Tourism destination competitiveness and online reputation: conceptualization and literature framework analysis
Purpose Online public opinions, using various forms of social media, create huge challenges for the tourism industry. Significant theoretical findings are found concerning the impact of online reputation on tourism destination competitiveness. Theoretical and empirical studies have shown that online reviews and subjective experiences of travelers who have visited a specific tourist destination substantially affect visits to a destination. The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of tourism destination competitiveness and online reputation. Findings Findings of this study are based on the development of the scientific thought of the concepts of online reputation and tourism destination competitiveness. An analysis of journals and articles published in leading tourism and hospitality journals searched by using the keywords "competitiveness" and "reputation" showed that only 14 full length articles on "reputation" were found relevant to the review. In terms of "competitiveness" a total of 87 full length articles related to tourism and hospitality were found in the main academic search database. Contribution The paper contributes to the existing literature of tourism destination competitiveness and online reputation with its theoretical presentation. It is expected that this research will make an important contribution by identifying research gaps and providing challenging directions for future research.