User-generated content (UGC) in tourist attractions and destinations: systematic literature review and perspectives for management

Abstract

User-generated content (UGC) is one of the tourism industry’s most strategic Big Data sources. This systematic review aims to understand what has been proposed in the scientific literature regarding utilising UGC in managing tourist attractions and destinations. Following a PRISMA protocol, 158 scientific articles (Web of Science, Scopus, EBSCO Host) were reviewed, providing practical implications for the field’s management through the analysis of UGC data. We discovered a growing body of scientific production spread across various fields of knowledge and geographical coverage, conducted in different scenarios and contexts of attractions and destinations. This shows the versatility of the application where we have identified eight central themes, including experience, image, space, perception, satisfaction, narrative, brand, and demand. UGC holds significant potential as a supplementary source in problem identification. Application perspectives encompass five areas of attraction and destination management: visitors, resources, product/ marketing, site, and crises.