What tourists seek in peer-to-peer tour experiences? A topic modeling approach of online reviews

Abstract

This study aims to examine tourists’ experience evaluation on the fast-growing but understudied peer-to-peer (P2P) tour/activity experiences provided by sharing economy platforms and non-professional local guides. The P2P tours are unique in providing guests with a personalized and immersive experience of local culture, derived from the expertise and charm of the local hosts. A total of 211,610 online reviews were retrieved and analyzed using a topic modeling approach. Fourteen key topics were identified; tourists highlighted their personal feelings during interactions, sensory experience, and achievements derived from the customized experience in their storytelling approach of the reviews. Tourists highly valued hosts’ personality and expertise, as well as the learning experience and comfortability of the tours. However, reviews with lower ratings primarily emphasized the issue of group interaction. The findings advanced the literature of P2P tourist experience in the sharing economy and provided new insights into tourists’ pursuit for industry practitioners.