Tourists' perception and influence factors in virtual tourism using Bayesian sentimental analysis model in Vietnam based on eWOM for sustainable development

Abstract

Objective: The advancement of Internet technology brought up the tourism industry towards new development and opportunities. With application of the Internet technology tourism industry comprises a vast range of virtual communities such as Trip Advisor, Agoda, Travelocity and so on. Existing research concentrated on evaluating the factors influencing virtual communities' behaviour with limited evaluation of tourist perception. This paper focused on examining the tourists' perception of a virtual tour through the sentimental analysis model based on eWOM for sustainable development. Method: The developed model comprises the group average Bayesian network with the computation of the polarity of the tourist perception. A Bayesian network is a data-driven method involved in estimating dependence among the variable with probabilistic computation. Results: The analysis is based on data collected from sample population in Vietnam with consideration of the 11 variables. Participation intensity, social identity, functional value, emotional value, sharing, interaction, and user satisfaction are among eleven primary variables that have been chosen. Conclusions: The analysis of the results expressed that the user satisfaction level is based on the user's experience and functional value. Additionally, the analysis stated that social value comprises the intermediary role in virtual tourism. This research adds to research methodologies of user engagement methods as well as serves as a reference for theoretical research and management practise in the virtual tourist community.