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Internet as an information source and social distance: any relationship?

Internet as an information source and social distance: any relationship? Purpose – Findings of previous research imply that virtual contact with other social groups, such as the internet, may have an impact on sociocultural dimensions such as social distance; however, there is a lack of empirical evidence supporting this implication. To fill this void in the literature, the purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between social distance and the internet as an information source. Design/methodology/approach – A self-administered survey was conducted on tourists from several different European countries, through random sampling, in select popular tourist destinations of Turkey. Findings – A direct relationship between the use of the internet as an information source about the host community and social distance was not revealed within the scope of this study. Originality/value – There is limited research on the relationship between Internet and several sociocultural aspects in tourism. This study investigates the relationship between social distance and internet empirically. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology Emerald Publishing

Internet as an information source and social distance: any relationship?

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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN
1757-9880
DOI
10.1108/JHTT-10-2012-0026
Publisher site
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Abstract

Purpose – Findings of previous research imply that virtual contact with other social groups, such as the internet, may have an impact on sociocultural dimensions such as social distance; however, there is a lack of empirical evidence supporting this implication. To fill this void in the literature, the purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between social distance and the internet as an information source. Design/methodology/approach – A self-administered survey was conducted on tourists from several different European countries, through random sampling, in select popular tourist destinations of Turkey. Findings – A direct relationship between the use of the internet as an information source about the host community and social distance was not revealed within the scope of this study. Originality/value – There is limited research on the relationship between Internet and several sociocultural aspects in tourism. This study investigates the relationship between social distance and internet empirically.

Journal

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology – Emerald Publishing

Published: Jul 29, 2013

Keywords: Social distance; Internet; Information source; Tourist‐host contact; Turkey; Tourism; Europeans; Consumer behaviour; Information searches

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