valuable guidelines and constructive feedbacks. I am also grateful to you for helping me to choose the right topic.
Secondly, I would like to thank my second reader Professor Lorenzo Cantoni for devoting precious time for reading my thesis.
Thirdly, I would like to thank Professor Rico Maggi, Scientific Director of the Master in International Tourism at Universita della Svizzera italiana and all the professors for their interesting lectures which helped me to gain knowledge in a tourism field.
I also would like to thank my lovely classmates for the time we spent together and all my dear friends Gunel and David who always supported me.
Finally, I am grateful to my lovely family, in particular my mom and dad for encouraging and supporting me all the time. I am happy to be a daughter of such parents!
List of figures
Figure 1. Thesis outline
Figure 2. Three overlapping research areas considered for this thesis
Figure 3. The Website Communication Model (WCM)
Figure 4. Literature summary of the key reputation definitions from the corporate and management perspective
Figure 5. Travel-related decision making factors
Figure 6. Destination’s basic elements
Figure 7. Destination management
Figure 8. A conceptual model of word of mouth
Figure 9. The location of Baku on Azerbaijan map
Figure 10. Old city
Figure 11. Gobustan Rock Art
Figure 12. Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center
Figure 13. The number of tourists visiting Baku per year
Figure 14. The screenshot of the ad-hoc grid
Figure 15. Screenshot of Things to do in Baku section on TripAdvisor
Figure 16. Screenshot of the TripAdvisor forum.
Figure 17. Screenshot of the Things to do in Baku section on TripAdvisor
Figure 18. Screenshot of the Sightseeing section on Facebook
Figure 19. Screenshot of the TripAdvisor forum.
Figure 20. Composition of webpage types gathered from Google
Figure 21. Composition of the Tourism segment pages gathered from the Google results
Figure 22. Composition of UGC webpages gathered from Google
Figure 23. Distribution of website contents across the Products & Services dimension
Figure 24. Distribution of expressed values for Site attractions subcategory across the 8 keyword groups
Figure 25. Picture presented on the page object of analysis and depicting the Baku Old City
Figure 26. View of Baku
Figure 27. Distribution of expressed values for Accommodation subcategory across the 8 keyword groups
Figure 28. Distribution of expressed values for Other subcategory across the 8 keyword groups
Figure 29. Distribution of expressed values for Food & Beverage subcategory across the 8 keyword groups
Figure 30. Distribution of expressed values for Entertainment subcategory across the 8 keyword groups
Figure 31. Description of the exhibition held in Baku
Figure 32. Distribution of expressed values for Society dimension across the 8 keyword groups
Figure 33. Maiden Tower
Figure 34. Distribution of expressed values for Governance dimension across the 8 keyword groups
Figure 35. Distribution of expressed values for Environment dimension across the 8 keyword groups
Figure 36. Distribution of expressed values forPerformance dimension across the 8 keyword groups
Figure 37. Distribution of subcategories across the Products & Services dimension retrieved from TripAdvisor
Figure 38. Average of expressed values for Site attractions subcategory
Figure 39. Average of expressed values for Accommodation subcategory
Figure 40. Average of expressed values for Food & Beverage subcategory
Figure 41. Average on expressed values for Cultural activities subcategory
Figure 42. Average on expressed values for Outdoor activities subcategory
Figure 43. Average on expressed values for Entertainment subcategory
Figure 44. Average of expressed values for Tours & Activities subcategory
Figure 45. Average of expressed values for Spa & Wellness subcategory
Figure 46. Average of expressed values for Other subcategory
Figure 47. Average of expressed values for Society dimension
Figure 48. Average of expressed values for Governance dimension
Figure 49. Average of expressed values for Environment dimension
Figure 50. Average of expressed values for Performance dimension
Figure 51. The screenshot of the pictures from photo gallery
Figure 52. Distribution of site attractions represented on Photo Gallery
Figure 53. Screenshot of the main 7 sections’ location on Baku page within official DMO website
Figure 54. Screenshot of the weather location on Baku page within official DMO website
Figure 55. Site attractions’ pages and their average ranks presented on Facebook
Figure 56. Top 10 site attractions types and their average
Figure 57. Distribution of the discussed topics by theme on the TripAdvisor forum.
Figure 58. Screenshot of the review requesting visa information
Figure 59. Screenshot of the review regarding transportation information
Figure 60. Distribution of the site attractions’ types across the official and unofficial communication
Figure 61. Screenshot of the Obtaining Visas section’s location on the page dedicated to Baku on official DMO website
Figure 62. Screenshot of the Domestic Transport section’s location on the official website
List of tables
Table 1. Table of dimensions and drivers within DORM framework
Table 2. Distribution of webpages across 8 combinations of keywords
Table 3. Distribution of UGC webpages by 8 combinations of keywords
Table 4. Presence of the top attractions according to TripAdvisor and Facebook on the search results retrieved from Google search engine
Table 5. Average of sentiment expressed values for Products & Services dimension obtained on the basis of the 8 keywords groups, dimensions and drivers
Table 6. Average of expressed values for 4 dimensions obtained on the basis of the 8 keywords groups, dimensions and drivers
List of Abbreviations
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1. Introduction
The radical developments in Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) and Web applications profoundly changed the dynamics between tourism destinations and tourists (Xiang and Gretzel, 2010; Milano, Baggio & Piattelli 2011; Xiang, Magnini & Fesenmaier, 2015; Sotiriadis and van Zyl, 2013). In particular, Web 2.0 entailed a new generation of web platforms where individuals are able to easily create, modify and share web content (Ruzic and Bilos, 2010), producing the so-called user-generated-content (UGCs). Those UGCs platforms highly amplified the capabilities of Internet users, enabled to create sets of informal networks which in return advanced information sharing and intensified the flow of personal opinions (Constantinides and Fountain, 2008).
Those aspects are particularly relevant for the tourism industry where products and services are generally intangible and their quality cannot be gauged before consumption (Litvin et al., 2008). In this context, the role of social media is viewed as highly critical, since it offers consumers wider information access created by fellow travellers, who share their own travel experience regarding tourism destinations, products and services, tourist attractions etc. (Xiang and Gretzel, 2010; Floreddu, Cabiddu & Evaristo (2014). Munar (2011) in her study underlined, that today’s consumers are prone to rely more on information provided by online users, rather than official communication channels of tourism destinations. These circumstances entailed the shift in the marketing communications, where previously information was broadcasted only by service providers (Horster and Gottschalk, 2012). In addition, authors point out that nowadays, online narratives own great potential to influence and shape opinions of individuals about tourism destinations. Indeed, Internet users are no longer passive readers (Stewart and Pavlou, 2002), since the active participation in content production, they became able to contribute to destination’s reputation enhancements or even damages (Marchiori and Cantoni, 2012; Horster and Gottschalk, 2012).
According to Chen and Dubinsky (2003, quoted in Keller and Bieger, 2007, p.61) the destination with positive reputation owns more chances to attract visitors rather than destination with a poor reputation. Positive destination reputation assists to grab the attention of potential tourists and to achieve a competitive position in a highly competitive travel market (Morgan et al., 2011).
In the context of social media, the reputation is not solely shaped by official marketing channels of tourism destinations, in online settings discussions might also have a solid impact on tourism destination’s reputation and the way destinations are perceived by the tourists (Marchiori and Cantoni, 2012). Given the recognition of importance of the reputation, understanding of about what people talk online and online reputation management is becoming more crucial practice for official tourism boards.
The development of tourism industry in Azerbaijan and specifically in Baku, became one of the foremost priorities for the country in the last few years. With this intention, Azerbaijani state implemented different policies in order to attract (international) visitors to Baku. To elaborate, a wide range of tourism facilities were built in Baku in the last few years as well as historical and cultural monuments have been restored and equipped with the needed facilities to support tourists’ visit. Additionally, government employed the policy of hosting mega-events (e.g. Eurovision, European Olympic Games, European Grand Prix) which is intended to raise international exposure. Considering aforementioned aspects it can be argued that Azerbaijani government put many efforts to raise awareness about Baku as a tourism destination as well as is willing to attract and welcome more international visitors. On these grounds, the development of the tourism industry in Baku together with the importance of reputation management in online domain and author’s personal interest was the key determinant in selection of Baku as a destination of focus for the present study.
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Figure 1. Thesis outline. Source: own interpretation
1.1 Thesis outline
As illustrated in the Figure 1, the thesis is divided into six main sections. The first section of the thesis is devoted to the Introduction which provides an extensive outline of the research’s aims and objectives, research questions and research design. The theoretical background section covers the main reputation concepts, the relevance of the e-WOM in the tourism industry as well as addresses the main DMO website’s characteristics. Third section describes the research design applied for the thesis as well as includes the detailed description of the executed analysis process. The findings delivered in consistency with each of the research questions will be also presented and discussed within the Empirical outcome section. The fifth section will focus on the results discussion. And finally, the last section will present conclusions, limitations of the given study and practical insights for the Baku DMO.
1.2 Aims and objectives
Investigating the online reputation of Baku city as a tourism destination is the main focus of this thesis. As no investigation on this specific subject (e.g. Baku) has been done so far, present study aims to address this lack and contribute to a body of knowledge in this field. Through the extensive analysis of the academic literature, the importance of studying reputation of tourism destination in online domain will be illuminated. Complementary to this, existing gaps between official and unofficial online communication will be examined, meaning that the contents displayed online (from social media), and the ones produced by the official Destination Management Organisation. Additionally, the relationship between search engine and social media results as well as the most requested travel information by tourists about Baku will be examined. On the basis of the retrieved results, thesis will provide insights to managerial implications for official tourism board of Baku.
1.3 Research questions
Given the main objectives, present thesis is built around three research questions. The first and second research questions are devoted to the investigation of the online reputation of Baku and examination of the relationship between search engine and social media results:
1) What is the online reputation of Baku city as a tourism destination?
2) What is the relationship between search engine and social media results?
The third research question aims to identify the existing gaps in official and unofficial online communication:
3) What are the possible mismatches between official and unofficial online communication?
1.4 Research design
In order to answer the research questions, the thesis is divided into 2 phases. In the first phase the author retrieved data from search engine (Google.com) and from social media platform (TripAdvisor), on the basis of an approach where author simulates a tourist’s search of information for travel related purposes on the Internet. For the data analysis retrieved from search engine and social media, descriptive analysis was employed to present the results. In the following step, content analysis was conducted classifying the contents using the DORM model. Additionally, on the basis of findings from the content analysis of Google search engine TripAdvisor and Facebook social media platforms, the most popular site attractions together with the relationship between those 3 platforms will be identified. The phase B applied the content analysis of the social media platforms (Facebook and TripAdvisor) and webpage dedicated to Baku on the official DMO’s website in order to identify the mismatches between official, and the unofficial online communication. Additionally, content analysis of TripAdvisor’ forum will be applied in order to identify the most requested information by visitors about Baku and compared to content from webpage dedicated to Baku on the official DMO’s website.
2. Theoretical background
In order to provide guidance to the readers, the introductory part of the theoretical background presents the Online Communication Model as a guiding metaphor in accordance of which this thesis is developed.
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Figure 2. Three overlapping research areas considered for this thesis. Adapted from Marchiori and Cantoni (2012, p. 140)
The theoretical background of the present thesis is based on a framework developed by Marchiori and Cantoni (2012) and which helps to conduct a research on reputation of tourism destination. Figure 2 provides an overview of the framework used for this study.
As it can be seen, the framework is composed of the combination of four main studied areas: Reputation, Tourism destination, Online communication and Online reputation of tourism destination. Following the framework, the theoretical background of the thesis is built around four main topics.
The first part of the theoretical background in correlation with the first studied area of a framework will cover the reputation concept, addressing the main reputation concepts and definitions as well as providing research on overlaying area among Reputation and Tourism destination. The following part of the thesis is devoted to e-WOM and its role in tourism industry. The third part draws on research of official online communication of tourism destination and discusses the characteristics of the DMO’s website, thus exploring the area between Reputation and Online communication. Finally, fourth section - Online reputation of tourism destination represents the intersection of the three previous research areas.
2.1 Website (Online) Communication Model as a guiding metaphor
According to Gretzel, Fesenmaier, Formica, & O'Leary (2006), Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) are non-profit organisations that represent destinations and which are responsible for encouraging people to travel to a given area within certain boundaries. Additionally, Blain, Levy, & Ritchie (2005) argued that those organisations play a paramount role in promotion of destinations as well. As Choi, Lehto, & O'Leary, 2007; Tang & Jang, (2012, quoted in Del Vasto-Terrientes et al, 2015) stated, the Internet along with ICT developments afforded a great opportunity to reach a global scale and therefore online websites can be regarded as a significant channel for promotion of a destination. On these grounds, Choi, Lehto, & O'Leary (2007) assert that through official website destination managers interact with potential tourists and deliver information about a destination.
As a matter of fact, information represents a valuable constituent of today’s world (Manaman, Jamali & AleAhmad, 2015). In tourism industry information plays a crucial role, since travelling is an experiential practice and its products and services cannot be evaluated beforehand (Chung and Buhalis, 2008). According to Marchiori, Milwood & Zach (2013) website ensures descriptions and visual representation of destination’s products and services. From this angle, authors point out that destination managers own a big potential to communicate with prospect visitors using website as a communication channel. As Ruzic and Bilos (2010) argue, nowadays DMOs are able to present extensive amount of information about the destination’s product in a more interactive way as well as to deliver a precise flavour of the place to visitors. In other words, nowadays using website potentialities, DMOs enlarge the opportunity of bringing the tourist destination closer to prospect visitors (Ruzic and Bilos, 2010).
To exemplify the main objectives of the website, Cantoni and Tardini (2006: p.100) developed the framework so-called Website Communication Model (WCM), then renamed as Online Communication Model (OCM) in order to embrace the whole online communication dynamics. Figure 3 illustrates the website (and/or a digital communication) as a set of five major components, such as:
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Figure 3. The Website Communication Model (WCM). Source: Cantoni and Tardini (2006, p.100)
- Pillar I: A cluster of contents and services. This pillar refers to the information presented on the website and its functionalities. The content represents the informative resources: inserted news, images; whilst functionalities refer to the services that fulfil the different functions (booking, voting, buying, chatting). It is important to offer services that really communicate goals and satisfy needs of users. This pillar specifically underlines the importance of the contents and services’ quality as well as localisation.
- Pillar II: Accessibility tools. Technical instruments which provide the access to contents and services. This refers to such technical devices as hardware, software, Human Computer Interface, input and output tools (touchscreen, keyboard, monitor).
- Pillar III: Publishers. A group of people, who are in charge of administrating, managing, designing, developing, maintaining, promoting, and evaluating the website.
- Pillar IV: Users and clients. A group of people who access the website and use their contents and services. People represent the principal purpose for the running of the website.
- The V element: Echo-system. This element refers to the context/world and surrounding market. Surrounding market might impact the position of the website in the digital context. The fifth dimension implies the continuous control of external environment since it allows viewing the current trends and diagnosing the existing gaps.
Nevertheless, the transition from web 1.0 to web 2.0 entailed the shift in the way individuals use the Internet (Siano et al., 2011). As Greaves and Mika (2008) state, the web 2.0 highly advanced web users’ capabilities. In particular, web 2.0 enabled content generating (UGC) and information sharing between users through blogs, forums, social networks, wiki, and feedback system. With this regard, Cantoni (2013) pointed out that advanced capabilities turned web space into the “largest library and public square” where people are able to take part in online discussions. Moreover according to the same author, high bandwidth enabled to transfer a large amount of data and facilitated the instant connection through mobile devices.
From the OCM perspective the present thesis will focus on the 2 pillars, by conducting research in the following areas:
- first pillar (analysis of the contents and functionalities of DMOs websites)
- fifth pillar (analysis of the online content, namely the information market represented by social media and search engine results)
2.2 Reputation in online media applied to tourism destination
The Reputation concept represents the basis of analysis for the present manuscript, and is closely examined in this chapter. Section 2.2.1 is devoted to the definition and the accentuation of the importance of the reputation in the business environment, while Section 2.2.2 presents the overview of country and destination reputation’s actual models of analysis, Section 2.2.3 determines the tourism destination. And finally, 2.2.4 Section investigates the relevance of reputation studies for tourism destinations in the online domain.
2.2.1 Defining the Reputation concept
In the last few years the concept of reputation has been in a spotlight agenda for several scholars, and it has been investigated primarily in the management sector (Mahon, 2002; Goldberg, Cohen & Fiegenbaum, 2003; Miles and Covin, 2000; Fombrun, 2001; Wartick, 2002; Lewellyn, 2002; Balmer, 2001). The literature abounds with examples where scholars acknowledge and contest the importance of reputation to organisational units these days.
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In a current global environment which is marked by fierce competition, organisations constantly seek for innovative means to gain competitive advantage and to enhance their financial performance (Miles and Covin, 2000; Shamma, 2012). Based on the most common definition of reputation in academic literature given by Fombrun (1996, p. 72), “reputation is the perceptual representation of a company’s past actions and future prospects that describe the firm’s overall appeal to all its key constituents when compared to other leading rivals”. Fombrun (1996) and Carter and Ruefli (2006) valued reputation as an intangible asset that represents significance for the entities which if managed well, might critically contribute to overall organisation’s performance. One of the key privileges of intangible resource is its difficult duplication that provides organisation with the means to be distinctive among competitors (Mahon, 2002; Fombrun and Van Riel, 1997). Reputation construct is a long-term process (Sur and Sirsly, 2013) which is built on the basis of the intensive relationships among stakeholders and organisation (Mahon, 2002; Deephouse, 2000). Following this statement, Mahon (2002) claimed that reputation is formulated on the past actions between stakeholders and the given firm, advancement of which precludes easy imitation. With this in mind, it is worth noting that careful management of the relations among organisation and stakeholders can lead to enhancement of overall reputation and signify sustainable competitive advantage (Miles and Covin, 2000).
As many scholars argued (Rindova, Petkova & Kotha, 2007; Caves and Porter, 1977) positive reputation provide organisations with benefits that allow them to increase stakeholder’s perceptions about the ability to create value. With this regard, Floreddu, Cabiddu & Evaristo (2014) suggested that in current business dynamics where strict competition reigns, good reputation influences customers’ perceptions towards organisation, aids to increase confidence about company as well as allows increasing prices for products and services since it acts as herald assuring about quality of products. As Deephouse (2000) and Rindova, Petkova & Kotha (2007) discuss, reputation is central means through which organisations are able to communicate with customers about quality and additionally help customers to reduce their lack of knowledge/information. Similarly, Miles and Covin (2000) reported that firms with positive reputations are viewed as more credible and own potential to attract more investors. Literature has also debated the link between reputation and financial performance, drawing on the notion that the more reputable firm is considered the more profitable it is (Miles and Covin, 2000; Baka, 2016). According to Fombrun (1996), reputation is a valuable organisational resource which not less than organisational identity has a positive impact on organisation’s financial performance.
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Figure 4. Literature summary of the key reputation definitions from the corporate and management perspective. Source: own interpretation
2.2.2 Country and destination reputation
Formerly, the reputation concept was primarily attributed to consumer products and companies (Passow, Fehlmann & Grahlow, 2005). However, as Morgan, Pritchard, & Pride (2011) stated, current financially strained period which is marked by economic downturn, unstable energy costs, political unsteadiness and environmental disasters also drive countries and communities to find alternative sources of income, considering the reputation concept as an economic and social asset for a country itself. With this regard, the authors further pointed that nowadays many countries see huge potential in the tourism sector and as a result, try to develop it. Complementary to this, Kiráľová and Pavlíčeka (2015) point out that in current highly competitive and globalised world where so many places compete for attention and people are confronted with a wide range of destinations, countries need effective strategies in order to achieve differentiation and to put competitiveness. Thereby, as Morgan, Pritchard, & Pride (2011) claim there is a need to turn the reputation of a territory into a greater object of investigation for reputation managers.
Kang and Yang (2010) characterised country reputation as a set of cumulative emotional perceptions of country's image and identity which transnational and domestic publics shape as a result of personal experience or from media coverage. In the same way, Yang et al (2008) argue that country reputation can be constructed through 2 forms of individual experience:
1. Personal experience: some people might shape country reputation on the basis of direct contact with a country as a result of visit to a destination or consumption of products from country of origin;
2. Second-hand experience: indirect experience based on word-of-mouth communications, media interpretations of the country and information retrieved from media channels.
Jain and Winner (2013) consider a positive reputation as an invaluable asset for a country. In support of this, Yang et al (2008) and Morgan, Pritchard, & Pride (2011) affirm that there is growing evidence that positive reputation supports country in attaining competitive advantage as well as influences country’s performance from different aspects:
1. Positive reputation enhances public diplomacy
2. Countries with a positive reputation attract trade, businesses and increase exports
3. Countries with a positive reputation stimulate inflow of resources, tourists, foreign knowledge and talent
The importance of reputation for tourism destinations can be viewed from many perspectives (Yang et al, 2008). Some scholars investigated country reputation with reference to a public diplomacy (Yang et al, 2008). Nye (2004) pursued the similar path suggesting that country may strengthen its position on foreign diplomatic arena if efficiently manages its reputation. In other words, a country should be able to manage its attractiveness in perception of international public (Nye, 2004). Morgan, Pritchard & Pride (2011) viewed country reputation from a tourism perspective. The authors debated that particularly in tourism domain, destinations compete for attracting tourists, investors and qualified human capital. Following this logic, several authors pointed that DMO’s gain advantage using reputation as an instrument to communicate with potential tourists promoting destination as a place that is worth to visit (Yousaf and Li, 2015; Morgan, Pritchard & Pride, 2011). Along similar lines, the numerous studies provide the correlation between the way people perceive the country and their intentions to visit it (Gudjonsson, 2005; Nuttavuthisit, 2007). According to Yang et al. (2008) country with favourable reputation welcomes more international travellers and gains higher revenues from tourism industry. In the same way, positive reputation impacts individuals’ intention to purchase the product or brand from the country of origin (Gudjonson, 2005; Knight and Calantone, 2000). In the tourism sector where products are represented in the form of service, good reputation is correlated with the increased trust of customer towards a service provider (Horster and Gottschalk, 2012). Complementary to this, the survey carried out by CNN in 2013 reported that reputation is ranked as third the most decisive factor when choosing a destination to visit after such factors as safety and price.
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Figure 5. Travel-related decision making factors. Source: CNN (http://travel.cnn.com/biggest-concerns-international-travelers-safety-and-security-745936/)
Positive reputation is a powerful tool which helps tourism destinations to stand out from the crowd, command attention of international visitors and investors and ensure a competitive identity (Morgan, Pritchard & Pride, 2011). Given the importance of reputation, there is no surprise that nowadays the number of countries which try to intensely engage into management of their reputation is growing (Anholt, 2006; Yang et al, 2008).
However, despite the significance of reputation management in the tourism field, it is relatively a new practice which initially originated as a part of research area in organisational reputation (Yang et al, 2008). In the tourism domain the study of reputation was primarily a subject in management field (Marchiori and Cantoni, 2012).
Marchiori and Cantoni (2012) discussed two different approaches: the first one was principally restricted to a management field and according to which, the reputation is viewed from an organisational perspective of a tourism destination. As reported by Bieger and Laesser (2004) (cited in Marchiori and Cantoni, 2012) this organisational asset might significantly contribute to the development of tourism enterprises on the strategic level between all stakeholders.
The second approach of reputation analysis in tourism field reflects the practice of the theories of social media impacts, which is in fact outlines analytical models and particularly addresses countries’ reputation (Marchiori and Cantoni, 2012). Given the potential of the electronic word-of-mouth to influence the people’s perceptions and attitudes towards an object/country authors underlined the importance of studying the reputation of a tourism destination in online domain. With regard to the second approach, authors point out, that it chiefly applies a survey of public attitudes and media coverage investigation with an eye to foresee market trends and enhance the business of tourism sector.
Different measurement systems were developed in order to measure stakeholder’s perceptions about countries’ in different dimensions. For example, Country Brand Index1 ranks countries’ brands. The Country Rep Track2 provides reputation measurement of the public views with regard to a given country. Then, the Anholt-Gfk Roper Nation Brands Index3 provides with data that gives insights into national image. Applied to tourism field, these practices break down tourism destinations into separate dimensions (Marchiori and Cantoni, 2012). As a matter of fact, for reputation measurement, countries cannot use the same approach as in case with organisations as for their complexity (Passow, Fehlmann & Grahlow, 2005; Marchiori & Cantoni, 2012). According to Marchiori & Cantoni (2012) and Passow, Fehlmann & Grahlow (2005) it is more difficult to manage and establish a positive reputation for a country than for a business corporation as different stakeholders are involved. In contrast with the business organisations, countries’ do not own a well-defined ownership structure, in fact, destinations are disintermediated and generally composed of various autonomous players (Passow, Fehlmann & Grahlow, 2005; Marchiori & Cantoni, 2012). A visitor per se, might deal with various players within the trip (Marchiori & Cantoni, 2012). While this is the case, authors further suggest that these interactions might impact visitor’s perceptions about tourism destination. On these grounds, Marchiori and Cantoni (2012) divide tourism destination into separate reputational dimensions (adapted from the corporate and management literature), in order to classify published online opinions with regard to these dimensions.
2.2.3 Defining a tourism destination
Leiper (1995) defined tourism destination as a certain geographical space towards which individuals travel and where they intend to spend a particular amount of time. Tourism destinations comprise a set of fundamental elements which attract tourists and which support tourists’ stay (UNWTO, 2007). According to the report, the visitors’ willingness to travel to a destination is highly reliant on the delivery and quality of those elements. Figure 6 is based on the UNWTO (2007) report and presents the summary of the destination’s basic elements.
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Figure 6. Destination’s basic elements. Adapted from UNWTO (2007, p. 1)
Attractions. Attractions are considered as a core of tourist attention and often act as a key incentive to visit a destination. Can be classified as natural (mountains, parks, waterfalls, lakes), built (landmark buildings, heritage monuments, religious constructions) or cultural (museums, art galleries).
Amenities. Refer to the structures (lodging facilities, restaurants) that provide a wide range of services and considered as a basic component contributing to tourists’ stay.
Accessibility. The destination should be equipped with adequate transportation facilities in order to provide accessibility and making travel around the destination easy for all. Complementary to it, visa requirements, ports of entry are also regarded as a component of the accessibility of the destination.
Human Resources. In tourism industry, the interaction with local residents is an essential constituent that contributes to overall tourism experience. Well-trained personnel play a crucial role in a service industry since the quality of tourism experience is reliant not only on the skills but also on the attitudes of the workforce.
Price. Price aspects refer to the costs of the transportation, lodging, restaurants, food services, attractions etc. Price poses foremost importance in the destination’s ability to stay competitive.
Image or character. A unique image or character is particularly important element to draw tourists’ attention to the destination. It is not enough to have a wide offer of attractions and products if prospect visitors do not know about them.
The above mentioned elements can be characterised as financial, human, tangible and intangible resources. In fact, in order to provide a tourism experience, tourism destination should comprise all types of the resources (UNWTO, 2007). From the point of view of intangible assets, along with the importance of the image and character, there is another important intangible resource of the tourism destination – reputation (UNWTO, 2007). With regard to reputation, Seo (2013) argued that with the rise of the Information Communication Technologies (ICTs), the society has witnessed a great shift in the way information and knowledge produced and distributed. According to Seo and Thorson (2012), the global reach and low-cost characteristics of web communication tools contributed to the engagement of ordinary citizens’ to both national and transnational socio-political activities. In times of mass media communication and fierce competition on tourism market, the way tourism destination is perceived abroad became extremely vital (Morgan, Pritchard & Pride, 2011). As Morgan, Pritchard & Pride (2011) stated, with globalisation, country’s image and reputation achieved the role as the core element for any country striving to place competitiveness in the global tourism market. The reputation of the destination is regarded as one of the central means through which destination managers are able to communicate about value for money, service quality or hospitality (UNWTO, 2007).
However, on the subject of tourism destination, it is worth bringing clarity to the two related but still distinct concepts of reputation and image. As Passow, Fehlmann & Grahlow (2005) argued, in contrast with image which might change in short period of time, whilst reputation is regarded as a strategic asset established as a result of long-term perceptions of the destination on the basis of its images and actions. As the same authors claim, destination’s reputation is built around unique characteristics (destination’s identity) and actions, thus identity is at the core of the reputation (Passow, Fehlmann & Grahlow, 2005).
2.2.4 Relevance of reputation studies for online reputation of tourism destinations
According to Passow, Fehlmann & Grahlow (2005), just a while ago reputation management practice was restricted predominantly to organisations and companies. However, destination managers are becoming more and more concerned towards their destination’s reputation with respect to reputation of other destinations, and as a result, try to proactively manage it (Yang et al, 2008; Passow, Fehlmann & Grahlow, 2005).
While many scholars stress the importance of reputation in tourism domain, Marchiori and Cantoni (2012) acknowledge that with the wide spread of the Internet and technological advancements that allowed creating content online, the understanding of reputation these days became a more sophisticated task.
According to Marchiori & Cantoni (2012) there are two main arguments that can be advanced to support study of online reputation:
1) Internet represents a place where people can easily create and access large amount of information, as consequence Internet contributes to the formation of mediated experience. To portray this concept in tourism domain, authors underlined, that nowadays tourists retrieve information about foreign country not only from mass communication means: editorial prospects, television, movies, and radio; but from the Internet as well. Contents published online are accessible to a large audience, and as consequence people shape their opinions similar to those expressed. Drawing on this notion, those contents are considered as proxies of reputation.
2) Web 2.0 applications enabled individuals to generate content online, so called user- generated content (UGC). According to the authors, those published personal sentiments might be seen as instances of reputation.
On the whole, it is essential to study online reputation because either it delivers published opinions (proxies of reputation) or personal sentiments (instances of reputation) (Marchiori & Cantoni, 2012). According to the authors, prior to the online domination period, personal sentiments were obtainable primarily via surveys. However, authors posit that in the online environment, the same content can be subjected to the dual role. For example, personal sentiments of public opinions can act as published opinions as well, since it is accessible to others. More importantly, due to the high accessibility, those contents might be extremely influential (Marchiori & Cantoni, 2012). Having this theoretical background, let us now turn attention to the importance of studying reputation particularly in tourism domain.
In order to master the importance of the reputation studies for tourism destinations, it is needed to provide the definition of destination management organisations (DMOs) along with an insight into their main activities. According to UNWTO (2007), destination management characterises the coordinated management of all the components that shape the destination (namely, site attractions, infrastructure and facilities, accessibility and transportation, marketing and pricing). The strategic task of the DMO is therefore to effectively connect all the components for a better management of the destination (UNWTO, 2007). The Figure 7 below illustrates the destination management dynamics.
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Figure 7. Destination management. Source: UNWTO (2007, p.4)
According to the UNWTO (2007), the components of the destination primarily rely on the marketing practices in order to convince people to visit the place. In other words, one of the key activities of the DMO embraces the effective marketing strategy for the destination that will facilitate tourism in a long-term (UNWTO, 2007).
Following this notion, Marchiori and Cantoni (2012) stressed the significance of the understanding the content published online by individuals which is based on their travel experience. According to Horster and Gottschalk (2012) each journey represents an aggregation of a large number of detached and personal services and it is hard to evaluate the tourism product before the consumption. According to Sirakaya and Woodside (2005) and Horster and Gottschalk (2012), the tourism sector as an economic segment to an extremely large extent is reliant on the information dissemination, since prospective tourists generally conduct a deep search during their planning phase in order to obtain substantial amount of information regarding tourism destination, its products and services.
However, the evolution in Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) together with an active use of Internet enlarged the channels where the reputation can be formed and shared, adding new tasks and management requirements. With the extended networking capabilities of the Internet, the information flow in online tourism domain became more intensive, which in return brought both opportunities and challenges to the reputation managers (Buhalis and Law, 2008). As Greaves and Mika (2008) state, Web 2.0 applications (e.g. blogs, wikis, social networks) with its central feature – possibility to publish content (in other words user-generated content) profoundly enlarged web users’ possibilities, allowed them actively participate in content building, express opinions and exchange their knowledge online. As Jones, Temperley & Lima (2009) point out, social media users enjoy the opportunity to create social networks through which they communicate with other users from all over the world in an instantaneous way. As a matter of fact, social media applications accumulate public opinions and perceptions about enterprises in a form of online reviews and evaluations and to high extent can be considered as important information source (Marchiori and Cantoni, 2012; Deephouse, 2000; Horster and Gottschalk, 2012). As consequence, all narratives and evaluations of opinion taking place online contribute to the building of reputation (Charest and Bouffard, 2015; Horster and Gottschalk, 2012). With the rise of technological innovations the dependence of reputation on official marketing channels is highly questionable (Siano et al., 2011; Jones, Temperley & Lima, 2009). These days, tourists predominantly shape their perceptions about destination prior to encountering the place not on the basis of marketing communication channels but through discussions taking place online (Horster and Gottschalk, 2012). In this participatory environment customers gained recognition as co-producers of reputation since they assist shaping marketing communications (Jones, Temperley & Lima, 2009; Sotiriadis and van Zyl, 2013). Under these circumstances, in the social web, reputation is determined by word-of-mouth process and dissemination of information shared by stakeholders through social networks (Horster and Gottschalk, 2012; Marchiori and Cantoni, 2012). According to Pan et al. (2007), tourists express negative or positive sentiments online on the basis of the self-experience and because of that, for many people content published by fellow travellers is superior and more trustful compared to official information by DMOs. Underlying the relevance of the users’ trust into online reviews, it is reasonable to assume that the online e-WOM has a potential to enhance or damage reputation (Sparks and Browning, 2011). Under the influence of networking advancements destination reputation is fundamentally affected by social interaction (Horster and Gottschalk, 2012). With this regard, Xiang and Gretzel (2010) confirm that, those online reviews might strengthen persuasive impact on the decision-making process with regard to intention to visit a destination. Moreover, individuals publish those reviews without any restrictions and control, as such they potentially entail serious risk to destination reputation (Aula, 2010). DMOs should acknowledge the possible risk of situations, where dissatisfied tourists share their experiences online and as a result prospect tourists might be deterred by the negative comments (Camprubi et al, 2013).
Last but not least, online negative reviews which are accessible to large audience expose the good reputation of tourism destination to substantial damage (Horster and Gottschalk, 2012). As a result, reputation damage can lead to a wide range of adverse consequences: financial loss as well as loss of customers and investors. Therefore, reputational risk represents the major concern for all tourism destinations. In these circumstances, to avoid risks of losing the positive reputation, the online reputation became particularly relevant to be investigated and managed.
2.3 e-WOM and tourism
This chapter is dedicated to the examination of Word-Of-Mouth (WOM) and electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) which besides the tourism destination reputation is the second thematic area of study of the present thesis. Section 2.3.1 provides a descriptive account on the concept of WOM, whilst 2.3.2 section gives an overview to e-WOM. The relationships between online information search and tourism is examined in 2.3.3 section.
2.3.1 Word-of-Mouth
Word-of-mouth plays a key role in travel and tourism industry especially in information search and buying decisions (Gretzel and Yoo, 2008). As Buhalis and Law (2008) point out, in order to decrease the risks related to the intangible nature of tourism offerings, individuals often consult others as a part of the decision-making process. WOM is described as the process of face-to-face communication about products and services among individuals outside the formal advertising channels (Arndt, 1967, quoted in Litvin et al., 2008). Under the basic principle of consumer behaviour it is broadly acknowledged that positive or negative word of mouth might significantly impact customer’s intentions with respect to a purchase of product or service (Sparks and Browning, 2011; Litvin et al, 2008; Ladhari and Michaud, 2015; Filieri et al., 2015). However, whilst positive WOM boosts chances of purchase, expressed criticism conversely reveals the reverse outcome and deters instead (Ladhari and Michaud, 2015).
In order to advance the understanding of the concept of word-of-mouth, Litvin et al (2008) developed a conceptual model where address some major questions:
1) What are the motivations that facilitate people to generate word-of-mouth?
As Litvin et al. (2008) argue, WOM originates as a result of positive or negative emotions induced from product experience. Such feelings as: satisfaction, delight or disappointment encourages individuals to share their feelings with other people. Further, many people generated WOM in a form of exchange towards other individuals who had rated them formerly. In the same way, many people merely like to share their experiences with others.
2) What are the main sources of WOM?
According to Litvin et al. (2008), a person who spreads the WOM is considered as “opinion leader” and the receiver is “opinion seeker”. As the same author further point out, “opinion leaders” receive information about product or service either from mass media channels or from personal experience and subsequently mediate own feelings with “opinion seekers”.
3) What are the aspects affecting the spread of WOM?
According to the key aspect debated by authors, there are two forms of mediating aspects that contribute to the spread of WOM: first form impacts the producer of the WOM whereas the second form the receiver. Authors describe various factors that lead to a WOM: favourable customer-employee interactions, high product involvement and “surprise” aroused from the product consumption entailed spread of WOM in the originators of the WOM. Such aspects as memory, brand familiarity, the extent of social integration into community entailed the willingness to receive WOM in receivers.
4) Which consequences spread of WOM might entail?
It is widely accepted that positive WOM results in the further willingness to purchase the product while negative WOM leads to the reverse outcome and directs away. Last but not least, according to Litvin et al. (2008), WOM is able to impact the product evaluations as well as lead to customer loyalty and product acceptance.
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Figure 8. A conceptual model of word of mouth. Source: Litvin et al. (2008, p. 460)
2.3.2 Electronic word-of-mouth
The new online publishing platforms widely known as social media applications contributed to the emergence of a new form of word of mouth (Sparks and Browning, 2011). As those authors further elaborate, social media platforms facilitated the communication process and distribution of information through online communities, networks, forums, blogs and specific platforms which allow evaluating the quality of service or products. As Sparks and Browning (2011) discuss, the electronic WOM deals with a global audience unlike conventional form of WOM which is often restricted to a personal realm of friends and family. In those particular settings of online media, the importance of word-of-mouth becomes more evident, since numerous posts being both positive and negative are accessible to a global audience (Filieri et al., 2015). The outcomes of those reviews might lead to various implications: from forming a favourable perception about an object to negative ones (Filieri et al., 2015).
2.3.3 Online Information Search in Tourism
Information is essential constituent in today’s world (Manaman, Jamali & AleAhmad, 2015). In fact, the travel industry itself is extremely dependent on information diffusion (Horster and Gottschalk, 2012). In tourism, due to the experiential characteristics of tourism products which cannot be assessed prior to purchase, tourists need cues that will help to avoid risks of uncertainty (Sotiriadis and van Zyl, 2013). Moreover, according to Holloway and Robinson (1995, quoted in Chung and Buhalis, 2008) travel expenditures are viewed as one of the most expensive spending in annual budget. These circumstances encourage individuals to undertake deep (online) search with regard to travel information (Ayeh et al., 2013).
With the global spread of the Internet and expansion of social media applications, business environment confronted dramatic transformations which pose both opportunities and challenges (Buhalis and Law, 2008). The significant impact of technological developments in particular can be observed within the travel and tourism domain. As Xiang, Magnini & Fesenmaier (2015) mention, these developments became a turning point in the way travellers obtain and use travel information.
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Social media websites formed a new publishing space which plays an essential role in opinion formation process. Proliferation and massive use of social networking websites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, TripAdvisor) entailed the growth of online peer to peer communication (Chung and Buhalis, 2008). At current stage online social networks are accounted for the significant proportion of the overall amount of generated information content (Manaman, Jamali & AleAhmad, 2015; Dijkmans, Kerkhof, Beukeboom, 2015). The Internet stores huge amount of information (Sparrow, Liu & Wegner, 2011) and therefore many people consider it as the major information source these days (Xiang, Magnini & Fesenmaier, 2015; Llodra-Riera et al., 2015).
Particularly in tourism industry, individuals use online networking applications to increase knowledge about products and services, to share personal experiences or to view recommendations of fellow travellers (Chung and Buhalis, 2008). Nowadays online communities provide potential travellers with any kind of information regarding the main aspects of travel experience. During the pre–travel phase which is regarded as a basic stage of travel experience, potential tourists try to acquire extensive amount of information in order to better organise the trip (Xiang, Magnini & Fesenmaier, 2015). Prompt communication and great information access as a result of technological developments, entailed the shift in information searching behaviour in tourists regarding tourism offerings (Gruen et al., 2006; Sotiriadis and van Zyl, 2013). Social media tools extensively penetrated into social and economic lives as one of the most influential communication tool and today reading online travel reviews and browse material became an integral part of travel planning process (Mackay, McVetty & Vogt, 2005, Xiang, Magnini & Fesenmaier, 2015). Online comments serve as credible information source for many individuals (Miguéns et al., 2008; Milano, Baggio & Piattelli 2011; Sotiriadis and van Zyl, 2013). Moreover, consumers tend to rely more and more on peer referrals and consider them more credible in reference to the official information provided by tourism boards (Cantoni et al., 2009; Manaman, Jamali & AleAhmad, 2015; Sotiriadis and van Zyl, 2013; Papathanassis and Knolle, 2011; Barreda et al., 2015; Mendes-Filho et al., 2010; Kardon, 2007; Munar, 2011; Yoo et al., 2009; Blackshaw and Nazzaro, 2006). According to the Global Survey of The Nielsen Company (2015), online consumer opinions are regarded as the third-most reliable advertisement format. The degree of credibility of consumer opinions in the Internet reached reasonably high value of 66%, which is the same with editorial content (newspaper articles) and it is outreached only by recommendations by friends and acquaintances (83%) (The Nielsen Company, 2015). The popularity and wide use of the review sites could be explained by the fact that individuals perceive information on social media as more reliable and bias-free in contrast with information published by Destination Management Organisations (DMO) (Mack et al., 2008; Xiang and Gretzel, 2010). In addition, Llamero (2014) in her study revealed that people regard information from review sites as more up-to-date and amusing in contrast with websites of product or service providers.
Due to the growing relevance of electronic word-of-mouth, online reviews of fellow travellers are acknowledged to considerably impact the perceptions, attitudes and preferences for tourism product during travel planning. In addition, there is evidence that online trust expressively impacts consumers’ behaviour, notably when it comes to destination choice (Xiang, Magnini & Fesenmaier, 2015). Given these points, electronic word-of-mouth nowadays achieved the role of essential information source for potential visitors (Chung and Buhalis, 2008). As a result, social networking platforms are widely accepted as powerful instrument to influence tourism behaviour (Noti, 2013; Sotiriadis and van Zyl, 2013; Xiang and Gretzel, 2010, Zeng and Gerritsen, 2014).
2.4 Official online communication of tourism destination
The main characteristics of DMO websites are presented in the following chapter. The principal features of DMO website are extensively analysed in a section 2.4.1.
2.4.1 DMO website characteristics
In the digital age many people use the Internet to obtain travel related information (Lim and Yoo, 2012). As O’Connor and Murphy (2004) discuss, the internet is a vital medium in tourism industry as it allowed individuals to access trustworthy and precise information as well as enabled to conduct online commercial transactions. As a matter of fact, many people acknowledged the convenience of using the Internet as it allows saving time and cost in comparison to the conventional methods (Lim and Yoo, 2012). As a consequence, increasing number of tourists use the Internet to acquire travel information since many Internet websites offer more updated, interactive, and abundant content in contrast with the conventional static paper-based travel guides (Lim and Yoo, 2012). With this regard, nowadays tourism websites seem to almost substitute the traditional information sources (Lim and Yoo, 2012). As Yang and Bolchini (2010) argue, the major objective of a destination website is to promote tourism experience at a destination as well as to provide incentive to travel to a destination.
As Fesenmaier and Wang (2004) confirm, destination choice and trip planning is a main driver for information gathering. Destination website can serve as prompt information provider for prospect visitors who are willing to obtain practical and aesthetic travel information as a part of their trip planning phase (Kaplanidou and Vogt, 2006). It is confirmed by Kaplanidou and Vogt (2006) that if destination website is acknowledged to be useful it might impact the potential visitor’s intention to visit a destination. The usefulness of destination website is linked to the presence of such characteristics as ease navigation, quality of content, and accessibility (Kaplanidou and Vogt, 2006).
Navigation - ease of navigation is an important characteristic for a successful website (Kaplanidou and Vogt, 2006). According to Zhang et al. (2001, quoted in Kaplanidou and Vogt, 2006) navigation was ranked among the first three most essential components that websites need to contain. Efficient navigation is generally defined as the easy movement through a website’s pages together with an easy shift from home page to other sections (Kaplanidou and Vogt, 2006). The adoption of the flow chart is considered as the first step in achieving a sufficient navigational system (Kaplanidou and Vogt, 2006). As authors argue, navigation system serves to assist a user to browse and shift website’s pages easily while still keeping engaged. Additionally, explicit and concise graphical navigational features of a website provide users with a feeling of familiarity and therefore increases chances to be visited later (Kaplanidou and Vogt, 2006). As consequence, efficient navigational system might impact tourists’ favourable opinion about the website’s usefulness (Kaplanidou and Vogt, 2006).
Content - a website’s content can be characterised as a set of practical textual descriptions and inspirational multimedia components that spur a user to visit a destination (Kaplanidou and Vogt, 2006). A successful website should provide content that responds to user’s requirements (Kaplanidou and Vogt, 2006; Luna-Nevarez and Hyman, 2012; Cantoni and Tardini, 2006). There are 5 evaluation criteria discussed by Cantoni and Tardini (2006: p.102) which determine the quality of website’s content.
Accuracy – online information should be accurate including formal accuracy (textual correctness) and substantial correctness (the accuracy among the content and reality in the world).
Authority – people need to know where information comes from.
Currency – website should be constantly updated. Information online is expected to be newer and more updated in comparison to printed brochures. It is especially relevant to the websites with online transaction opportunities.
Coverage – websites’ should cover all the necessary information the visitors might looking for. However, websites should not be overloaded with too much information. In other words, irrelevant information should not be published.
Objectivity – website should make clear to visitors what the website’s goals are.
Accessibility - refers to the ability of the website to be easily found on the Internet and the speed with which websites’ pages get downloaded (Kaplanidou and Vogt, 2006). According to Kaplanidou and Vogt (2006), accessibility is smoothed when the website is technically well-maintained.
Last but not least, website should be visually appealing and contain multimedia components (images, video) which are also important as they assist in the formation of first impression of the website (Luna-Nevarez and Hyman, 2012). As Luna-Nevarez and Hyman, 2012 further argue, multimedia components are able to deliver substantial cues which in return assist in information retaining, catching an attention and stimulate to further discover the website. To sum up, the combination of all website components motivates visitors to believe that they are able to better organise their trip as they acquire information which is original, explicit and coherent with the destination attributes (Luna-Nevarez and Hyman, 2012; Kaplanidou and Vogt, 2006).
3. Research design
In order to empirically investigate the online reputation of Baku and answer the research questions regarding several aspects of the representation of Baku in the online domain, the research was organised in two phases. For the phase A, a set of keywords was determined in order to perform the online data collection. For the data analysis retrieved from search engine and social media, content analysis has been then performed classifying the contents using the DORM model. The phase B considered the content analysis in order to identify the mismatches between official (using the official DMO’s website of Baku), and unofficial online communication gathered from Phase A. However, before proceeding with the detailed description of the each of the phase, the following paragraphs will describe a purpose of the current case selection.
Baku case study
The fast development of tourism sector in Azerbaijan, growing relevance of reputation for a tourism destination and author’s personal interest contributed to the selection of Baku’s reputation as the main motivation for the present thesis.
Baku is the capital of Azerbaijan and one of the biggest cities in the Caucasus region located on the Absheron peninsula and on the coast of the Caspian Sea. Baku is the most densely populated city in Azerbaijan with a population of 2, 15 million.4
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Figure 9. The location of Baku on Azerbaijan map. Source: d-maps.com
According to the description of Baku on the official DMO website, Baku is a city where East blends with West, modern with ancient. Baku attracts tourists by the array of historical monuments some of which are listed in the UNESCO heritage list and modern pieces of architecture. According to the DMO website, there are some of the main attractions of Baku:
Old City (XII century) – historical and architectural monument enclosed with the stronghold walls with the Palace of the Shirvanshahs on the territory. Since 2000 is inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage List together with the Maiden Tower.
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Figure 10. Old city. Source: http://www.baku-hotels.net
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Figure 11. Gobustan Rock Art. Source: http://meros.org
Gobustan Rock Art – (XII century BC) – ancient drawings on the rock dating back the Mesolithic era. Since 2007 is inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center – is representative piece of modern architecture with geometric design.
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Figure 12. Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center. Source: http://www.archdaily.com
The number of inbound tourists to Baku exceeds 10 thousand of visitors each year.5 However, in the last few years Baku has been in a spotlight of attention of public and media due to the hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012. Given the fact that Baku is hosting international events, namely: European Games 2015, European Grand Prix 2016 and became one of the countries that is hosting UEFA Euro 2020 it is possible to assume that Baku DMO wants to promote country/city and is willing to attract more international tourists.
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Figure 13. The number of tourists visiting Baku per year. Source: self-elaboration of the data obtained from The State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan
3.1 Phase A: Analysis of the online reputation of Baku city as a tourism destination
Phase A is intended to identify the online reputation of Baku city as a tourism destination. In order to answer the first research question related to online reputation of Baku city as tourism destination, the DORM (Destination Online Reputation Model) was applied.
3.1.1 The DORM model
The DORM was elaborated as a result of combination of two models of Reputation Institute – Reputation Quotient and RepTrak, which subsequently was adjusted by Marchiori et al. (2011) to tourism industry. The essence of the framework lies in the fact that it allows to classify into several reputational dimensions the contents published on the online reviews and to investigate of what consumers say about a destination. DORM provides the core 5 reputation dimensions needed to measure the online reputation, and several reputation drivers as presented in the following table.
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Table 1. Table of dimensions and drivers within DORM framework
3.1.2 Search engine investigation
The intangible nature of tourism products which prevents the evaluation of quality prior to the consumption entails potential tourists to undertake a deep information search in order to gain insight into tourism destination its products and services and therefore reduce uncertainty linked with the lack of knowledge (Chung and Buhalis, 2008). Prior to the digital era, tourists used to retrieve information principally from official sources however with the wide use of Internet, communication dynamics undergone solid changes (Marchiori & Cantoni, 2012). Nowadays, the Internet serves as the foremost information source for many people (Xiang, Magnini & Fesenmaier, 2015). However, according to Fesenmaier et al., (2010) with the enormous amount of information online, the search engine is regarded as the tool assisting travellers to find needed information as well as supports easy navigation through the online domain. As consequence, search engines play an important role in information search process. Given the importance of search engine for tourists, the search engine offered by Google was used as the tool to collect data. As Xiang and Gretzel (2010) mentioned, Google is considered as the most popular search engine tool among Internet users and dominating in the online search domain. Therefore, it was selected for the analysis of the search engine phase.
The combination of 8 English tourism-related keywords associated to the name of the destination under study (Baku) has been searched individually on Google.com. The keywords searched were: “Reasons to visit Baku”, “Baku tourism”, “Things to do in Baku”, “Holidays Baku”, “Baku activities” “The places of interest Baku”, “Visit Baku” and “Accommodation”.
The first three pages of results from search engine (namely 30 URLs) for each keyword were considered. Therefore, 240 URLs gathered from Google have been analysed. All data was recorded and stored in excel file, and an ad-hoc grid (see Figure 14) was created in order to perform content analysis for each link. The whole process of URL content analysis gathered from the search engine comprising descriptive analysis and coding can be described step by step as follows:
- Descriptive analysis of each URL gathered from the search engine results:
I. Date registration. The data analysis for each keyword started from the date registration. In total, search engine analysis was performed from 23.01.-28.01.2016.
II. URL identification. This step of search engine analysis was to identify the URL typology, choosing from 4 types:
- User-generated content (UGC)
- Not user-generated (The key difference between UGC and not UGC websites lies in the possibility to post comments/photos/videos, share the content etc.)
- Tourism segment (if not ugc but website is travel related)
- Not relevant (The URLs that appeared in search engine but contained no information regarding search object and not working URLs)
III. Define the media type. If the landing page gathered from the search engine was related to ugc type, the following step was to define the media type of the website, choosing from:
- Virtual community (e.g. Lonely Planet)
- Consumer review (e.g. TripAdvisor)
- Blogs and blogs aggregators
- Social networking (e.g. Facebook)
- Video sharing (e.g. YouTube)
- Photo sharing (e.g. Pinterest)
- Wikipedia (e.g. Wikipedia)
- Official magazine hosting users’ comments (Telegraph.uk)
- Other
IV. If website was related to ugc type, the main topic was classified according to reputation 5 dimensions derived from the DORM model:
- Products and Services quality with 5 subcategories: Accommodation, Food and Beverage, Transportation, Entertainment, Site Attractions
- Society
- Governance
- Environment
- Performance
- Data coding:
After classification of URLs, the main sentiments expressed within the pages were evaluated using a 5-point scale system which indicates:
1 – negative sentiments expressed
2 - negative sentiments outnumber positive ones
3 – negative and positive sentiments expressed
4 – positive sentiments outnumber negative ones
5 - positive sentiments expressed
and Not applicable
Moreover, two columns were dedicated to collect comments and notes from the author regarding the page, and the representative pictures presented on the page and object of the main topic discussed within the page itself.
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Figure 14. The screenshot of the ad-hoc grid
3.1.3 Social media investigation
Given the experiential aspects of tourism products, tourists tend to rely on the experiences of peer tourists instead of official sources when planning their trips (Yoo et al., 2009; Ladhari and Michaud, 2015). With this regard, social media websites where fellow travellers share their reviews based on the own travel experience are considered as very influential sources of information. Given the high popularity of TripAdvisor.com among the travellers, it was chosen for the content analysis of the social media investigation part. Consumer reviews on the core tourism products & services (namely: site attractions, accommodation, food & beverage, entertainment, tours & activities, cultural activities, outdoor activities, spa & wellness) listed in “The things to do in Baku” section were taken into consideration. The first 10 topics per each product & services type and reviews from the first two pages were carefully analysed. In addition, the first 20 topics from the website’s forum were also analysed. All data was recorded and stored in excel file, and an ad-hoc grid was created in order to analyse the content of each link.
Then, the main sentiments expressed within the pages were evaluated using a 5-point scale system which indicates:
1 – negative sentiments expressed
2 - negative sentiments outnumber positive ones
3 – negative and positive sentiments expressed
4 – positive sentiments outnumber negative ones
5 - positive sentiments expressed
and Not applicable
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Figure 15. Screenshot of Things to do in Baku section on TripAdvisor (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g293934-Activities-Baku_Absheron_Region.html)
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Figure 16. Screenshot of the TripAdvisor forum (https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g293934-i9347-Baku_Absheron_Region.html)
3.1.4 Analysis of the relationship between search engine and social media results
The next step of the social media investigation attempts to identify the relationship between search engine and social media results in relation to the major site attractions of Baku. In order to identify the main site attractions according to the social media platforms (Facebook and TripAdvisor), top 10 site attractions from TripAdvisor listed in the “Things to do in Baku” section (Figure 17) and site attractions related pages appeared in the first 100 pages in “Sightseeing” section within Baku related page on Facebook (Figure 18) will be taken into consideration. Further, on the basis of the frequency of occurrences of each site attraction type throughout the search engine (Google.com) investigation the most popular ones according to the search engine will be identified and compared to the site attractions from TripAdvisor and Facebook social media platforms. In order to answer the research question regarding the relationship between search engine and social media, content analysis was employed. Data collection and coding process can be described as follows:
Data collection: Content analysis of the 63 websites belonging to the site attractions subcategory from search engine investigation was performed in order to identify the most popular site attractions according to the Google search engine. The main sightseeing sites will be identified on the basis of the number of occurrences of the each site attraction type per each of the 8 keyword groups (“Reasons to visit Baku”, “Baku tourism”, “Things to do in Baku”, “Holidays Baku”, “Baku activities” “The places of interest Baku”, “Visit Baku” and “Accommodation”) throughout the search engine investigation.
Coding process: The numbers of frequencies of each site attraction per each keyword group were stored in Excel sheet file and counted in order to identify which site attractions are the most frequently occurred in search engine.
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Figure 177. Screenshot of the Things to do in Baku section on TripAdvisor (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g293933-Activities-Azerbaijan.html)
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Figure 18. Screenshot of the Sightseeing section on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/places/Things-to-do-in-Baku-Azerbaijan/107813172585534/)
3.2 Phase B: Possible mismatches between official and unofficial communication
The Phase B aims to identify the possible mismatches between official (namely from the dedicated page about Baku within the national DMO website), and unofficial online communication (namely Facebook page dedicated to Baku and Things to do in Baku section from TripAdvisor), as well as aims to identify the most requested information by tourists in order to provide insights for DMO of Baku city and enhance provided content.
3.2.1 Official online communication investigation
The content analysis of the official online communication is based on the analysis of the webpage dedicated to Baku (http://azerbaijan.travel/en/region/47-Baku) within the official DMO website (http://azerbaijan.travel/). For this purpose, the content analysis of English version page was taken into consideration. The textual description and photo gallery as the representative sample of official communication was coded in order to investigate the official online communication and the way DMO positions Baku on the tourism market. The analysis of each website components is summarised below:
Textual description. The content analysis of the text from the Baku page (http://azerbaijan.travel/en/region/47-%D0%91%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%83) is intended to:
- Site attractions
- Accommodation
- Food & Beverage
- Entertainment
- Infrastructure & Facilities
- Accessibility & Transportation
- Events
- Outdoor Activities
- Other
2) Identify the main site attractions presented in text (e.g. Old City, Maiden Tower).
Photo Gallery. The analysis of the photo gallery section comprises the analysis of the 12 pictures in order to identify the site attractions type (e.g. Old City, Maiden Tower).
All site attractions types throughout the Baku page were recorded and stored in Excel sheet file in order to compare them with results from social media platforms.
Additionally content analysis of the official communication comprises the deep analysis of the Baku page on official DMO website in order to identify what type of information is presented by DMO. Screenshots will be used in order to better present findings.
3.2.2 Unofficial online communication investigation
This section involves the content analysis of the two social media platforms, namely Facebook and TripAdvisor in order to identify the most popular site attractions.
Facebook analysis
Data collection: The content analysis of Facebook was based on the analysis of the sightseeing section (https://www.facebook.com/places/Things-to-do-in-Baku-Azerbaijan/107813172585534/) within the page dedicated to Baku in order to identify the most popular site attraction types within the social media platform. For that reason, first 100 pages dedicated to site attractions within the Baku page from sightseeing section were taken into consideration.
Coding process: All pages were coded according to the site attractions type and stored in Excel sheet file with the pages’ average rank for each site attraction type.
TripAdvisor analysis
The content analysis of the TripAdvisor social media platform was based on the analysis of the Things to do in Baku section (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g293933-Activities-Azerbaijan.html). For that reason, first 10 the most popular site attractions listed in the section (Figure 18) were considered. Namely: “Old city Baku”, “Baku Boulevard”, “Maiden Tower”, “Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center”, “Gobustan Rock Art”, “Flame Towers”, “Fountain Square”, Palace of the Shirvanshahs”, “Martyr’s Lane” and “Azerbaijan Carpet Museum”.
TripAdvisor’s forum analysis
The second phase involves the content analysis of the TripAdvisor forum (https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g293933-i9346-Azerbaijan.html) in order to identify what is the most frequently requested information by visitors. For the content analysis first 60 topics were taken into consideration. Based on the findings, author is intended to provide practical insights and hopefully fill the gaps in the managerial implications of official tourism board of Baku.
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Figure 19. Screenshot of the TripAdvisor forum (https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g293934-i9347-Baku_Absheron_Region.html)
3.2.3 The comparison of official and unofficial communication
Based on the results retrieved from social media and official DMO website, a comparison between official and unofficial communication based on the frequencies of occurrences of the site attraction’s types will be performed, and possible mismatches will be identified.
4. Findings
This chapter provides the findings related to each of the research phases discussed in the previous chapter. The first part of this chapter presents results of the phase A which are delivered in three steps: first part presents results for the search engine investigation whereas second for the social media investigation and finally third provides an insight into the relationship between search engine and social media results. The second part of chapter is devoted to the results for phase B regarding the possible mismatches between official and unofficial communication and the most requested information by tourists.
4.1 Phase A: What is the online reputation of Baku city as a tourism destination
The initial part of this chapter comprises the results for the search engine and social media investigation.
4.1.1 Results for the Search Engine
URL Analysis
The analysis of the 240 URLs about Baku as a tourism destination demonstrated that the biggest share among all the websites belongs to the group UGC (38%). Taking this into consideration, it can be said that social media represents the significant part of the online tourism domain and as such plays a significant role while searching for tourism-related keywords about Baku. Tourism Segment represents (25%) of total. The total share of not relevant websites is (17%). 13% of the total number is represented by duplicated pages and 7% by not UGC websites. The percentage and the total numbers of the websites according to their groups are reflected in the Figure 8.
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Figure 20. Composition of webpage types gathered from Google
Analysis of the Tourism Segment pages
The percentage and the total numbers of the websites according to their groups are presented in the Figure 9. Among the total number of analysed URLs (240), tourism segment related pages comprise 60 pages. The vast majority of analysed websites in this group belong to accommodation (45%) and travel guide webpages (17%). The official DMO websites represent 11% of total number and followed by travel booking website (7%). There is also 5% of websites belonging to various airlines. Event website, official website about travel, travel magazine, trip planner, U.S. International travel website and travel website comprise only 2% of the total number. There is also a booking and city guide, airport website and city sightseeing website with only 1%. However, it should be noted that the vast majority of the webpages in this category belong to the official websites which represent the destination, hotels etc., so they are primarily designed for commercial purposes, to advertise and attract potential visitors.
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Figure 21. Composition of the Tourism segment pages gathered from the Google results
Analysis of the UGC webpages
As it can be seen in the Figure 10, the analysis of the 91 UGC webpages revealed that the biggest share of UGC is represented by Virtual Community - 29% (e.g. Lonely Planet) and Consumer Review - 25% (e.g. TripAdvisor) media type. Blogs and blog aggregators with 13% comprise the third biggest share of media type and followed by the Official Magazine Hosting users’ comments with 12%. All the websites in this media types were in English what can be explained by the used English keywords. The websites that fitted into “Other” media type comprise 7% and followed by Wikipedia with 6%. Photo sharing media type is represented by 4%. There is also a group of social networks and video sharing website media types with 2% per each.
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Figure 22. Composition of UGC webpages gathered from Google
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Table 2. Distribution of webpages across 8 combinations of keywords
The Table 2 presents the results of webpage types generated from group of the keywords.
UGC. The biggest number of UGC webpages was generated by three keyword groups: “Reasons to visit Baku”, “Things to do in Baku” and “Visit Baku” (15 webpages per each). “The places of interest Baku” produced 13 and “Accommodation” 12 UGC webpages. There are also 3 keyword groups with the same results: “Baku activities”, “Baku tourism” and “Holidays Baku” with 7 UGC webpages per each.
Not UGC. Keyword “Baku tourism” produced the biggest number (5) of Not UGC websites, followed by “Reasons to visit Baku” (4). The keyword group “Visit Baku” generated 3 Not UGC webpages. “The places of interest Baku”, “Holidays Baku”, “Things to do in Baku” and “Baku activities” produced only 1 Not UGC webpage per each, while ”Accommodation” keyword revealed no results.
Not relevant. The keyword “Holidays Baku” generated the biggest share (13) of not relevant webpages and followed by “Baku activities” (12). The keyword “Baku tourism” produced 7 and “Reasons to visit Baku” 5 results of not relevant websites. The keyword “Visit Baku” generated 3 not relevant webpages, while “Things to do in Baku” and “The places of interest Baku” revealed the smallest number of not relevant webpages only 1 per each. “Accommodation” keyword group revealed no results.
Duplicated pages. The keyword “The places of interest Baku” comprises the biggest number (7) of duplicated pages followed by “Things to do in Baku” (6). The keyword groups “Baku tourism” and “Visit Baku” generated 4 duplicated pages per each keyword. “Reasons to visit Baku” and “Holidays Baku” generated 3 duplicated pages per each keyword group. The number of duplicated pages for “Accommodation” and “Baku activities” represents 2 duplicated pages per each.
Analysis for webpage media type
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Table 3. Distribution of UGC webpages by 8 combinations of keywords.
Products & Services typology
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Figure 23. Distribution of website contents across the Products & Services dimension
Among the 91 webpages in the Product & Services dimension site attractions subcategory outnumbers other subcategories (69%; n-63). Websites with content related to Accommodation (14%; n-13) are followed by “Other” type (10%; n-9). Food & Beverage related content represents 6 % (n-5) out of total share and followed by Entertainment with only 1% (n-1) of webpages out of total. However, Accessibility & Transportation, Outdoor activities, Event and Infrastructure & Facilities revealed no results for this type of contents.
Site attractions
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Figure 24. Distribution of expressed values for Site attractions subcategory across the 8 keyword groups
Site attractions is the most commented subcategory within Products & Services dimension with 63 URLs out of total 91 URLs. There are two commented drivers within this subcategory: d01 (destination offers a satisfying tourism product) and d02 (destination offers a pleasant atmosphere).
The d01 (destination offers a satisfying tourism product) generated 17 comments in total, yielded by 5 keyword groups. All 17 sentiments expressed for this driver were positive. The most commented tourism product within this driver was the Old City, Maiden Tower and Palace of Shirvanshahs. “Things to do in Baku” and “Reasons to visit Baku” keyword groups generated the biggest number of comments for d01 (n-5 per each) whereas “Holidays Baku” the smallest number (n-2), the “Accommodation”, “Baku activities” and “The places of interest Baku” keyword group revealed no comments for the driver. The highest average rank of 4.8 (n-5) produced by “Things to do in Baku” keyword group. The lowest average rate for d01 belongs to “Visit Baku” (n-3) and “Baku Tourism” (n-2) keyword groups with the 4.0 on average. Many comments for this driver were highlighting the remarkable treasures from the history and modern buildings:
“Even though the capital Baku is increasingly transforming into a futuristic city with all these luxuriously glorious skyscrapers and other pieces of modern architecture, it still has plenty to offer tourists interested in ancient structures and buildings. Baku’s Walled City, Inner City Town, dating back to 12th century Maiden’s Tower and royal Shirvanshah’s Palace are all included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Site, and indeed are excellent examples of this.” (Nijad Nazarli; 2015, April 21) Retrieved from: http://blog.paperflies.com/8-reasons-to-visit-baku-and-azerbaijan/ Accessed on: 02.04.2016
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Figure 25. Picture presented on the page object of analysis and depicting the Baku Old City.
Source: http://blog.paperflies.com/8-reasons-to-visit-baku-and-azerbaijan/
The d02 (destination offers a pleasant atmosphere) generated 41 comments in total, yielded by 7 keyword groups. All 41 comments expressed for this driver were found to be positive. The “Reasons to visit Baku” keyword group produced the biggest number of comments for d02 (n-10) whilst “Baku activities” the smallest number (n-3), the “Accommodation” revealed no comments for this driver. The highest average rate is 5.0 generated by “Baku activities” (n-3) and “Things to do in Baku” (n-5) keyword groups. The lowest average rate for d02 belongs to “Baku tourism” keyword group with 4.2 (n-5). The vast majority of comments describe the pleasant atmosphere, highlighting the uniqueness and nice blend of west and east.
“And then I arrive in the centre of the city, down by the shore of the Caspian Sea, and the appeal of Baku reveals itself. It's Rome, it's Paris, it's London. Baku is a charming mix of architectural styles, genuinely beautiful buildings that line the city's traffic-choked streets.” (2015, July 28 by Ben Groundwater). Retrieved from: http://www.traveller.com.au/baku-azerbaijan-travel-guide-the-littleknown-country-thats-a-little-bit-weird-ghm950#ixzz44fsf60Tn Accessed on: 02.04.2016
“Baku looks awesome. It seems there is a growing juxtaposition between the old and new which seems cool to witness.” (2012, September 1 by Leif). Retrieved from: http://foxnomad.com/2012/07/31/what-to-see-and-do-in-under-3-days-in-baku-azerbaijan/ Accessed on: 02.04.2016
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Figure 26. View of Baku. Source: http://foxnomad.com/2012/07/31/what-to-see-and-do-in-under-3-days-in-baku-azerbaijan/
Interestingly, no comments related to d03 (destination offers products & services that are good value for money) and d04 (destination presents accurate information of its products & services) were documented.
Accommodation
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Figure 27. Distribution of expressed values for Accommodation subcategory across the 8 keyword groups
Accommodation is represented by 13 URLs out of total 91 URLs. The most commented drivers within this subcategory are d01 (destination offers a satisfying tourism product), d02 (destination offers a pleasant atmosphere) and d03 (destination offers products & services that are good value for money).
The d01 (destination offers a satisfying tourism product) produced 13 comments in total yielded by 2 keyword groups. All 13 sentiments for this driver were positive. The “Accommodation” keyword group yielded the biggest number of the comments (12) for this driver whilst “Holidays Baku” the smallest number (only 1). The keyword groups: “Reasons to visit Baku”, “Baku activities”, “Baku tourism”, “Things to do in Baku”, “Visit Baku” and “The places of interest Baku” revealed no results for this driver. The highest average rate for this driver reached 4.4 (n-12) produced by “Accommodation” whereas lowest average rate reached 4.0 on average (n-1) produced by “Holidays Baku” keyword group. Most of the comments for this driver describe the great experience offered by hotel:
”Wonderful hotel; beautiful rooms with a Caspian sea view and very large bathrooms with bathtub and Italian shower. Very relaxing swimming-pool and excellent massages in the spa. Good Italian and Azeri restaurants, probably the best shisha in town.” (Bora; 2015, 27 May). Retrieved from: http://www.booking.com/reviews/az/hotel/four-seasons-baku.en-gb.html?aid=356980;label=gog235jc-city-en-az-baku-unspec-az-com-L%3Aen-O%3AwindowsSnt-B%3Achrome-N%3AXX-S%3Abo-U%3Ac;sid=d77fd3dd3ffbfdc9834bae307f78ebf9;dcid=1 Accessed on: 02.04.2016
“ Very comfortable beds - room temp cannot be controlled, so was always too hot for my liking, used to more benefits than offered by Holiday Inn - laundry costs over the top - suggest find a local laundry - I did and they used to pick up and drop off my laundry for a fraction of the price. Concierge services are mentionable due to their absence - don't expect to change notes or foreign currency - and don't expect to get advice on places to go or party or for entertainment - don't expect concierge to organise tickets or anything – that’s a bridge too far. Staff are very friendly and truly care and do speak good english. Menu choices are limited but the food is OK.” (GrandPoohBaa; 2015, 28 December). Retrieved from: http://www.ihg.com/hotels/ru/ru/baku/bakhi/hoteldetail/hotel-reviews Accessed on: 02.04.2016
The d02 (destination offers a pleasant atmosphere) produced 12 comments in total yielded by 3 keyword groups. All the 12 sentiments for this driver expressed positive feelings. The “Accommodation” keyword group produced the biggest number of the comments (11) for this driver whilst “Holidays Baku” the smallest number (only 1). The keyword groups: “Reasons to visit Baku”, “Baku activities”, “Baku tourism”, “Things to do in Baku”, “Visit Baku” and “The places of interest Baku” revealed no results for this driver. The highest average rate for this driver reached 5.0 (n-1) produced by “Holidays Baku” keyword group whereas lowest average rate reached 4.6 (n-11) produced by “Accommodation” keyword group. Most of the comments for this driver describe the atmosphere of the hotel:
“Quite nice and comfortable for a short stay, clean and quiet with nice and welcoming staff” (Elmira T; 2015, 8 September).” Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowUserReviews-g293934-d1027523-r314695430-Ramada_Baku-Baku_Absheron_Region.html Accessed on: 02.04.2016
The d03 (destination offers products & services that are good value for money) produced 11 comments yielded by only 2 keyword groups in total. All the 11 comments for this driver were found to be positive. The “Accommodation” keyword group produced the biggest number of the comments (10) for this driver whilst “Holidays Baku” the smallest number (only 1). The keyword groups: “Reasons to visit Baku”, “Baku tourism”, “Baku activities”, “Things to do in Baku”, “Visit Baku” and “The places of interest Baku” revealed no results for this driver. The highest average rate for this driver reached 4.4 (n-10) produced by “Accommodation” keyword group whereas lowest average rate reached 4.0 (n-2) produced by “Holidays Baku” keyword group.
“Great accommodation in Baku usually comes with a hefty price tag. Fortunately we found Grand Hotel where the reasonable rates don't mean a compromise on quality: it's a very nice hotel indeed. Elegant and very spacious rooms, cleanliness, decent breakfast, reliable and fast wifi along with very attentive and friendly service.” (szabolcs17; 2015 May 13). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g293934-d3686933-r271770130-Grand_Hotel-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#review_271770130 Accessed on: 02.04.2016
However, no comments related to 04 (destination presents accurate information of its products & services) driver were found.
Other
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Figure 28. Distribution of expressed values for Other subcategory across the 8 keyword groups
The subcategory Other is represented by 9 URLs out of total 91 URLs. The most commented drivers within this subcategory are d01 (destination offers a satisfying tourism product) and d02 (destination offers a pleasant atmosphere).
The d01 (destination offers a satisfying tourism product) produced 3 comments in total yielded by 2 keyword groups. Among 3 comments expressed for this driver, two were found to be positive and one negative. The “Reasons to visit Baku” keyword group yielded the biggest number of the comments (n-2) for this driver whilst “Visit Baku” the smallest number (only 1 each). The keyword groups: “Accommodation”, “Things to do in Baku”, “Baku activities”, “Baku tourism”, “Holidays Baku” and “The places of interest Baku” revealed no results for this driver. The highest average rate for this driver reached 4.0 (n-2) produced by “Visit Baku” whereas lowest average rate reached 2.5 (n-1) produced by “Reasons to visit Baku” keyword group.
“Prices in Baku were nearly at western European levels (not to mention I almost accidentally bought a pint of Baskin-Robbins for $25!). The country has few hostels and finding a hotel room for under $100 was difficult.” ( Katie Aune ; 2012, July 19) Retrieved from: http://katieaune.com/travel-in-the-caucasus/ Acc essed on: 02.04.2016
The d02 (destination offers a pleasant atmosphere) produced 3 comments in total yielded by 2 keyword groups. Among 3 expressed sentiments for this driver two were found to be positive and one negative. The “Reasons to visit Baku” keyword group yielded the biggest number of the comments (2) for this driver whilst “Baku tourism” the smallest number (only 1 each). The keyword groups “Accommodation”, “Baku activities”, “Things to do in Baku”, “Visit Baku”, “Holidays Baku” and “The places of interest Baku” revealed no results for this driver. The highest average rate for this driver reached 4.0 produced by “Reasons to visit Baku” (n-2) whereas lowest average rate reached 2.0 (n-1) produced by “Baku tourism” keyword group.
“A great way to cover a lot of ground is to use a bicycle. But because of its lunatic car drivers and the chaotic traffic, Baku is not really a great town to get around in by bicycle. Except for the up-town, the city, including old town (İçəri Şəhər) and downtown is almost dead flat, and though there are some streets that are safe to ride, there is almost always a chaotic and dangerous amount of traffic on the road.” Retrieved from: http://wikitravel.org/en/Baku Accessed on: 02.04.2016
However, no comments related to d03 (destination offers products & services that are good value for money) and 04 driver (destination presents accurate information of its products & services) were documented.
Food & Beverage
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Figure 29. Distribution of expressed values for Food & Beverage subcategory across the 8 keyword groups
The subcategory Food & Beverage is represented by 5 URLs out of total 91 URLs. The most commented drivers within this subcategory are d01 (destination offers a satisfying tourism product) and d02 (destination offers a pleasant atmosphere).
The d01 (destination offers a satisfying tourism product) produced 4 comments in total yielded by 3 keyword groups. All 4 expressed comments for this driver were found to be positive. The “Reasons to visit Baku” keyword group yielded the biggest number of the comments (2) for this driver whilst “Things to do in Baku” and “Holidays Baku” the smallest number (only 1 each). The keyword groups: “Accommodation”, “Baku activities”, “Baku tourism” “Visit Baku” and “The places of interest Baku” revealed no results for this driver. There are two highest average rates for this driver that reach 5.0 produced by “Things to do in Baku” (n-1) and “Holidays Baku” (n-1) keyword groups whereas lowest average rate reached 4.0 (n-2) produced by “Reasons to visit Baku” keyword group.
“Perched on the crossroads of Asia, Europe and the Middle East, Azerbaijan’s incredibly rich cuisine (think lamb, lots of lamb) has been inspired by many nations, yet remains distinctly unique.” (Sarah Reid; 2014, December) Retrieved from: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/azerbaijan/baku-baki/travel-tips-and-articles/baku-where-to-eat-play-and-stay-in-the-2015-european-games-host-city Accessed on: 02.04.2016
“We found the menu and food quality quite good and you can get a carafe of chianti at a reasonable price.” (Dominic G.; 2015, May). Retrieved from: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g293934-d8016829-r304608752-Scalini_Port_Baku_Tower-Baku_Absheron_Region.html Accessed on: 02.04.2016
The d02 produced 4 comments in total yielded by 3 keyword groups. All 3 expressed sentiments for this driver were positive. The “Reasons to visit Baku” keyword group yielded the biggest number of the comments (2) for this driver whilst “Things to do in Baku” and “Holidays Baku” the smallest number (only 1 each). The keyword groups: “Accommodation”, “Baku activities”, “Baku tourism” “Visit Baku” and “The places of interest Baku” revealed no results for this driver. The highest average rate for this driver reached 5.0 produced by “Holidays Baku” (n-1) and “Holidays Baku” (n-1) keyword groups whereas lowest average rate reached 4.5 (n-2) produced by “Reasons to visit Baku” keyword group.
“We enjoyed the ambiance and the attentive service. The pizzas and pasta are good and the wine reasonable. It's mainly for tourists but don't let that put you off.” (MMH H; 2015 June). Retrieved from: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g293934-d8016829-r304608752-Scalini_Port_Baku_Tower-Baku_Absheron_Region.html Accessed on: 02.04.2016
The d03 (destination offers products & services that are good value for money) produced 4 comments in total yielded by 3 keyword groups. Among 3 expressed sentiments 2 for this driver were found to be positive and only one negative. “Holidays Baku” and “Things to do in Baku” keyword groups yielded the highest average rates for this driver that reach 5.0 whereas lowest average rate reached 2.0 (n-1) produced by “Reasons to visit Baku” keyword group. The comments for this driver showed disappointment with the service of the restaurants and mentioned that it does provide good value for money.
“Bland food, overpriced and arrogant staff. The original restaurant is far better although not in the most central location. Far better restaurants in Baku with serving staff that are happy to serve you.” (Suzej74; 2015, July). Retrieved from: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g293934-d8016829-r304608752-Scalini_Port_Baku_Tower-Baku_Absheron_Region.html Accessed on: 02.04.2016
“Recommend to get table reservation especially for weekends. Carpaccio and caprese are very good and cheese is fresh Italian. Pastas are great and pizzas are very good (one of the best in Baku but not as good as in Napples!) Price is reasonable.” (Akif33; 2015, July) Retrieved from: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g293934-d8016829-r304608752-Scalini_Port_Baku_Tower-Baku_Absheron_Region.html Accessed on: 02.04.2016
No comments related to 04 (destination presents accurate information of its products & services) driver were documented.
Entertainment
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Figure 30. Distribution of expressed values for Entertainment subcategory across the 8 keyword groups
The subcategory Entertainment is represented by 1 URL out of total 91 URLs. The d01 (destination offers a satisfying tourism product) is the only commented driver within this subcategory.
The d01 (destination offers a satisfying tourism product) produced only 1 comment in total yielded by “Baku activities” keyword group. The keyword groups: “Reasons to visit Baku”, “Accommodation”, “and Things to do in Baku”, “Baku tourism”, “Holidays Baku”, “The places of interest Baku” and “Visit Baku” revealed no results for this driver. The average rate for this driver reaches 4.0 (n-1). Since there were no expressed reviews, the assessment for this driver was based on the description of the International exhibition held in Baku. The description of the exhibition is presented below.
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Figure 31. Description of the exhibition held in Baku. Source: http://www.citylife.az/index.php
No comments related to 02, 03 and 04 drivers were documented.
Society
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Figure 32. Distribution of expressed values for Society dimension across the 8 keyword groups
The d05 (destination offers interesting local culture and traditions) generated 53 comments in total, produced by 7 keyword groups. All 53 expressed sentiments for this driver were found to be positive. “Things to do in Baku” keyword group produced the biggest number of comments for this driver (13 comments) whereas “Baku Tourism” the smallest number (n-4), the “Accommodation” keyword group revealed no comments for the driver. There are two highest average rate sfor this driver that reach 5.0 produced by “Holidays Baku” (n-5) and “Reasons to visit Baku” (9 comments) keyword groups whereas lowest average rate reached 4.2 produced by “Visit Baku” keyword.
“Baku has wildly varying architecture, ranging from the Old City core to modern buildings and the spacious layout of the Baku port. Many of the city's most impressive buildings were built during the early 20th Century, when architectural elements of the European styles were combined in eclectic style. Baku thus has an original and unique appearance, earning it a reputation as the 'Paris of the East” (Baku. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved April 08, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baku )
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Figure 33. Maiden Tower. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baku#/media/File:Baku_Maiden_Tower_2010.jpg
The d06 (destination has hospitable residents) generated 11 comments in total, produced by 5 keyword groups. Among 11 expressed sentiments for this driver 9 were found to be positive and 2 negative. “Reasons to visit Baku” keyword group produced the biggest number of comments for this driver (n-5) whereas “Things to do in Baku”, “Visit Baku” and “Holidays Baku” keyword groups the smallest number (1 comment only), the “Accommodation”, “Baku activities”, and “The places of interest Baku” keyword groups showed no results for the driver. The highest average rate for this driver reached 5.0 produced by “Holidays Baku” (n-1) whereas lowest average rate reached 3.0 produced by and “Things to do in Baku” keyword groups.
“Nearby, three boys use the gap between two sets of steps as a makeshift goal for a game of football, a sport all locals seem to love, while a friendly down-and-out comes over simply to practice his English and say hello.”(Mark Leftly; 2010, May). Retrieved from: http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/baku-the-tourists-eye-view-of-an-oil-boom-city-1974359.html Accessed on: 02.04.2016
“Be careful when you travel to baku especially with their local ppls: In the hotel: staff are more respect with local guest, compare with foreigner! Even they can’t speak English (some of them), they dont like smile with you, and if they are busy, they can talk to you with a bad face, or they dont want to help you!” (jubistuta79; 2008, January). Retrieved from: https://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Middle_East/Azerbaijan/Baki_Sahari/Baku-1714457/TravelGuide-Baku.html Accessed on: 02.04.2016
“Taxi drivers who got hopelessly lost but charged anyway or who flatly refused to switch on their meters and often refused to give change!” (No Author; 2015, June 5). Retrieved from: http://blogs.angloinfo.com/baku-buzz/2015/06/05/last-fandango-in-baku/ Accessed on: 02.04.2016
Governance
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Figure 34. Distribution of expressed values for Governance dimension across the 8 keyword groups
The d07 (tourism industry and organisations cooperate and interact) generated 3 comments in total, produced by “Reasons to visit Baku”, “Things to do in Baku” and “Visit Baku” keyword groups. All the comments for this driver were found to be negative. All the average rate yielded by these keyword groups reached 2.0.
“These are all great things to do in Baku, but there's one slight problem: due to visa restrictions, Azerbaijan is just about the most difficult country to visit! I had it easy when I went to Eurovision as ticket holders got preferential treatment. Baku is great city, but you will need to book accomodation there before you can get your visas, but there are absolutely no guarantees!” (Louise; 2012, September). Retrieved from: http://www.timeout.com/travel/features/1281/10-great-things-to-do-in-baku Accessed on: 02.04.2016
The d08 (presents innovative and/or improved products and services) revealed no results.
Environment
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Figure 35. Distribution of expressed values for Environment dimension across the 8 keyword groups
The d09 (destination has a high eco-awareness) generated no comments.
The d10 (destination has favourable weather) generated 4 comments in total, produced by “Reasons to visit Baku”, “Baku activities” and “Visit Baku” keyword groups. Among the 4 comment expressed for this driver, 3 were found to be positive and only one negative. Only “Visit Baku” keyword group generated 2 comments, whereas “Reasons to visit Baku” and “Baku activities” keyword groups generated 1 comment each. There are two highest average rates for this driver that reach 4.0 produced by “Reasons to visit Baku” (n-1) and “Baku activities” (n-1) keyword groups, whereas the lowest average rate reached 3.0 produced by “Visit Baku” keyword group (n-2).
-“Oh, and for some of your other questions - weatherwise, expect hot. It's quite warm and humid all summer long, without much rain. Sometimes it can get very windy - Baku is famous for its wind.” (Marywhotravels; 2010, June). Retrieved from: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293934-i9347-k3730619-Never_been_to_Baku_advice_needed-Baku_Absheron_Region.html Accessed on: 02.04.2016
The d11 (destination offers a safe environment) generated 6 comments in total, produced by “Reasons to visit Baku”, “Baku tourism” and “Visit Baku” keyword groups. Among 6 comments expressed for this driver 5 were found to be negative and only one positive. The highest average rate for this driver reached 2.3 produced by “Visit Baku” (n-3), whereas there are two lowest average rates that reach 2.0 generated by “Reasons to visit Baku” (n-1) and “Baku tourism” (n-2) keyword groups.
“Do not belief all these stories that say theft from expats working in Baku and tourists in not common. I have worked in Baku twice 2004 to 2006 and April 2012 until present. In 2004 to 2006 many of my expat friends were mugged in the city centre around fountain square.” (Mojo52; 2012, November) Retrieved from: http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Middle_East/Azerbaijan/Baki_Sahari/Baku-1714457/TravelGuide-Baku.html Accessed on: 02.04.2016
“It is safe, but be ready for male attention - compliments, attempts to get acquainted, to spend time together, but if ignored, it does not lead to anything bad.” (Nastya_Aktau; 2010, June). Retrieved from: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293934-i9347-k3730619-Never_been_to_Baku_advice_needed-Baku_Absheron_Region.html Accessed on: 02.04.2016
Performance
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Figure 36. Distribution of expressed values forPerformance dimension across the 8 keyword groups
The d12 (presents an accurate image) revealed no results.
The d13 (meets my expectations) generated 3 comments in total, produced only by “Reasons to visit Baku”, keyword group. Among 3 sentiments expressed for this driver 2 were positive and only one negative. The average rate for this driver reached 3.7.
“Azerbaijan was my biggest travel surprise so far and I must say, I have really underestimated it. Countries around, like Georgia and Armenia are completely different and when I left Azerbaijan for Georgia, I felt the difference. Azerbaijan is not in Europe, it is Asia already. But if you asking yourself why to go to Azerbaijan, consider what you read above and go to see the place with no tourists. One day I will come back again.” (Milan Bardún, 2013). Retrieved from: http://bezmapy.com/2015/08/30/why-go-to-azerbaijan/ Accessed on: 02.04.2016
The d14 (offers a satisfying tourism experience) generated 13 comments in total, among which 12 were positive and only one negative. “Reasons to visit Baku” keyword group produced the biggest number of the comments (n-5) whereas “The places of interest in Baku”, “Holidays Baku” “Baku activities”, “Baku tourism” and “Visit Baku” keyword groups only 1 comment per each keyword group. Keyword groups “Accommodation” and “Things to do in Baku” generated no results. There are two highest average rates for this driver that reached 5.0 generated by “Baku activities” and “Holidays Baku” keyword groups. The lowest average rate yielded by “Visit Baku” keyword group reached 3.0.
“This is what modern Azerbaijan is all about: something a little daring, something that will stick in the mind's eye.” Retrieved from: http://www.traveller.com.au/baku-azerbaijan-travel-guide-the-littleknown-country-thats-a-little-bit-weird-ghm950#ixzz45GiFkSxB Accessed on: 02.04.2016
4.1.2 Results for the Social Media
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Figure 37. Distribution of subcategories across the Products & Services dimension retrieved from TripAdvisor
Through the social media (TripAdvisor) analysis, 679 consumer reviews in total were analysed. As it can be seen in the Figure 21, the vast majority of the reviews were reviewed in the two subcategories: Site attractions and Food & Beverage (200 consumer reviews per each). 164 reviews in total were analysed in Accommodation subcategory, followed by Outdoor activities subcategory with 40 reviewed consumer reviews in total. Within Cultural activities subcategory there are 24 analysed consumer reviews and in Entertainment subcategory 21 reviews in total. The Other subcategory includes 12 reviews, whereas Spa & Wellness subcategory 10 reviews in total. The subcategory Tours & Activities comprises the least number of analysed reviews with only 8 reviews in total.
Site attractions
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Figure 38. Average of expressed values for Site attractions subcategory
In the Site attractions subcategory, 200 consumer reviews in total were analysed. In this subcategory, visitors commented different types of site attractions in Baku: museums, ancient buildings, iconic landmarks and parks.
Within the analysis of the d01 driver (destination offers a satisfying tourism product), 177 comments out of total 200 were reviewed. Among 177 comments expressed for this driver, the vast majority of comments were positive (n-170) and 7 were negative. The average rank for this driver reached 4.7.
Within d02 driver (destination offers a pleasant atmosphere) 182 sentiments out of total 200 were reviewed. Among 182 comments expressed for this driver, 177 comments were found to be positive and 5 negative. The average rank for this driver reached 4.8.
Within d03 driver (destination offers products & services that are good value for money), 124 sentiments out of total 200 were analysed. Among those 124 comments, the vast majority were found to be positive (n-117) and 7 negative. The average rank for this driver reached 4.5 on average. However, no comments regarding d04 (destination presents accurate information of its products & services) were documented.
Predominantly, comments within this subcategory were positive, nevertheless there were some negative sentiments too, mainly related to bad or rude attitude of staff running the place. The example of some sentiments expressed is presented below (the full sentiments can be found on Appendices, Chapter 8, p. 135).
“This is by far the most beautiful structure I have been in. And as far as museums go - incredible. Contemporary, designed, elegant and perfectly fitted out I would highly recommend this. Do make sure you take a FULL ticket and see the classic car collection it will blow your mind the vehicles they have down there. The coffee shop / restaurant is lovely so enjoy a good few hours in this space.” (miak008; 2016, April). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d4953684-Reviews-Heydar_Aliyev_Cultural_Center-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
-“This place should be one of the first places to visit in Baku. The way how Azerbaijan carpets were started with the tools used are in this place. I have enjoyed it and it needs 2 hours to finish it.” (Essa A; 2016, January) Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d3641288-Reviews-Azerbaijan_Carpet_Museum-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
-“The museum itself is beautiful very well designed. However the people who work there are very rude mostly toward the locals, as I noticed how "polished" they are toward the foreigners! One of their employees even was extremely rude with my kid who was looking on interactive screen and showing something to us.” (land_of_fires; 2016 February). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d3641288-Reviews-Azerbaijan_Carpet_Museum-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
- “I really enjoyed it. It is beautiful and something of a natural wonder. If you can go during twilight or early evening or maybe even see sunrise in order to enjoy the light (during daytime some of the gas flames may be hard to see…. And don’t try to feel :- ).” (AirportWB; 2014, November). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d2390504-Reviews-Yanar_Dag-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
“Found the atmosphere incredibly relaxing, really enjoyable. Being able to soak up the history of the place.” (Peter K; 2016, March). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293934-i9347-k5450388-Trip_to_baku_2013-Baku_Absheron_Region.html Accessed on: 09.04.2016
Accommodation
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Figure 39. Average of expressed values for Accommodation subcategory
In the Accommodation subcategory, 163 consumer reviews in total were analysed. This subcategory comprises reviews on different types of accommodation in Baku: 5-star hotels, bed & breakfast houses and hostels.
Within d01 driver (destination offers a satisfying tourism product), 163 comments out of total 163 were reviewed. Among those comments 155 were found to be positive and 8 negative. The average rank for this driver reached 4.7.
Within d02 driver (destination offers a pleasant atmosphere), 162 comments out of total 163 were analysed. Among those comments, 158 were found to be positive and 4 negative. The average rank for this driver reached 4.8.
Within d03 driver (destination offers products & services that are good value for money), 163 sentiments out of total 163 were reviewed. Among those sentiments, 154 were positive and 9 negative. The average rank for this driver reached 4.7.
However, no comments regarding d04 (destination presents accurate information of its products & services) were presented. The example of some sentiments expressed is presented below (the full sentiments can be found on Appendices, Chapter 8, p. 136).
“Excellent value for money. Paid twice more in Tbilisi (Radisson) for much more mediocre quality. Room is spacious and quite, good design, liked electric curtains and city view. Coffee in the room is excellent as usual (Nespresso). Restaurant on top (breakfast) has stunning views of marina area. Sports and fitness equipment is very diverse and advanced. Whirlpools and jacuzzi are powerful. The pool is large enough and bright.” (Leo E; 2016, January). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g293934-d3500003-Reviews-or10-Fairmont_Baku-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
“This is NOT a 5 star Hotel in the style of Four Seasons, Fairmont, Kempinski etc. It is however an outstanding 4 Star Hotel located on Baku Bay in the vicinity of The National Flag square. Stayed her for a month and had a great room over the bay with a really good balcony and tables. The Restaurants and bars are outstanding and standard of service is very high and consistent. Have to say all the staff were attentive and housekeeping was also great. Will be coming back...” (GordonAbben; 2015, January). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g293934-d1486957-Reviews-Hotel_Riviera-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
“A cosy place where you feel at home. Economic prices. Extremely helpful and friendly staff!! Excellent location near the 28th mall (with shops, restaurants, supermarket, taxis) and walking distance to the bulvar and city centre. In the kitchen coffee, tea and water for free. For an economic price, good location and friendliness absolutely worth recommending.” (turisti2015; 2015, June). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g293934-d1568288-Reviews-Guest_House_Inn_Hostel-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
Food & Beverage
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Figure 40. Average of expressed values for Food & Beverage subcategory
In the Food & Beverage subcategory, 199 consumer reviews were analysed. The assessments within this subcategory are based on consumer reviews on different restaurants with national cuisine and restaurants serving different cuisines in Baku.
Within d01 driver (destination offers a satisfying tourism product, 199 sentiments out of total 199 were analysed. Among those comments, the vast majority were found to be positive (n-189) and 10 negative. The average rank for this driver reached 4.7.
Within d02 driver (destination offers a pleasant atmosphere), 185 sentiments out of total 199 were analysed. Among those comments, the vast majority were found to be positive (n-181) and 4 negative. The average rank for this driver reached 4.8.
Within d03 driver (destination offers products & services that are good value for money), 199 sentiments out of total 199 were analysed. Among those comments, the vast majority were found to be positive (n-188) and 11 negative. The average rank for this driver reached 4.6.
However, no comments regarding d04 (destination presents accurate information of its products & services) were revealed. The example of some sentiments expressed is presented below.
“Truly, what is special about this restaurant is the restoration of the old facility into a sort of museum piece that serves food. The furnishings are outstanding and it is dining in style. The service my group had was quite good and the servers were friendly and solicitous. The food was good Azeri food, not spectacular, but good and well presented and at a temperature appropriate for the particular dish. The Con is the price. You are paying for atmosphere, no question. You can get Azeri food just as good for a whole lot less at many places in Baku but Sirvansha is worth visiting for the experience.” (Nana_JP; 2015, November). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293934-d4353675-Reviews-Sirvansah_muzey_restoran-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
“This restaurant was comfortable and welcoming. The choice of food was good and offered gluten free options. A good place to meet and enjoy good food.” (joanni; 2016, February). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293934-d1904885-Reviews-Chinar-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
“Nothing more tasteless I did not eat, the more I did not expect from a restaurant of this class. Pizza with seafood consisted of tomato sauce from a jar and a few shrimp and squid, and was absolutely tasteless so that we could not eat it. The staff works very slowly and reluctantly.” (Kami M; 2016, February). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293934-d1948208-Reviews-Scalini_Italian_Restaurant-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
Cultural activities
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Figure 41. Average on expressed values for Cultural activities subcategory
In the Cultural activities subcategory, 24 consumer reviews were analysed. This subcategory includes assessments based on reviews on cultural activities in Baku.
Within d01 driver (destination offers a satisfying tourism product), 24 sentiments out of total 24 were reviewed. All 24 comments expressed within this driver were found to be positive. The average rank for this driver reached 4.4.
Within d02 driver (destination offers a pleasant atmosphere), 17 comments out of total 24 were analysed. All 17 comments expressed within this driver were found to be positive. The average rank for this driver reached 4.6.
Within d03 driver (destination offers products & services that are good value for money), 19 sentiments out of total 24 were analysed. All 19 comments expressed within this driver were positive. The average rank for this driver reached 4.4.
However, no comments regarding d04 (destination presents accurate information of its products & services) were revealed. The example of some sentiments expressed is presented below.
“Beautiful summer open-air theatre with stunning views of the Caspian Sea. In the recent past it has undergone a thorough renovation. On top of the sky below the sea - beautiful!” (igor f; 2016, April). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d6762472-Reviews-Green_Theatre-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
“Beautiful building of the early XX century, however, a few shabby. The auditorium is also very beautiful, decent interiors. The level of performances is poor” (Olga C; 2015, November). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d8318154-Reviews-Azerbaijan_State_Academic_Opera_and_Ballet_Theater-Baku_Absheron_Region.html Accessed on: 09.04.2016
Outdoor activities
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Figure 42. Average on expressed values for Outdoor activities subcategory
In the Outdoor activities subcategory, 40 consumer reviews were analysed. This subcategory presents assessments on outdoor activities in Baku. Topics within this subcategory were related to amusement parks and swimming facilities.
Within d01 driver (destination offers a satisfying tourism product), 40 sentiments out of total 40 were analysed. Among those sentiments, the vast majority were found to be positive (n-38) and 2 negative. The average rank for this driver reached 4.4.
Within d02 driver (destination offers a pleasant atmosphere), 32 sentiments out of total 40 were analysed. Among those comments, the vast majority were found to be positive (n-31) and 1 negative. The average rank for this driver reached 4.7.
Within d03 driver (destination offers products & services that are good value for money), 40 sentiments out of total 40 were analysed. Among those comments, 38 comments were found to be positive and 2 negative. The average rank for this driver reached 4.3.
However, no comments regarding d04 (destination presents accurate information of its products & services) were documented. The example of some sentiments expressed is presented below.
“Si trova in città, gli scivoli sono pochi ma divertenti hanno delle strane regole sull'uso da parte dei bambini. E' da provare, per gli adulti c'è una bella piscina ed il servizio e'ottimo.”(Gaetano M; 2014, November). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d2336555-Reviews-Aqua_Park_Kempinski_Hotel_Baku-Baku_Absheron_Region.html Accessed on: 09.04.2016
“Wonderful a very nice place to relax with very good service and friendly people everything was perfect.” (Elounda; 2015, July). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d2336555-Reviews-Aqua_Park_Kempinski_Hotel_Baku-Baku_Absheron_Region.html Accessed on: 09.04.2016
Entertainment
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Figure 43. Average on expressed values for Entertainment subcategory
In the Entertainment subcategory, 21 consumer reviews were analysed. This subcategory embraces consumer reviews on zoo and indoor games in Baku.
Within d01 driver (destination offers a satisfying tourism product) 21 comments out of total 21 were reviewed. Among those comments, 13 comments were found to be positive and 8 negative. The average rank for this driver reached 3.4.
Within d02 driver (destination offers a pleasant atmosphere) 19 comments out of total 21 were analysed. Among those comments, 11 comments were found to be positive and 8 negative. The average rank for this driver reached 3.3.
Within d03 driver (destination offers products & services that are good value for money) 10 comments out of total 21 were analysed. Among those comments, all 10 comments were found to be positive. The average rank for this driver reached 4.9.
However, no comments regarding d4 (destination presents accurate information of its products & services) were revealed. All the negative comments within this subcategory were related to the zoo, which many people assessed very lowly. The example of some sentiments expressed is presented below (the full sentiments can be found on Appendices, Chapter 8, p. 136).
“So Bad! I have been to dozens of zoos all over the world and this unfortunately ranks amongst the worst. The cages are dirty and tiny, especially for the bears and big cats. Quite sad really. Please do not go.” (robertopele; 2016, January). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d8369412-Reviews-Baku_Zoo-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
-“We went with a rowdy group of about 30 adults and had an absolute BLAST!!! The owners are SUPER and accommodated us with plenty of beer for a much needed cool-down after our game was over. We all had quite an amazing time blasting each other and quite a fierce workout, too!” (MMGibbs; 2013, August). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d2620050-Reviews-ETX_Lazer_Strike-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
Tours & Activities
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Figure 44. Average of expressed values for Tours & Activities subcategory
In the Tours & Activities subcategory, 8 consumer reviews were analysed. This subcategory embraces consumer reviews on service provided by Tours Company in Baku.
Within d01 driver (destination offers a satisfying tourism product), 8 sentiments out of total 8 were analysed. Among those comments, only 3 sentiments were found to be positive and 5 negative. The average rank for this driver reached 2.5.
Within d02 driver (destination offers a pleasant atmosphere), only one comment was reviewed which was positive and reached 4.0.
Within d03 driver (destination offers products & services that are good value for money), 8 sentiments out of total 8 were analysed. Among those comments, 3 were positive and 5 negative. The average rank for this driver reached 2.5.
There was also one negative comment recorded regarding d04 (destination presents accurate information of its products & services) which reached 1.0 on average. The example of some sentiments expressed is presented below (the full sentiments can be found on Appendices, Chapter 8, p. 137).
“Poor and unreliable service. Web site said every 30 mins. Bus stop said every 45 mins. Bus driver said 90 mins to the next bus when I got off at the first stop - 90 mins later having not missed a bus I waited another hour with no show.” (LondonMikee; 2015, July) Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d7094700-Reviews-City_Sightseeing_Worldwide_Hop_On_Hop_Off-Baku_Absheron_Region.html Accessed on: 09.04.2016
“The route is scenic and covers all the main Baku must view landmarks including Baku Port Mall, Parliament, Maiden Tower (a must see stop) and the Icheri sheher Metro Station with its "Flying Carpet" frontage. Other attractions include the numerous museums in the old city as well as others outside the city. There is also a stop at the highest point in Baku City where the 3 Flaming Towers are located including the Baku Fairmont Hotel and the Funicular station that takes passengers from the highest point to the seafront. This stop also has a viewing square where many scenic views of Baku can be viewed and a good photographing point.” (SeowBoonKiat; 2015, June). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d7094700-Reviews-City_Sightseeing_Worldwide_Hop_On_Hop_Off-Baku_Absheron_Region.html Accessed on: 09.04.2016
Spa & Wellness
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Figure 45. Average of expressed values for Spa & Wellness subcategory
In the Spa & Wellness subcategory, 10 consumer reviews were analysed. This subcategory embraces consumer reviews on Spa & Wellness facilities in Baku.
Within d01 driver (destination offers a satisfying tourism product) 10 comments out of total 10 were analysed. All 10 comments for this driver were found to be positive. The average rank for this driver reached 4.8.
Within d02 driver (destination offers a pleasant atmosphere) 8 comments out of total 10 were analysed. Among those comments, 7 comments were found to be positive and only one negative. The average rank for this driver reached 4.6.
Within d03 driver (destination offers products & services that are good value for money) 10 comments out of total 10 were analysed. Among those comments, 9 comments were found to be positive and only one negative. The average rank for this driver reached 4.4.
There was also one comment regarding d04 driver (destination presents accurate information of its products & services) which was positive and reached 5.0 on average. The example of some sentiments expressed is presented below.
“This is a great men only hamam. Despite not speaking English they do a great job. Definitely have the beat down and rub. It was a relaxing and welcoming place. We had a great time and would definitely recommend it.” (Christian G; 2016, April). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d8298855-Reviews-Taze_Bey_Baths-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
“Fantastic trainers who look after your experience and very helpful staff. The pool is amazing and the sauna with the view is a must! I look forward to returning in the summer for another massage and to see the outdoor pool. Thanks for a great experience!” (CParker86; 2014, May). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d6478918-Reviews-ESPA_at_Fairmont-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
Other
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Figure 46. Average of expressed values for Other subcategory
In the Other subcategory, 12 consumer reviews were analysed. This subcategory embraces consumer reviews on different topics that did not fit into previous subcategories. The main commented subject within this subcategory was related to visa issues.
Within d01 driver (destination offers a satisfying tourism product) 7 comments out of total 12 were analysed among which 3 were found to be positive and 3 negative. The average rank for this driver reached 3.5.
Within d02 driver (destination offers a pleasant atmosphere) 3 comments out of total 12 were analysed among which all were positive. The average rank for this driver reached 5.0.
Within d03 driver (destination offers products & services that are good value for money) 3 comments out of total 12 were analysed among which one was positive and 2 negative. The average rank for this driver reached 3.0.
No comments regarding d04 (destination presents accurate information of its products & services) were documented. The example of some sentiments expressed is presented below (the full sentiments can be found on Appendices, Chapter 8, p. 138).
“Just got back from Baku and I found it fascinating. It's a real mix of old and new. The Old city is worth spending time to wander around and the rest of the city is filled with brand new buildings and well-kept parks and fountains. It's very pretty at night. If just sightseeing then 3 days is sufficient and you can take trip outside of Baku.”(mrrfrost; 2012, May). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293934-i9347-k5450388-Trip_to_baku_2013-Baku_Absheron_Region.html Accessed on: 09.04.2016
“Be sure to allow several months to obtain a visa. After starting the process a couple of months ago, I was told Friday that it would take 2-3 weeks, "maybe more," to get a visa (to visit our daughter living in Baku). Because our trip will start in 2 weeks, I told the Azerbaijan consulate (in LA) to stop the process. Too late. I don't think Azerbaijan is too interested in having visitors. (We don't even need visas for Turkey or the Republic of Georgia, both of which we will be visiting.)” (MarkMarshall; 2012, June). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293934-i9347-k5450388-Trip_to_baku_2013-Baku_Absheron_Region.html Accessed on: 09.04.2016
Society
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Figure 47. Average of expressed values for Society dimension
In the Society dimension, 53 consumer reviews in total were analysed. This dimension comprises consumer reviews on local culture and traditions as well as impressions of residents of Baku.
Within d05 driver (destination offers interesting local culture and traditions) 50 comments out of total 53 were analysed among which all were positive. The average rank for this driver reached 5.0.
Within d06 (destination has hospitable residents) 3 comments out of total 12 were analysed among which all were positive. The average rank for this driver reached 5.0. The example of some sentiments expressed is presented below.
“This tower is definitely worth a look. There is history and new information on each level on your way up to the top.” (AdrianRaj; 2016, January). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d459849-Reviews-or20-Maiden_Tower-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
“Fascinating building, that carries the mystery of its erection date and its functions. A worshipping place, a defensive building, an observatory ... Well maintained and accessible, of course the stairs prevent the visit to reduced mobility visitors, and anyone of standard height must be very careful with the low ceilings on the stairs! At each level information panels are provided, but the mystery remains. From the top a rare view of the town and many of its fascinating buildings.” (alfonso p; 2016 January). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d459849-Reviews-or20-Maiden_Tower-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
“Omg just got back to Baku n left my heart there. What a beautiful, clean place n people oh so hospitable n trusting. They leave the cars unlocked n it is very very safe. Best best best place I have ever visited and I have travelled extensively. Land of fire!” (Davidbaku73; 2012, June) . Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293934-i9347-k5450388-Trip_to_baku_2013-Baku_Absheron_Region.html Accessed on: 09.04.2016
Governance
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Figure 48. Average of expressed values for Governance dimension
In the Governance dimension, 13 consumer reviews in total were analysed. This dimension includes consumer reviews on the extent to which tourism industry and organisations cooperate as well as present an overview on the innovations of the products and services.
Within d07 (tourism industry and organisations cooperate and interact) 4 comments out of total 13 were analysed among which all were found to be 2 negative. The average rank for this driver reached 2.0.
Within d08 (presents innovative and/or improved products and services) 9 comments out of total 13 were analysed among which 12 were found to be positive and one negative. The average rank for this driver reached 4.3. The example of some sentiments expressed is presented below.
“The E-visa system does work if you go through one of the functioning agencies and pay them in advance. I must say though that this is a complicated and random experience for most international travellers. Why not just agree a visa waiver like in Kazakhstan? Baku is a wonderful city but getting a visa is a pain. I recommend avoiding Azerbaijan for this reason and visiting Kazakhstan or other Asian visa free countries until Baku gets its act together.”(Guy_Eames; 2015, March). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293934-i9347-k6682983-o20-E_Visa_for_Azerbaijan-Baku_Absheron_Region.html Accessed on: 09.04.2016
“This is a great restaurant which is modern, comfortable and clean. The menu offers a wide selection of local dishes. The starters are a great way to try lots of different choices. The staff were welcoming and efficient. Definitely one to try. “ (David D; 2014, November). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293934-d4268581-Reviews-or10-Sahil-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
“There is a lack of modernity, so to speak. This is my second visit to Baku, so we decided to dedicate the evening to the theatre. The first performance, which we watched "Love Affair New Year's Eve", a good comic story and the idea of adding music and choreography, the same good, but still not much like as the school. “ (Brenden196; 2016, March). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d7240642-Reviews-Azerbaijan_State_Russian_Samed_Vurgun_Drama_Theatre-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
Environment
In the Entertainment dimension, 9 consumer reviews in total were analysed. This dimension includes consumer reviews about weather and safety.
The d09 (has a high eco-awareness) generated no comments.
Within d10 (destination has favourable weather) 2 comments out of total 9 were analysed. The average rank for both of comments for this driver reached 3.0.
Within d11 (destination offers a safe environment) 7 comments out of total 9 were analysed among which 3 were positive and 4 negative. The average rank for this driver reached 3.0. The example of some sentiments expressed is presented below.
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Figure 49. Average of expressed values for Environment dimension
-“Stayed the Eurovision week too - found it a fascinating and welcoming place.
Biggest danger as I see it is on the roads - use the "London" taxis in the city and a safe car with a sensible experienced driver for out in the country.
Can't wait for an excuse to return and explore more of the country.” (lucyjunior; 2012, June). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293934-i9347-k5450388-Trip_to_baku_2013-Baku_Absheron_Region.html Accessed on: 09.04.2016
Performance
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Figure 50. Average of expressed values for Performance dimension
In the Performance dimension, 679 consumer reviews in total were analysed. This dimension includes consumer reviews regarding overall performance of tourism services and quality of offered products as well as reviews on the level of satisfaction from tourism products and services in Baku.
The d12 (destination presents an accurate image) generated no results.
Within d13 (destination meets my expectations) 564 comments out of total 679 were analysed among which 511 were positive and 53 negative. The average rank for this driver reached 4.6.
Within d14 (destination offers satisfying tourism experience) 659 comments out of total 679 were analysed among which 595 were positive and 64 negative. The average rank for this driver reached 4.6.
The example of sentiments expressed is presented below.
“Very positively surprised, I enjoy walks in Baku Old City, when visiting Baku. - Definitely a MUST SEE, when visiting Baku. You can either join a guided tour or take a tour of the city itself. There are lisiting points around the Old City, which provides good insight in the history of Baku. I personally did explore the Old City on my own - It's a very safe city, so nothing to worry about.” (Peter N; 2016, February). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d459847-Reviews-or30-Old_City_Baku-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
4.1.3 Relationship between search engine and social media results
The Table 4 reports the results of site attraction occurrences per each keyword group. The results obtained from the content analysis exposed the relationship between search engine (Google) and social media (TripAdvisor and Facebook) with regard to almost all the site attractions. To elaborate, the most vivid relationship is evidenced between search engine and TripAdvisor social media platform. As it can be seen from the table, the top-rated historic site attractions according to TripAdvisor were mentioned on the search engine results as follows: Old City (n-36) and Maiden Tower (n-32) are the most occurred and commented ones throughout the search engine since 7 keyword groups generated results for them. Based on the findings from the search engine and TripAdvisor social media platform it became evident that the historical monuments are the most popular site attractions in Baku. Similarly, the relationship between search engine and social media can be seen for such leading site attractions from the TripAdvisor as Palace of Shirvanshahs (n-27) and Flame Towers (n-26) which also yielded high occurrences on search engine and therefore can be regarded as the most popular ones as well. Should be noted that aforementioned such attractions, namely: Old City, Maiden Tower, Palace of Shirvanshahs and Flame Towers site attractions are not present among the first 100 pages results on Facebook. Other site attractions listed in Things to do in Baku section on TripAdvisor: Gobustan Rock Art (n-17), Fountain Square (n-16), Martyr’s Lane (n-13) and site attractions appeared in both TripAdvisor and Facebook: Baku Boulevard (n-20), Heydar Aliyev Center (n-16), Ateshgah Temple (n-14) and Azerbaijan Carpet Museum (n-8) represent almost the similar distribution across the search engine with relatively smaller number of occurrences compared to the previous site attractions.
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Table 4. Presence of the top attractions according to TripAdvisor and Facebook on the search results retrieved from Google search engine
4.2 Phase B: Possible mismatches between official and unofficial communication
This part is devoted to provide insights into the possible mismatches between official and unofficial communication.
4.2.1 Official communication
The analysis of the official communication was intended to investigate the main reputation dimension of the page dedicated to Baku as well as the main site attractions according to the Baku DMO. Additionally analysis was intended to investigate the type of information provided by DMO in order to identify possible information gaps in provided content and as result fill the gaps.
Textual description
The analysis of the textual description of Baku page exposed that site attractions subcategory represents the main reputation dimension. DMO accentuates and brings attention to the historical heritage by listing the main historical sites (Maiden Tower, Old City, Palace of Shirvanshahs, Ateshgah Temple and Gobustan Rock Art). In addition, there is also a section devoted to the modern architectural buildings in Baku such as: Heydar Aliyev Center, Flame Towers and Baku Boulevard.
Photo Gallery
The analysis of the photo gallery which is composed of the 12 pictures revealed that photos posted by DMO reflect only site attractions that are related to the modern types of architecture. Specifically, 75 % (n-9) out of total number of posted pictures reflect Fountain Square, 17 % (n-2) are related to Philharmonic Park and 8 % (n-1) reflects Baku Boulevard.
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Figure 51. The screenshot of the pictures from photo gallery.
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Figure 52. Distribution of site attractions represented on Photo Gallery
The further analysis of the page dedicated to Baku within official DMO website was aimed to investigate the information provided by DMO in order to identify the possible information gaps and therefore to enhance official communication.
According to the analysis, there are 7 main sections, which are:
1) Azerbaijan (e.g. culture, national cuisine, visa information)
2) Travel information (e.g. domestic transport, travel tips, currency rate)
3) Regions
4) Things to do (e.g. cultural life, tours, events)
5) Entertainment
6) Accommodation
7) Contacts
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Figure 53. Screenshot of the main 7 sections’ location on Baku page within official DMO website (http://azerbaijan.travel/en/region/47-Baku)
Complementary to the aforementioned information, Baku page also found to contain information regarding weather, upcoming events and news.
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Figure 54. Screenshot of the weather location on Baku page within official DMO website (http://azerbaijan.travel/en/region/47-Baku)
4.2.2 Unofficial communication
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Figure 55. Site attractions’ pages and their average ranks presented on Facebook
Facebook analysis
The content analysis of the Facebook social network was intended to analyse the most popular and highly ranked places in Baku. The content analysis comprised the analysis of the first 100 pages dedicated to site attractions within the sightseeing category of page related to Baku city on Facebook. Based on the findings from the analysis of the first 100 pages Baku page on Facebook, it can be concluded that according to the Facebook social media platform, modern urban constructions are the most popular site attractions in Baku. In general, the analysis of the Baku page on Facebook did not expose many results for the sightseeing sites in Baku. There were only 5 pages dedicated to Baku’s site attractions which appeared in the first 100 pages results, namely: Baku Boulevard, Upland Park, Ateshgah Temple, Azerbaijan Carpet Museum and Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre. However, all the pages received high rankings above 4.5 on average. Among those 5 site attractions, 4 belong to the modern urban constructions (Baku Boulevard, Upland Park, Azerbaijan Carpet Museum and Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre) whilst only one site attraction represents historical monument - Ateshgah Temple. Should be noted that such iconic landmarks of Baku as: Maiden Tower and Old city which are presented on the official communication do not appear in the first 100 pages for Baku city.
TripAdvisor analysis
The content analysis of TripAdvisor platform was based on the analysis of the “Things to do in Baku” section which presents the most popular site attractions in Baku on the basis of the ranking given by visitors. According to the TripAdvisor social media platform, historical monuments together with modern constructions are the most popular site attractions in Baku: Old City, Baku Boulevard, Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre, Maiden Tower, Gobustan Rock Art, Flame Towers, Fountain Square, Palace of Shirvanshahs, Martyr’s Lane and Azerbaijan Carpet Museum. Among 10 site attractions, 4 of them belong to the historical monuments (Old City, Maiden Tower, Gobustan Rock Art and Palace of Shirvanshahs) and 6 to the modern constructions (Baku Boulevard, Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre, Flame Towers, Fountain Square, Martyr’s Lane and Azerbaijan Carpet Museum).
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Figure 56. Top 10 site attractions types and their average
TripAdvisor’s forum analysis
Currently TripAdvisor forum dedicated to Baku on hosts 234 topics. In order to identify what type of information is the most requested about Baku by tourists the first 60 topics from forum section were analysed. Based on the findings from the analysis it is possible to conclude that visitors request information regarding different topics among which visa and transportation related information is the most required.
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Figure 57. Distribution of the discussed topics by theme on the TripAdvisor forum
The biggest share 45% (N-27) of the analysed topics was related to different requests (e.g. vegetarian food, student life in Baku, safety, clothes, transportation fares) and followed by visa related topics. The analysis demonstrated that topics regarding visa information are the most popular ones with 27 % (N-16). In these topics tourists ask information regarding general procedure of applying to visa, travel agencies which provide assistance in obtaining visa etc.
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Figure 58. Screenshot of the review requesting visa information. Source: TripAdvisor.com (https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293934-i9347-k9181961-E_visa_for_US_Citizens-Baku_Absheron_Region.html)
Transportation related topics comprise the 13 % (N-8) out of total, whereas topics regarding day trips, travel agencies and weather represent 5% each (N- 3 each) out of total. Transportation related topics include information requests about itineraries and the ways how to get to a certain site attractions.
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Figure 59. Screenshot of the review regarding transportation information. Source: TripAdvisor (https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g293934-d2390504-r308058373-Yanar_Dag-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS)
4.2.3 The comparison of official and unofficial communication
On the basis of the findings from the content analysis of the Baku related page on official DMO website and social networks (Facebook and TripAdvisor) it can be concluded that there is a mismatch between official and unofficial communication. In particular, mismatch between official communication and unofficial communication is evidenced between Baku related page on official DMO website and Facebook social media platform, where official communication equally refers to both modern and historical site attractions as the most popular ones, whilst Facebook mainly refers to the modern types of site attractions. However, in contrast with Facebook, no mismatches for site attractions were identified between TripAdvisor and Baku related page on official DMO website.
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Figure 60. Distribution of the site attractions’ types across the official and unofficial communication
Figure 60 reports the site attractions’ types and their number of occurrences throughout the official and unofficial communication.
According to the official communication, there are 11 main site attractions in Baku which represent the historic monuments and modern buildings. Among the historical monuments Baku DMO mentions: Old City, Maiden Tower, Palace of Shirvanshahs, Ateshgah Temple and Gobustan Rock Art. According to the DMO, the modern appearance of the capital is represented by: Flame Towers, Baku Seaside Boulevard, Fountain Square, Philharmonic Park, Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center and Crystal Hall.
According to the analysis of unofficial communication based on two social media platforms, namely Facebook and TripAdvisor it is possible to conclude that TripAdvisor and Baku page exposed almost absolute match for site attractions whilst Facebook in opposite revealed almost no similarities. To elaborate, TripAdvisor similarly to Baku DMO equally refers to the historical and modern monuments. Among the historical monuments TripAdvisor mentions: Old City, Maiden Tower, Palace of Shirvanshahs, Gobustan Rock Art and Ateshgah Temple as the most popular site attractions. For the modern site attractions TripAdvisor mentions: Baku Boulevard, Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center, Flame Towers, Fountain Square, Martyr’s Lane and Azerbaijan Carpet Museum. Based on the findings it can be concluded that the only mismatch between Baku DMO and TripAdvisor can be seen for Martyr’s Lane and Azerbaijan Carpet Museum which are not listed on Baku page on official DMO website and instead listed on TripAdvisor.
Unlike to Baku DMO and TripAdvisor, Facebook mainly refers to the modern constructions as the most popular site attractions. Among the 5 site attractions listed in the first 100 pages results, 4 of them belong to modern type (Baku Boulevard, Upland Park, Azerbaijan Carpet Museum and Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre) and only one to historic monument (Ateshgah Temple).
Based on the results obtained from the analysis of Baku page on official DMO website, there is another aspect that is worth mentioning regarding mismatch and inconsistency in provided information by DMO. Thus, according to the textual official communication, there are 9 main site attractions in Baku which represent the historic monuments and modern buildings. Among the historical monuments Baku DMO mentions: Old City, Maiden Tower, Palace of Shirvanshah’s, Ateshgah Temple and Gobustan Rock Art. According to the DMO, the modern appearance of the capital is represented by: Flame Towers, Baku Seaside Boulevard, Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center and Crystal Hall. However, while textual description mentions historic and modern site attractions, the photo gallery contains only photos of modern architecture: Fountain Square (n-9), Philharmonic Park (n-2) and Baku Boulevard (n-1).
As a part of the given phase, additionally analysis was aimed to identify the possible information gaps on the basis of information presented on official DMO website and TripAdvisor forum. The analysis revealed that in order to provide rich and useful content for prospect visitors, Baku DMO should add more useful and practical information regarding transportation.
Given the frequency of information requirements regarding visa it was possible to suggest that Baku DMO does not provide useful information about it. However, the analysis of Baku related page revealed that Baku page contains information regarding visa regulations. The analysis of the Baku page exposed that there is a section devoted to the information which provides comprehensive information about the entire procedure of obtaining visa.
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Figure 61. Screenshot of the Obtaining Visas section’s location on the page dedicated to Baku on official DMO website.
What concerns transportation, the website comprises the section called Domestic Transport which presents only limited amount of general information. Given the frequency of required information regarding transportation and deep analysis of the official website it is evident that there is the lack of information regarding routes and transportation to the main site attractions.
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Figure 62. Screenshot of the Domestic Transport section’s location on the official website.
5. Discussion
1) What is the online reputation of Baku city as a tourism destination?
Based on the obtained findings from the analysis it is possible to conclude that throughout the Products & Services dimension the reputation of Baku is quite positive except for the 3 subcategories Other, Entertainment and Tours & Activities, which exposed the biggest number of low average rates (see Table 5). The Society and Performance reputational dimensions instead are rated quite high whilst Governance dimension is revealed the low rate regarding the bad cooperation between tourism industry and organisations. Similarly, Environment dimension revealed the lowest average rate for the safety (see Table 6). Below each of the reputational dimension will be further discussed.
Products & Services dimension:
Site attractions: search engine and social media results confirmed that Baku city owns a wide range of site attractions that represent historical heritage and cultural value. According to the many visitors, Baku dazes with the ambitious pieces of modern architecture as well as ancient buildings that are listed in the UNESCO heritage list. Furthermore, the investigation from both search engine and social media also revealed that many people find city’s atmosphere where east and west mixed pleasant and favourable during their tourism experience. What concerns the quality of products and services, many visitors expressed the high satisfaction with tourism products offered by a destination. However, confronting the official and unofficial communication, it emerges that such site attractions representing the modern appearance of Baku as Azerbaijan Carpet Museum and Upland Park are not less interesting to tourists than such historical monuments as Old City and Maiden Tower.
Accommodation: according to the sentiments from search engine and social media, lodging facilities also exposed quite high satisfaction by visitors which they expressed by the willingness to revisit the hotel/hostel. Taking into consideration that many accommodation facilities in Baku are located in city centre, many customers highlighted good locations in vicinity of the main site attractions as a complement to a good service. Additionally, many reviews assessed overall hotel/hostel stay as a good value for money.
Other: this subcategory included the comments (e.g. prices) that did not fit into any of the listed subcategories across the Products & Services dimension. The research of search engine and social media documented some negative reviews with regard to the high prices of the destination’s products notably for the accommodation. In fact, some consumers complained on the lack of the cheaper options for staying.
Food & Beverage: based on the sentiments retrieved from both search engine and social media, Baku’s restaurants operate on the high level and provide a good service. Additionally, many people appreciated the welcoming atmosphere of the restaurants as well as the good products that are good value for money.
Entertainment: based on the findings from social media it is possible to suggest that Baku’s offerings regarding entertainment require some improvements. The vast majority of the expressed negative reviews in this subcategory were related to the Baku’s zoo, which tourists rated very lowly. What concerns the other entertainment offerings (e.g. indoor games), they were rated quite high.
Cultural activities: assessments for this subcategory were based on the findings from social media. Within this subcategory, consumers expressed the satisfaction from cultural offerings (e.g. theatrical performance), additionally emphasising the good infrastructure and external appearance from architectural viewpoint of the theatres and other artistic centres. Despite this, there were some negative expressions with regard to the bad maintenance of the National Opera and Ballet Theatre building that left overall not a good impression.
Tours & Activities: based on the results from the social media, it is possible to assume that this field requires improvements. The vast majority of the negative reviews in this subcategory were related to the poor and unreliable service stressing the inconsistency between information and provided service. Many people complained about the long bus delays which go on contrary with the comfortable facilities of the modern buses.
Outdoor activities: this subcategory embraces the reviews from social media regarding the pool and waterpark facilities in Baku. This subcategory revealed quite high satisfaction with the facilities and provided service. Additionally, many visitors highlighted the enjoyable atmosphere and clean beaches.
Spa & Wellness: people within this subcategory expressed high satisfaction from provided service. The vast majority of the positive reviews were related to the best spa experience and the future intentions to revisit spa centres. In the same way many visitors gladly mentioned the detailed description of provided services on the website.
Society dimension: In the society dimension visitors confirmed that Baku offers distinctive local culture and traditions. Visitors highly esteemed the historical heritage and ancient pieces of architecture, notably mentioning Old city, Maiden Tower and Gobustan Rock Arts. What concerns the local residents, visitors expressed both as positive and negative opinions from interaction with locals. Some visitors found locals as not very friendly whilst others left destination with a feeling of very amiable residents as a part of their hospitality traditions.
Governance dimension: in this subcategory all the visitors complained about the complexity to obtain visa. Due to the strict visa regulations, many visitors seem deterred from visiting the country. Another essential point, many tourists when decide Caucasus region select from the three options: Azerbaijan, Georgia or Armenia. Given the absence of the visa requirements in the neighbouring countries and relatively low-costs of tourism products and services, current circumstances work against Baku.
Environment dimension: in the case of weather, visitors assessed weather as very hot during summer months, stressing that one of the best period to visit Baku is in spring. What concerns safety, most of the negative comments were related to the chaotic and hectic car drivers. However, a few reviews also documented the mugging accidents on the Baku streets.
Performance dimension: in this dimension visitors expressed the overall satisfaction from travel experience to Baku, mentioning that it was a pleasant “surprise”.
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Table 5. Average of sentiment expressed values for Products & Services dimension obtained on the basis of the 8 keywords groups, dimensions and drivers
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Table 6. Average of expressed values for 4 dimensions obtained on the basis of the 8 keywords groups, dimensions and drivers
2) What is the relationship between search engine and social media results?
Analysis of the associations between search engine (Google) and social media platforms (TripAdvisor and Facebook) has showed relationship for almost all the site attractions, notably placing great emphasis on the historical heritage. In this way, according to the TripAdvisor social media platform and search engine results, such historical monuments as Old city and Maiden Tower are the most popular and appreciated site attractions in Baku city since they revealed the biggest frequency of occurrence. Similarly, the strong relationship between search engine and TripAdvisor was revealed for the Palace of Shirvanshahs and Flame Towers. Given the relationship between the search engine and TripAdvisor and Facebook social media platforms regarding the Baku Boulevard, Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre, Gobustan Rock Arts, Azerbaijan Carpet Museum, Fountain Square, Upland Park, Ateshgah Temple and Martyr’s Lane,these site attractions did reveal relatively small number of occurrences from search engine in contrast with the above mentioned site attractions.
3) What are the possible mismatches between official and unofficial communication
The findings of the research illustrate that there is a mismatch between official and unofficial communication. Notably, the mismatch between official and unofficial communication is evidenced between Baku page and Facebook social media platform whereas Baku page and TripAdvisor social media platform revealed almost absolute match regarding the most popular site attractions. According to the official communication based on the textual description and photos, DMO equally centres attention on the historical heritage (e.g. Old City, Maiden Tower) and modern constructions (e.g. Flame Towers, Fountain Square, Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre). Similarly to Baku DMO, according to TripAdvisor social media platform, historical monuments and modern urban constructions are the most popular sightseeing sites in Baku. However, on the basis of findings from Facebook social media platform, it can be concluded that modern urban facilities are the most popular site attractions (e.g. Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre, Baku Boulevard and Azerbaijan Carpet Museum).
Complementary to this, analysis also exposed a mismatch in content provided by DMO, in particular there is inconsistency between textual description and photo gallery. Thus, textual description stresses importance on historic and modern site attractions whilst the photo gallery reflects only photos of modern architecture.
Additionally, after examining the Baku page on official DMO website together with TripAdvisor’s forum it became evident that many people request information with regard to visa information and transportation. However, from the analysis of the Baku page it is possible to say that website contains a section regarding visa regulations with comprehensive descriptions. The fact that people bypass official website and consult others on TripAdvisor might be explained by the fact that nowadays tourists tend to trust more fellow travellers rather than official destination representatives, considering fellow travellers’ reviews as bias-free and based on self-experience.
On the other hand, in contrast with the visa information, there is a lack of information regarding the transportation instead. The official website contains section regarding transportation but information is generic and useless to the visitors.
6. Conclusion
In this thesis, the online reputation of Baku city as a tourism destination was analysed. During the research, the concept of reputation, the importance of reputation for tourism destinations and the role of e-WOM in tourism was closely examined. The research also embraced the analysis of the 240 URLs from search engine as well as analysis of 679 reviews from Tripadvisor. Additionally, during the research the comprehensive content analysis of the two social media websites (Facebook and TripAdvisor) and official DMO websites was carried out.
The main purpose of the present thesis can be framed within 3 main research questions. By answering the research questions author tried to bridge the knowledge gap in a field where currently there is a lack of study.
The first research question of the thesis was intended to investigate the online reputation of Baku city according to the 5 reputational destination dimensions and across 14 related drivers gathered from the DORM model. The findings obtained from the analysis enabled to conclude that reputation of Baku according to the many reputation dimensions and drivers is positive. Overall, many visitors appreciated the unique blend of history and modernity and the rich culture of Baku. Though, analysis also exposed that Baku needs improvements regarding visa regulations and safety issues. Indeed, many people in their reviews complained about strict visa regulations and difficulty to obtain it. Complementary to this many people expressed concern regarding safety due to the hectic traffic on the Baku roads. Taking into consideration the fact that safety & security is the most important factor when choosing a destination to visit (Chapter 2, Figure 5, and p.13) and the fact that nowadays tourists are prone to trust more fellow travellers, it can be concluded that negative online reviews of dissatisfied tourists sharing their experiences online might discourage potential visitors from visiting Baku.
The findings of the thesis clearly display the impact of the e-WOM on the reputation of Baku. According to the official online communication of Baku, the city is safe. However, as results have demonstrated many people commented that felt uncomfortable and unsecured due to the hectic car drivers. With this regard, traffic direction from the DMO regarding this particular topic might help prospective tourists to have a clearer idea regarding the destination, and better balance their expectations (and what is the best way to move in the city).
According to the one of the key aspects discussed in the theoretical background section, the rise of use of social platforms which entails unrestricted information flow, changed the way how reputation of tourism destination is managed these days (Baka, 2016). As Marchiori and Cantoni (2012), Horster and Gottschalk (2012) point out these circumstances challenge the idea that nowadays tourism destination’s reputation is shaped by official marketing channels. Depending of the action taken by the reputation managers it might lead to negative or positive outcomes (Zeng and Gerritsen, 2014). DMO cannot neglect the influence of the ICT and e-WOM but instead might use it as a crucial basis to elaborate efficient marketing communication strategies in a long-term (Xiang, Magnini & Fesenmaier, 2015).
The second research question of the thesis pursued the purpose to identify what is the relationship between search engine and social media results with respect to the main site attractions. The research revealed the consistency in results between search engine and social media for all the site attractions. However findings also have shown that tourists place the great emphasis on the historical monuments rather than modern constructions in Baku. Notably, it seems that Baku is closely associated with historic monuments rather than modern types of site attractions. Possessing such knowledge will enable Baku DMO to properly place emphasis in the marketing strategies and as a result better develop it.
Third research question examined the possible mismatches between official and unofficial online communication. Evidence for the mismatch is confirmed by research that demonstrated different social media platforms and Baku DMO create the different narrative of Baku city. Thus, analysis revealed that DMO and TripAdvisor equally centres attention on the historical and modern site attractions presenting them as one of the core values of Baku whilst based on the results obtained from Facebook social media platform it is evident that on Facebook people are interested more in modern urban constructions. Additionally, the analysis exposed the mismatch and inconsistency in content provided by the Baku DMO. In particular, with regard to textual description from Baku related page on official DMO website, Baku contains wide range of modern and historic site attractions. On the contrary to it, photo gallery includes only photos of modern facilities. Under these circumstances, such mismatches might lead to dissatisfaction in tourists and as possible consequence deter them from visiting a place.
Finally, thesis investigated the most requested information by tourists. Based on the findings from the content analysis it can be argued that people request most information regarding visa regulations and transportation. Considering the fact that official DMO website provides comprehensive information about procedure to obtain visa, it can be confirmed that people these days have more trust in other tourists rather than DMO.
However, what concerns the transportation it can be confirmed that official DMO does not provide useful information regarding it. Many people complain about difficulty to identify the itinerary of the site attractions especially which are located on a distance (e.g. Gobustan Rock Art) from the city centre.
Taking into consideration the fact that social media platforms entail discussions among users, in response to these circumstances it is important for Baku DMO to pay attention to information people request and therefore satisfy their information demands by providing useful recommendations.
6.1 Managerial implications
Based on the findings and academic knowledge this work is intended to provide some practical implications for Baku DMO.
First practical implication concerns the reputation management of Baku. As it was discussed in previous sections, the reputation of tourist destinations is not anymore the product of official marketing channels, it was evidenced that these days it is also shaped by the online interactions. As such, in order to alleviate or avoid risks associated with the reputation damage, several scholars (Marchiori and Cantoni (2012), Dennis (2013), Baka (2016), proposed to monitor and analyse what people say online. Applying these recommendations to tourism domain it is possible to suggest:
Participate in active reputation management by running the social media profiles as well as broadcasting positive content. Indeed as indicated by Dennis (2013), Jones, Temperley & Lima (2009), Floreddu, Cabiddu & Evaristo (2014), Siano et al., 2011, Zeng and Gerritsen (2014), establishment of the robust online presence might help to alleviate the effect of negative e-WOM.
Another recommendation considers the monitoring of online content. Additionally to monitoring practices, DMO should participate in the online conversations and respond to online criticism. In tourism, TripAdvisor as the most popular review and evaluation website allows DMO to respond to comments, in particular on the Forum section.
Second recommendation deals with the search engine and social media results. As results have demonstrated, search engine plays a crucial role in information search for travel-related purposes. As Xiang and Gretzel (2010) stated, search engines execute a leading role in online information search. Under these circumstances, Xiang and Gretzel (2010) underlined the importance for search engine optimisation strategies together with the marketing efforts within the search engine. According to the authors, search engine optimisation will ensure the representative placement of the official website among the other results.
Third recommendation concerns the identified mismatches. In the study Passow, Fehlmann & Grahlow (2005) address the importance of coherent messaging concept. As authors state, effective reputation management requires to place communications in positioning the tourism destination around its core values. In order to master the online reputation and attract more visitors, Baku DMO should monitor the published content to maintain consistency and avoid the information mismatch as well as pay close attention to unofficial communication (e.g. visa issues, transportation).
Finally it is advised to official tourism of Baku to fill the gap in the information demands of the tourists. In particular, more attention could be given to the transportation related information in order to improve the content of the current official website. The poor information content on the official website might lead to dissatisfaction in tourists. Additionally, lack of information forces people to turn attention to the unofficial sources where information source is unknown and therefore might pose serious risks.
6.2 Limitations and future research
Taking into consideration the exploratory nature, current thesis faced several limitations.
First of all, given the lack of completeness aroused from the limited range of the keywords, this study characterises only a small sample of the reputation of Baku city and therefore analysis cannot reflect the actual entire online reputation of Baku. Additionally, analysis was conducted during particular period of time. Future research should consider the implementation of the longitudinal analysis embracing the analysis of the reputation over time.
Secondly, present analysis was conducted on the basis of the keywords searched from Google search engine. In order to reach comprehensiveness, future research might consider the extended analysis of the results from the other search engines as well.
Thirdly, limitation is related to the content analysis and data analysis which is based on the coder’s personal interpretation. Future research should consider the involvement of at least two coders as well as address intercoder reliability.
Moreover, an extension of the social media platforms is recommended, for example Twitter and Instagram.
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8. Appendices
Sentiments expressed on TripAdvisor social media platform
-“The museum itself is beautiful very well designed. However the people who work there are very rude mostly toward the locals, as I noticed how "polished" they are toward the foreigners! One of their employees even was extremely rude with my kid who was looking on interactive screen and showing something to us. She (employee) literally slapped his finger and pulled his hand away from screen and kept saying in Azeri don't touch, however the child didn't speak/understand Azeri (child is native English speaker). I told her that he doesn't understand what you're saying and stop being rude, and instead of apologizing she replied very aggressively to take away my kids from here! (You might think at this point the kids were behaving bad, but no, that's not the case as we are talking about well-mannered kids, who traveled half of the world and know where and how to behave, but nowhere we saw such rudeness, to be honest..) Well I asked to call the manager as that's unacceptable attitude towards the visitors and she replied that there's NO manager! Anyhow just because I was with kids and didn't want to have them disappointed any longer I didn't go any further with this case. And also about the elevators.. we approached to the elevator where we have been told that elevators are not working, and we had to use escalators, which were too narrow and inconvenient to use with small kids... Once we were on the ground level I saw that elevators WERE working, but for some reason they didn't let us use it! Bottom line place is nice, but management is extremely horrible, if they allow such things to happen!” (land_of_fires; 2016 February). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d3641288-Reviews-Azerbaijan_Carpet_Museum-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
- “I've been coming to Baku for the last few years, but always been in a rush. Had a chance this trip to have a wander and discover parts of Baku I've never seen before. Before going to the old city, had first visited Maiden Tower, then wandered into the old city. Found the atmosphere incredibly relaxing, really enjoyable. Being able to soak up the history of the place.” (Peter K; 2016, March). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293934-i9347-k5450388-Trip_to_baku_2013-Baku_Absheron_Region.html Accessed on: 09.04.2016
- “I really enjoyed it. It is beautiful and something of a natural wonder. If you can go during twilight or early evening or maybe even see sunrise in order to enjoy the light (during daytime some of the gas flames may be hard to see…. And don’t try to feel :- ). It is a bit tricky to get there so you will for sure need a taxi or private car. If you go with rental car make sure to bring a GPS, but even so, hard to find. I definitely recommend a taxi. The site is not so big, so the whole excursion can be done in a few hours from any Baku hotel. Have a great trip!!” (AirportWB; 2014, November). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d2390504-Reviews-Yanar_Dag-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
-“This is NOT a 5 star Hotel in the style of Four Seasons, Fairmont, Kempinski etc. It is however an outstanding 4 Star Hotel located on Baku Bay in the vicinity of The National Flag square. Stayed her for a month and had a great room over the bay with a really good balcony and tables. The Restaurants and bars are outstanding and standard of service is very high and consistent. The Hotel must really come into its own in the summer, when all the terraces are open. Special mention to Gunel and Vugar in Reception and to Kamil in the Restaurants. Have to say all the staff were attentive and housekeeping was also great. Will be coming back...” (GordonAbben; 2015, January). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g293934-d1486957-Reviews-Hotel_Riviera-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
-“ A cosy place where you feel at home. Economic prices. Extremely helpful and friendly staff!! Excellent location near the 28th mall (with shops, restaurants, supermarket, taxis) and walking distance to the bulvar and city centre. In the kitchen coffee, tea and water for free. A possibility to use the washing machine. Also possible to book trips and airport transport via hotel. Booked a room for 3 persons, windows to the court, was not noisy, space enough, a good bathroom, very clean, air conditioning, free wi-fi. For an economic price, good location and friendliness absolutely worth recommending.” (turisti2015; 2015, June). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g293934-d1568288-Reviews-Guest_House_Inn_Hostel-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
-“We went with a rowdy group of about 30 adults and had an absolute BLAST!!! The owners are SUPER and accommodated us with plenty of beer for a much needed cool-down after our game was over. We all had quite an amazing time blasting each other and quite a fierce workout, too! Don't worry, the kids had their own tables for their parties as well as game time, so our adult play time did not disrupt them :)” (MMGibbs; 2013, August). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d2620050-Reviews-ETX_Lazer_Strike-Baku_Absheron_Region.html#REVIEWS Accessed on: 09.04.2016
-“Poor and unreliable service. Web site said every 30 mins. Bus stop said every 45 mins. Bus driver said 90 mins to the next bus when I got off at the first stop - 90 mins later having not missed a bus I waited another hour with no show. Ah well, I look at this as an overpriced pair of cheap headphones. The ticket is valid for two days which is possibly to allow me to get the next bus! You are forewarned!” (LondonMikee; 2015, July) Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d7094700-Reviews-City_Sightseeing_Worldwide_Hop_On_Hop_Off-Baku_Absheron_Region.html Accessed on: 09.04.2016
-“The bus starts at 1100hrs from the Baku Seaside Boulevard (Bvlvar) Mall which is actually stop 1 and 16 right opposite the Baku Hilton Hotel. The route is scenic and covers all the main Baku must view landmarks including Baku Port Mall, Parliament, Maiden Tower (a must see stop) and the Icheri sheher Metro Station with its "Flying Carpet" frontage. Just in case anyone who is not aware, Azerbaijan is famous for its carpets although carpets are commonly associated with "Persian" carpets. Other attractions include the numerous museums in the old city as well as others outside the city. There is also a stop at the highest point in Baku City where the 3 Flaming Towers are located including the Baku Fairmont Hotel and the Funicular station that takes passengers from the highest point to the seafront. This stop also has a viewing square where many scenic views of Baku can be viewed and a good photographing point.” (SeowBoonKiat; 2015, June). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293934-d7094700-Reviews-City_Sightseeing_Worldwide_Hop_On_Hop_Off-Baku_Absheron_Region.html Accessed on: 09.04.2016
-“Be sure to allow several months to obtain a visa. After starting the process a couple of months ago, I was told Friday that it would take 2-3 weeks, "maybe more," to get a visa (to visit our daughter living in Baku). Because our trip will start in 2 weeks, I told the Azerbaijan consulate (in LA) to stop the process. We will meet her in either Tbilisi, Georgia, or Istanbul. The reason for the trip was to visit her in Baku, to which we added a cruise in the Adriatic. A couple of months ago, our visa service was told to have us fill out three-page printed visa applications. After we had done so, it was informed the visa applications are now "on line." We submitted three different on-line applications, being informed after each that we needed to sign and submit a "confirmation." We never received such a "confirmation." The person I spoke with at the LA Consulate had not heard of a "confirmation", and thought the original printed application would be sufficient to be a "confirmation." Yesterday, about 2 months after the original written applications were prepared, he said the application was appropriate for processing. Too late. I don't think Azerbaijan is too interested in having visitors. (We don't even need visas for Turkey or the Republic of Georgia, both of which we will be visiting.)” (MarkMarshall; 2012, June). Retrieved from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293934-i9347-k5450388-Trip_to_baku_2013-Baku_Absheron_Region.html Accessed on: 09.04.2016
[...]
1 http://www.futurebrand.com/foresight/cbi/m Accessed: 05.03.2016
2 http://www.reputationinstitute.com/research/Country-RepTrak Accessed: 05.03.2016
3 http://placebrandobserver.com/tag/nation-brands-index/ Accessed: 05.03.2016
4 http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/azerbaijan-population/ Accessed on: 08.05.2016
5 http://www.stat.gov.az/source/tourism/indexen.php Accessed on: 25.05.2016
- Quote paper
- Mariya Abbasova (Author), 2016, Online Reputation of Baku City (Azerbaijan) as a Tourism Destination, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/424837
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