Pretty view from the bus! Image by TheGirlsNY. Retrieved from FlickR. Used under Creative Commons Licensing.

I wanted to pass along research recently released by the University of Minnesota-Tourism Center. It compares the use of electronic media among urban and nature‐based tourists. The research found that almost half of the nature-based travelers used the advice of friends/family to plan a trip oppose to on-line sites and travel reviews. However, during the trip they tended to accessed websites and Facebook to share their experiences.  Non-nature (urban) based tourists showed a slightly higher reaction to social media that ultimately responded in a change in travel plans.

Click here for an additional snapshot of the research finding from Compare uses of electronic media, among urban nature‐based tourists by Andrew Oftedal, M.S., Arielle Courtney,Graduate Research Assistant,&Ingrid Schneider, Ph.D

So what does this mean? It could be used to evaluate social media in the tourism industry based on the data collected and intended audience. In addition, this information can be tracked over a given period of time (longitudinal study) to identify shifts in technology trends such as  types of media/devices used.