Twenty-Five Years Past Vogt: Assessing the Changing Information Needs of American Travellers

The results of this study indicate that functional information is still most important, but the importance of all other information needs increased significantly as compared to the pre-internet era.

Abstract

Travel behaviour has changed considerably over the past 25 years as the internet, social media and mobile systems have become integrated into our everyday lives. In particular, the nature and extent of information search is one of the most important aspects of travel behaviour effected by these advancements. This study assesses the impacts of these technologies on travellers' information needs by comparing the results of studies by Vogt and her colleagues conducted before the advent of the internet and a comparable study conducted recently. The results of this study indicate that functional information is still most important, but the importance of all other information needs (i.e., hedonic, innovation, experiential, and sign) increased significantly as compared to the pre-internet era. Functional information was found to be more important before the trip than during the trip. Innovation and hedonic information were more important during the trip compared to before the trip. In the sign information construct, "social" stands out as being important compared to advisory or symbolic. The theoretic and practical implications are discussed as this study demonstrates the ways travellers search for and use information continues to evolve as the internet becomes more fully integrated into our daily lives.