IDENTIFYING AMERICAN TOURISTS’ UNIQUE EXPERIENCES FROM THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL

Abstract

Detailed experiences of travelers are presented in online tourist reviews that affect the way other tourists perceiveand plan their trips. Such reviews are sources of information in the form of open writing that allows reliable sharing of experienceabout tourist attractions. Previous studies have made use of tourist reviews to obtain lists of the most well-known tourist destinationsand their attributes or to evaluate service in the hospitality industry. This study looks at tourist reviews from a new perspective andidentifies unique tourism experiences using a combination of algebraic modeling and sentiment analysis applied to reviews about theLincoln Memorial. Our research findings reveal that they are based on neutral and negative assessments of the trips and refer to intangible items. Overall, unique tourism experiences can give useful advice on how to make a trip to the memorial comfortable and enjoyable. Additionally, they could provide travel managers with reliable information about the attraction for effective marketing campaigns.