Unpacking the Emotions behind TripAdvisor Travel Reviews: The Case Study of Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Abstract

This study investigated how tourists' emotions about their travel experiences were presented through TripAdvisor travel reviews targeting Gatlinburg, Tennessee due to its historical and geographical importance as a tourist destination. After selecting five Gatlinburg tourist attractions based on their review quantity, we conducted a polarity analysis of each tourist attraction and performed sentiment analyses based on the classical emotion criteria of psychology (i.e., six basic emotions – anger, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, and surprise). The findings revealed that visitors tended to have favorable emotional responses toward the five attractions, and the results of polarity and sentiment analyses of respective attractions corresponded to their TripAdvisor ratings.