Preferences regarding external information sources: a conjoint analysis of visitors to Sardinia, Italy

Utilizing a conjoint analysis approach, this study aims to examine the relative importance of external information sources for female and male international and domestic travelers utilizing data collected from 719 tourists traveling to Sardinia (Italy). Overall, findings reveal that traditional word-of-mouth (i.e. family and friends), online review sites (e.g. TripAdvisor), and the online search engines are the most important external information sources for both domestic and international travelers. However, differences in importance tourists assign to each external source exist based on type of travel (domestic versus international) and gender (male versus female). For example, while traditional word-of-mouth, online review sites, and search engines are the three most important sources for domestic male travelers, the third most important information source for domestic female travelers is found to be printed tour guides. Contributions to the current body of knowledge and managerial implications are discussed, and suggestions for further research are provided.