BEHAVIORAL PROFILES IN SHARING TOURISM EXPERIENCES IN VIRTUAL NETWORKS

This paper analyzes the attributes that influence tourists to share travel experiences in virtual social networks, from the perceptions of visitors to the 32nd Oktoberfest in Blumenau, Brazil. The empirical survey involved 380 tourists who were in Blumenau - Brazil during Okoberfest 2015 and addressed five dimensions relating to the attributes to share in online social networks Behavioral profiles were traced based on these sharing attributes and highlight four profiles that view the sharing of their experience in very distinctive ways. The results show that there are heavy users, casual users, pleasure-driven users and identification-driven users. These results contribute to the discussion of how and why tourists share their experiences in virtual social networks. By understanding these profiles, events can shape the way they interact with tourists in order to have better visibility online, meanwhile, tourism agencies and firms can use these profiles to classify costumers and direct services to specific profiles.