TRIP ADVISOR AS A TOOL FOR TOURISTS’ PREFERENCES ANALYSIS: THE CASE OF MONASTERIES AT FRUŠKA GORA MOUNTAIN, SERBIA
Nataša Dragović, Igor Stamenković, Đorđije Vasiljević
DOI: 10.35666/25662880.2019.5.128
UDC: 338.482-057.68(497.11 Fruška Gora)
Abstract: Most of the information is now available online, so tourists search different websites that can help them to choose destination, and also which activities to conduct and which places to visit at the destination. Tourists’ comments are one of the tools to realise not only good and bad sides of destinations, but also to have insight in all attractions and activities within destinations. One very efficient tool for getting travel advices is an American travel and restaurant website - TripAdvisor, which shows hotel and restaurant reviews, accommodation bookings and other travel-related content. This interactive travel forum is the largest "social travel website" in the world, with about 315 million reviewers (active and inactive) and about 500 million reviews of hotels, restaurants, attractions and other travel-related businesses. The task of this study is to use TripAdvisor as a tool to gain information about tourists’ opinion on their visit to Monasteries of Fruška Gora Mountain in North Serbia. There are 19 monasteries, built in the period from the 15th to the 18th century and aside of natural assets of this mountain, they represent valuable attractions which is why this destination is also named “Holy Mountain” or “Serbian Atos”. The contemporary trend in tourism is that people visit holy places which is why type of tourism where people travel individually or in groups for pilgrimage, missionary, or leisure (fellowship) purposes is now defined as religious tourism. This study will analyse all the comments and reviews of study area sites (monasteries) and present the global opinion on the visitors’ choice and preferences according to their travel and social characteristics.
Key words: Trip Advisor, Fruška Gora, monastery, religious tourism