The Trustworthiness of Online Channels for Experience- and Goal-Directed Search Tasks

Abstract

Travelers have used the Internet as an information channel for years and more recently also started to produce content themselves. With an abundance of information channels competing for customers’ attention, researchers and practitioners need to better understand which online channels are trustworthy and consulted for travel-related factual information or for reports on experiences. Thus, this article compares the trustworthiness of three different online channels (personal, marketing, and editorial). The results of the experiment indicate that user-generated content appears to be highly trustworthy, showing high levels of integrity; however, it is not always regarded as the most informative. Editorial content providers, such as tourist boards, are considered to be the most able information provider. The results confirm that depending on the type of online channel, different dimensions of trustworthiness become effective as drivers of overall trust.