Exploring User-Generated Content for Improving Destination Knowledge: The Case of Two World Heritage Cities

World Heritage Sites' reputation does not significantly influence visitor behavior, as revealed by a study analyzing 8,638 online travel reviews from TripAdvisor (2017–2018) for Salamanca (Spain) and Coimbra (Portugal). The research applied Smart Tourism Analytics techniques—Text mining, Sentiment Analysis, and Market Basket Analysis—to identify patterns in attraction, nationality, and repeated visits. Findings showed that reviews did not vary by language or city, with keywords prominently featuring history and heritage, such as architectural styles, royal names, and landmarks. This suggests that destination management organizations can leverage these insights to reposition cities using data-driven smart tourism strategies, emphasizing the untapped potential of user-generated content for destination promotion.

Antonio, N., Correia, M. B., & Ribeiro, F. P. (2020). Exploring User-Generated Content for Improving Destination Knowledge: The Case of Two World Heritage Cities. Sustainability, 12(22), 9654. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229654