Digital marketing in tourism: why Greek

tourists use digital marketing

applications like Airbnb
Lambros Tsourgiannis and Stavros Valsamidis

Abstract Lambros Tsourgiannis and

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the attitudes of tourists toward digital marketing Stavros Valsamidis are both
applications related to peer-to-peer short-term rental services within the sharing economy in the tourism based at the Eastern
sector. It aims to identify the factors that make Greek tourists to use these applications and to classify Macedonia and Thrace
them into groups according to their attitudes toward these websites and to profile each group of tourists Institute of Technology,
according to their personal and demographic characteristics and their preferences regarding their
Kavala, Greece.
holidays/travel.
Design/methodology/approach – A primary survey was conducted in April 2018 for a random selected
sample of Greek tourists. Principal component analysis was conducted to identify the main factors that
affect tourists in using digital marketing application related to peer-to-peer short-term rental services
within the sharing economy in the tourism sector. Cluster analysis was performed to classify tourists into
groups according to their attitudes toward the use of these websites while discriminant analysis was
conducted to check cluster predictability. Non-parametric tests, including the chi-square test, were
performed to profile each strategic group according to their demographic characteristics and their
preferences regarding their holidays/travel.
Findings – The study classified tourists into three groups, i.e. pioneers, convenience seekers and
conscious, according to their attitudes toward the use of such applications.
Research limitations/implications – The choice for the Greek context of the research is justified by the
fact that Greece has suffered from recession in the last decade, but it is also a tourism-friendly country.
The empirical results of this pioneer study should trigger further investigation. Although tourists’ behavior
towards the adoption of digital marketing application related to peer-to-peer rental services within the
sharing economy in the tourism sector might be culturally specific and the results are mainly applicable in
the Greek market, they could be generalized in other countries with similar characteristics in both Greece
and other parts with similar characteristics.
Practical implications – Tourists are extremely important both for developers and policy makers in
tourism industry. For developers such information is important because the expectation of viable
markets will motivate investments. For policy makers, this type of information will help them to respond
more adequately through regulation tools and programs. From a practical perspective, the tourism
operators may benefit from focusing on their differentiating features and aligning their marketing
communication with their tourists’ aspirations by developing, optimizing and customizing their
websites according to the needs of the customers and the extension of touristic activities to other
sectors of tourism industry.
Social implications – Visitors who choose Airbnb accommodations spend more days travelling;
consequently, the market size of the tourism industry expands from the increase in the number of visitors.
Originality/value – The originality of the paper derives from the understanding of the tourists’ behavior
toward the adoption of digital marketing applications related to peer-to-peer rental services within the
sharing economy in the tourism sector. More specifically, it identifies the factors that make Greek tourists
to use those applications, classifies them into groups according to their attitudes towards those websites
and profiles each group of tourists according to their personal and demographic characteristics and their
preferences regarding their holidays/travel. Received 12 March 2019
Keywords Hospitality, Digital marketing, Airbnb, Tourism marketing Revised 13 July 2019
26 August 2019
Paper type Research paper Accepted 11 September 2019

DOI 10.1108/IJCTHR-03-2019-0043 VOL. 13 NO. 4 2019, pp. 473-486, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1750-6182 j INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH j PAGE 473
 1. Introduction
A variety of emerging platforms, including Airbnb, Booking.com and Couchsurfing, have
disrupted the traditional corporate business models associated with rental housing and
hospitality and have led to the development of new peer-to peer marketplaces that are
challenging established industries (Weigert, 2018; Reinhold et al., 2017; Hsu et al., 2016).
These new platforms facilitate connections between hosts who rent spaces in their homes
or secondary properties and guests from around the world contrary to a single company
that manages buildings, terms and leases (Gyo di, 2017; Werthner et al., 2015;
Benckendorff et al., 2014). The sharing economy is often related to internet and mobile
technologies, and it involves consumers maintaining access to goods and services such as
bike-sharing without owning them, as well as ordinary individuals renting out or, otherwise,
offering access to their underused assets (e.g. ride-hailing services such as UberX) (Belk,
2014; Guttentag et al., 2018; Dredge and Gyimo thy, 2015; Business Insider, 2017;
Vanhove, 2017; Lee and Yuan, 2018).
Unemployment, frozen or decreased household incomes and rising costs for consumer
goods have been common themes throughout the developed world as a result of the global
economic crisis. These factors have led providers to start sharing their goods and have led
consumers to search for goods and services that are more cost-effective. The economic
crisis has provoked a greater awareness of the need for self-sufficiency among citizens, a
growing disillusionment with consumer culture in general and avoidance (whenever
possible) of goods and services provided by multinational corporations who are perceived
to be associated with waste, damage to the environment and corporate greed by some. In
short, the global economic crisis has given rise to a consumers’ desire to use existing
resources more effectively and a greater interest among consumers towards developing
new sources of income (Psarros et al., 2014).
The sharing economy concept entered wide public discourse between 2011 and 2012 with
the two Silicon Valley success stories of Airbnb and Uber (Martin, 2016). The rise of peer-to-
peer short-term rental services, including Airbnb, within the sharing economy represent a
transformative innovation within the tourism accommodation industry (Guttentag et al.,
2018; Runfola et al., 2013). By the summer of 2018, >400 million guests had used Airbnb
and the service increased to over two million global listings (Airbnb, 2018). Traditional
accommodations increasingly are viewing Airbnb as a significant threat (Guttentag et al.,
2018). Industry practitioners, however, speculatively estimate that sharing economy will
potentially increase to US$335 bn by 2025 compared with US$15 bn in 2015 (PwC, 2015).
Nearly a quarter of Europeans have used services offered via collaborative platforms
(Eurobarometer, 2018). However, there is significant variation among countries. More than a
third of respondents have done so in Latvia (40 per cent), Malta (35 per cent) and Ireland
(34 per cent). However, in nine countries, less than a fifth of the respondents have used
services offered via collaborative platforms with the lowest proportions of users observed in
Bulgaria and Portugal (both 17 per cent). In Greece, 22 per cent of the people have used
these services (Eurobarometer, 2018). Furthermore, these forms of sharing economy has
had a significant influence in the economy of the UK, while in Amsterdam, The Netherlands,
>800 properties have been recently registered under the category of ‘private holiday rental
(Psarros et al., 2014).
Airbnb uses an aggregator business model; it does not have a linear business model similar
to that of the traditional hotel chains. It is a community based, two-sided online platform that
accommodates the process of booking private living spaces for travelers (Botsman and
Rogers, 2010). On one side are the owners’ that list their space and earn rental money; on
the other side are the travelers that are provided with easy access to private rental homes.
Personal profiles provide information about the host and what it offers. Airbnb receives
commissions from both hosts and guests upon every booking (Bashir and Verma, 2016),
and its aim is to enable travelers to build connection with locals and feel at home

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(Guttentag, 2015). It operates as a transaction facilitator between the two sides who are
looking for accommodation at a cheap price (Shelly and Frydenberg, 2011). By providing
host protection insurance, as well as rating and review system, the platform builds trust
within the community of users and lowers transaction costs (Zervas et al., 2017; Munar and
Jacobsen, 2014). Airbnb focuses on making what people want and cultivating a sense of
belonging (Kavadias et al., 2016).
Some other studies identified a variety of key attributes influencing hotel decisions,
including cleanliness, location, reputation, price, staff friendliness and helpfulness, room
comfort and security (Chu and Choi, 2000; Dolnicar and Otter, 2003; Shaw et al., 2011).
However, the literature about non-hotel forms of accommodation (e.g. bed-and-breakfasts,
homestays) has focused on the choice to use these alternative forms of accommodation
more generally (Moutinho et al., 2011; Horner and Swarbrooke, 2016). These studies have
tended to highlight the unique nature of the experience rather than merely the practical
attributes that dominate the hotel choice literature. Hence, McIntosh and Siggs (2005)
argued that alternative accommodation guests enjoyed the unique character and homely
feel of the accommodations, the personalized service and personal interaction with the
hosts and the opportunity to receive useful local knowledge from the hosts. Moreover,
Stringer (1981) examined guests of British bed-and-breakfasts and found that they were
drawn by both the experience and the economical price.
Many studies have identified a number of factors influencing tourists in choosing digital
platforms such as Airbnb, including economic benefits (Nowak et al., 2015; Tussyadiah,
2015), household amenities and space (Quinby and Gasdia, 2014), authenticity (Lamb,
2011; Nowak et al., 2015), interaction with locals (Tussyadiah, 2015; Tussyadiah and
Pesonen, 2016; Guttentag et al., 2018) and location (Nowak et al., 2015). Furthermore,
Gong and Zheng (2018) identified that “price value” and “enjoyment” have a significant
influence both on American and Canadian consumers and Chinese consumers. Both
groups are not influenced by “authenticity,” “social interaction” or “perceived risk”
significantly. American and Canadian consumers are concerned with “home benefit,” but
Chinese consumers do not care about it because in Chinese social norm to taste delicious
local food is part of travel and great thing in life. While So et al. (2018) reported distrust as a
significant constrain factor to American and Canadian consumers, Gong and Zheng (2018)
find trust significantly motivated Chinese consumers’ attitude toward choosing Airbnb.
Hence, potential motivations to use websites such as Airbnb were proposed as relating to
six different dimensions – price, functional attributes, unique and local authenticity, novelty,
bragging rights and sharing economy ethos (Guttentag, 2016). Brand personality,
communication channels, trip characteristics and travel decisions and satisfaction and
loyalty are also related to the selection of web applications such as Airbnb according to
Guttentag (2016).
Hence, because of the extensive use of digital marketing applications related to peer-to-
peer short-term rental services (such as Airbnb) within the sharing economy in the tourism
sector by EU tourists, it provides a significant source of income to homeowners that rent
their residencies for a short time period. This paper aims to explore the attitudes of tourists
towards those applications in an economy that has been in a depression period since 2008.
In particular, it aims to identify the factors that make Greek tourists to use those applications
and to classify them into groups according to their attitudes towards those websites. More
specifically, it aims to
䊏 identify the factors that make Greek tourists to use those applications;
䊏 classify into groups according to their attitudes towards those websites; and
䊏 profile each group of tourists according to their personal and demographic
characteristics and their preferences regarding their holidays/travel.

VOL. 13 NO. 4 2019 j INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH j PAGE 475
 2. Approach
The survey was conducted in Greece for two reasons

1. Greece has suffered from recession in the last ten years and the choice for sharing led
the sellers (providers) to start sharing their accommodations; moreover, the recession
led also consumers to search for goods and services that are more cost-effective.

2. Greece is traditionally a touristic country and the results of this pioneering study may
function as a guide for future surveys in other parts of the world.

2.1 The conceptual model

A conceptual model was developed to place key concepts into an identifiable framework
(Figure 1) to investigate the relationships between factors affecting tourists’ behavior in
Greece towards digital marketing applications.
The null research hypotheses of this study are as follows:
Ho1. Tourists cannot be classified into groups according to their attitudes towards digital
marketing applications in the tourism sector.
Ho2. The demographic and personal characteristics of tourists are not significantly
related to their attitudes towards digital marketing applications in the tourism sector.
Ho3. Tourists’ preferences regarding their holidays/travel are not associated with a
particular attitude towards digital marketing applications in the tourist sector.

2.2 Methodology
A survey with face-to face interviews was conducted throughout Greece to gather the
necessary information. Cluster sampling method was used to form the sample. In particular,
the general population was stratified into two levels: regions and prefectures. Based on the
methodology presented by Oppenheim (2000) to have representative sample for the
geographical area of Greece, nine regions were randomly selected from a total of thirteen.
In the second stage, one prefecture was randomly selected from each studied region. The
sampling took place at the capital of each prefecture in highly used areas. Based on a

Figure 1 A Conceptual Model for classifying tourists according to their attitudes towards
digital marketing applications in tourism sector

Ho
Factors affecting Classification of
Ho1 tourists into groups Demographic
tourists’ attitudes
towards digital according attitudes tourists’
towards digital characteristics
marketing
marketing
applications in (age,
applications in
tourist sector tourist sector education,
occupation,
etc)

Ho3

Tourists’ preferences
regarding their
holidays/travel

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random systematic sampling, every sixth person, who was visiting the sites, was questioned
(McCluskey et al., 2003). The total number of people that were questioned at each sampled
prefecture was 30.
A total productive sample of 270 people came up from the survey methodology, while 179
of them used digital marketing application related to peer-to-peer short-term rental services
(such as Airbnb) within the sharing economy in the tourism sector. Prior to the main
sampling, a pilot survey took place in November 2017 to evaluate if the research objectives
were met by the designed questionnaire. The preliminary survey was performed for a total
of 30 consumers in the Regional District of Kavala. Based on the analyzed results, the
survey sample was considered adequate to conduct the final survey with no further
modification. The main survey took place between January 2018 and March 2018.
Multivariate analysis techniques were applied in three stages to the responses for the total
of 179 respondents to reveal the key information these contained. Principal component
analysis (PCA) was used to identify the variables that accounted for the maximum amount
of variance within the data in terms of the smallest number of uncorrelated variables
(components). The anti-image correlation matrix, as well as the Bartlett’s test of sphericity
and the Measure of Sampling Adequacy (MSA) were used to check the fitness of the data
for subsequent factor analysis. The variables with a high proportion of large absolute values
of anti-image correlations and MSA of <0.5 were removed before analysis. An orthogonal
rotation (varimax method) was conducted and the standard criteria of eigenvalue = 1, scree
test and percentage of variance were used to determine the factors in the first rotation (Hair
et al., 1998). Different trial rotations followed, where factor interpretability was used to
compare the reduced, using PCA variables, related to factors affecting Greek tourists to use
digital marketing applications toward digital marketing applications related to peer-to-peer
short-term rental services (such as Airbnb) within the sharing economy in tourism sector to a
smaller set of underlying factors.
These PCA scores were then subjected to cluster analysis to group tourists with similar
patterns of scores into similar clusters of attitudes toward these digital applications. Both
hierarchical and non-hierarchical methods were used (Hair et al., 1998) to develop a
typology of the tourists’ attitudes toward these applications. Quadratic discriminant analysis
(QDA) was performed to assess how accurately the key identified factors could predict and
discriminate cluster membership through factor analysis. Furthermore, the chi-square
analysis was performed to develop the profile of each group of tourists regarding their
demographic characteristics, as well as to explore the association between tourists’
preferences regarding their holidays/travel and their attitudes towards digital marketing
applications in the tourism sector.
The descriptive statistics of the final sample is portrayed in Table I.

3. Results and discussion

3.1 Factors affecting attitudes toward these digital applications
PCA and factor analyses (through a varimax rotation) were conducted to identify the key
attitude variables and the latent root criterion (eigenvalue = 1); moreover, the percentage of
variance was used to determine the number of factors (Table II). Several different trial
rotations were conducted to compare factor interpretability as suggested by Hair et al.
(1998).
PCA identified six key factors that affect tourists to use digital marketing applications related
to peer-to-peer short-term rental services within the sharing economy in the tourism sector
(Table III).
In the next stage, hierarchical and non-hierarchical clustering methods were used to
develop a typology of the attitudes of tourists toward the use of digital marketing application

VOL. 13 NO. 4 2019 j INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH j PAGE 477
 Table I Sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents
Gender (%)

Female 64.3
Male 35.7
Total 100.0
Age
<18 years old 4.8
18-30 years old 60.5
31-45 years old 20.0
46-60 years old 9.5
>65 years old 5.2
Total 100.0
Occupation
Private employee 24.8
Civil servant 28.2
Free licensed 25.5
Retiree 8.5
Student 11.0
Unemployement 2.0
Total 100.0
Education
Primary and Secondary School 7
High School 38
University Degree 45
Postgraduate Degree 10
Total 100.0
Family income
< = 9000 Euro 10
9001-15000 Euro 34.3
15001-23000 Euro 35.7
>23000 Euro 20
Total 100.0

Table II Results of principal component analysis regarding tourists’ attitudes toward these
digital applications
Component Eigenvalue %Variance %Cumulative variance

1 5.224 29.025 29.025

2 3.476 19.310 48.335
3 2.202 12.234 60.568
4 1.540 8.556 69.124
5 1.638 7.599 76.723
6 1.260 7.002 83.726
7 0.921 5.119 88.845
8 0.611 3.397 92.242
9 0.578 3.211 95.453
10 0.297 1.651 97.107
11 0.218 1.213 98.317
12 0.179 0.994 99.311
13 0.075 0.415 99.727
14 0.033 0.185 99.911
15 0.012 0.065 99.976
16 0.004 0.023 99.999
Notes: KMO MSA = 0.865; Bartlett test of Sphericity = 2,723.182; p < 0.001

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 Table III The Main factors that affect tourists to use digital marketing applications in
tourism sector derived from principal component analysis
Main factors affecting Greek tourists in using digital marketing
applications such as Airbnb Factor loadings

Unique and local authenticity

Large amount of space – Big rooms 0.885
“Homely” feel of the accommodation 0.882
Authentic local experience 0.574
Opportunity to stay in a non-touristy, residential neighborhood 0.570
Functional attributes
Ease of checking in/out 0.964
Ease of placing my reservation 0.942
Ease of resolving unexpected problems (e.g., no hot water) 0.857
Novelty
Doing something new and different 0.820
Living an exciting experience 0.813
Living a unique experience 0.666
Sharing economic ethos
The money I spent on accommodation to go directly to local people 0.907
Interaction with host and other local people 0.661
Low cost
I prefer the philosophy of Airbnb over other types of accommodation 0.798
Low cost of accommodation 0.701
Access to household amenities (e.g., fridge, stove, washing machine) 0.614
Convenient location
Convenient location of the accommodation 0.752
Cleanliness 0.699

related to peer-to-peer short-term rental services within the sharing economy in the tourism
sector (Hair et al., 1998). Cluster analysis was conducted on the 179 observations because
there were no outliers.
It identified three groups of tourists that were named according to their attitudes toward the
adoption of these applications (Table IV): the pioneers, the convenience seekers and the
conscious tourists.
In particular pioneers comprise 17 per cent of the sample. They use digital marketing
applications such as Airbnb because they want:
䊏 to do something new and different;
䊏 to live an exciting and unique experience;

Table IV Classification of tourists regarding their attitudes towards the use of digital platforms related to peer-to-peer
short-term renting within the sharing economy in the tourism sector
Main factors affecting tourists in using digital marketing applications related
to peer to peer rental services within sharing economy in tourism sector Pioneers Convenience seekers Conscious p

Unique and local authenticity 1.51877 0.26831 0.44811 0.001

Functional Attributes 0.78450 0.03389 0.50470 0.001
Novelty 0.38684 0.09710 0.54590 0.001
Sharing economic ethos 0.29549 0.32169 0.61610 0.001
Low cost 0.55957 0.14313 0.04956 0.002
Convenient location 0.00451 0.40826 1.06887 0.001
Number of hotels (n = 179) 31 107 41

VOL. 13 NO. 4 2019 j INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH j PAGE 479
 䊏 the money they spend on accommodation to go directly to local people; and
䊏 to interact with local people.

However, convenience seekers comprise 60 per cent of the sample. They pay attention to
䊏 convenient location of the accommodation and cleanliness;
䊏 large amount of space – big rooms;
䊏 “homely” feel of the accommodation;
䊏 authentic local experience, and
䊏 the opportunity to stay in a non-touristic, residential neighborhood.
They also prefer the philosophy of peer-to-peer short-term rental services within the sharing
economy in the tourism sector over other types of accommodation. They are interested in
inexpensive accommodations and having access to household amenities (such as fridge,
stove and washing machine).
Moreover, the conscious comprise 23 per cent of the sample. They are motivated in using
digital platforms, including Airbnb, related to peer-to-peer short-term renting within the
sharing economy by:
䊏 the fact that the money they spend on accommodation want go directly to local people;
䊏 interaction with local people;
䊏 ease of checking in/out, placing the reservation and resolving unexpected problems;
䊏 large amount of space – big rooms, “homely” feel of the accommodation;
䊏 authentic local experience; and
䊏 the opportunity to stay in a non-touristic, residential neighborhood.
Moreover, discriminant analysis was conducted to evaluate the prediction of group
membership by the predictors derived from the factor analysis. The summary of the cross
validation classification derived by the quadratic discriminant analysis is shown in Table V.
Thus, the six key factors that affect Greek tourists in using digital marketing applications
related to peer-to-peer rental services within the sharing economy in the tourism sector
could accurately predict and discriminate consumers’ group membership.
Therefore, Ho1 may be rejected.

3.2 Profiling each group of tourists according to their demographic characteristics

A chi-square analysis was performed for each group of tourists to develop their profile
regarding their demographic characteristics. As Table VI indicates, pioneers are mainly

Table V Summary of classification with cross – validation

Predicted classification
Actual classification Pioneers Convenience seekers Conscious

Pioneers 31 0 0
Convenience seekers 0 97 0
Conscious 0 10 41
Total N 31 107 41
N correct 31 97 41
Proportion 100% 91% 100%
Number of hotels (n = 179) N correct = 169 Proportion Correct = 95%

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 Table VI Profiling each group of tourists according to their demographic characteristics
Demographic characteristics Pioneers (%) Convenience seekers (%) Conscious (%)

Age x2 = 138.522 p < 0.001

<18 years old 15.3 5.0 17
18-30 years old 55.7 60.1 23.0
31-45 years old 25.2 29.7 28.4
46-60 years old 3.8 4.2 26.4
>60 years old 0.0 1.0 5.2
Gender x2 = 43.134 p < 0.001
Male 85 39.3 76.6
Female 15 60.7 17.3
Occupation x2 = 97.435 p < 0.001
Private employee 22.1 19.6 44.2
Civil servant 15.1 48.7 33.3
Free licensed 42.2 23.0 18.9
Retiree 5.3 7.8 2.4
Student 14.8 9.3 0.6
Unemployment 0.5 1.6 0.0
Education x2 = 49.030 p < 0.001
Primary School Secondary School 7.2 5.2 4.1
High School 57.8 35.0 20.3
University Degree 26.7 49.5 51.2
Postgraduate Degree 8.3 10.3 24.4
Family income x2 = 71.623 p < 0.001
<9,000 euro 30.3 5.2 4.7
9,001-15,000 euro 25.3 29.9 48.8
15,001-23,000 euro 7.1 45.3 21.8
>23,001 euro 35.3 19.6 24.4

men, 18-30 years old, have attended high school, are free licensed and have a family
income of >e23,000. However, convenience seekers are mainly women, 18-30 years old,
have an undergraduate degree, are civil servants and have a family income of e15,001-
e23,000. Finally, conscious tourists are mainly male, 31-45 years old, have an
undergraduate degree, are private employees and have a family income of e9,001-e15,000.
Therefore, Ho2 may be rejected.

3.3 Profiling of each group of tourists according to their preferences regarding their
holidays/travel
A chi-square analysis was conducted for each consumer group to explore the association
between tourists’ attitudes towards the adoption of digital marketing application related to
peer-to-peer rental services within sharing economy in tourism sector and their preferences
regarding their holidays/travel. As Table VII indicates, the vast majority of tourists from all
the identified in this study groups use digital marketing application related to peer-to-peer
rental services within sharing economy in the tourism sector when they travel for holidays.
Most pioneers have holidays for 2-3 nights, spend <e500 for their holidays, prefer to rent a
private bedroom through these applications and travel with friends. The majority of the
convenience seekers spend 4-7 nights for holidays, prefer to stay in a private bedroom,
have a holiday budget between e1,001 and e2,000 and travel with friends. However, most
conscious tourists have holidays for >7 days, spend between e501 and e1,000, rent the
entire place and travel with families.
Therefore, Ho3 may be rejected.

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 Table VII Profiling of each group of tourists according to their preferences regarding their
holidays/travel
Demographic characteristics Pioneers (%) Convenience seekers (%) Conscious (%)

Aim of the trip x2=18.343 p < 0.001

Business 25.2 10.3 19.4
Holidays 70.5 79.4 75.6
Visiting Relatives 4.3 29.7 5.0
Duration of trip x2= 54.434 p < 0.001
1 night 7.7 10.3 8.8
2-3 nights 60.3 29.9 40.0
4-7 nights 6.8 39.3 5.0
>7 nights 25.2 20.6 46.2
Annual expenses for holidays x2 = 128.552 p < 0.001
<500 e 74.7 30.8 18.1
501-1000e 15.1 30.8 70.3
1001-2000e 10.0 38.3 11.6
Type of preferred accommodation x2 = 128.552 p < 0.001
Entire place (house, apartment 32.3 40.2 70.1
Private Bedroom 65.4 49.5 24.4
Shared space 2.3 10.3 5.5
Type of other co-travellers x2 = 40.925 p < 0.001
Alone 7.2 10.3 28.8
Family members 32.3 40.2 46.8
Friends 60.5 49.5 24.4

4. Conclusions
The results of this study contribute significantly to the understanding of tourists’ behavior
toward the adoption of digital marketing application related to peer-to-peer rental services
within the sharing economy in the tourism sector.
Factors including unique and local authenticity, functional rights, novelty, sharing
economic ethos, low cost and convenience influence tourists to use digital applications
such as Airbnb. Hence, this study supported the findings of other researchers
presented in the literature review (Nowak et al., 2015; Tussyadiah, 2015; Quinby and
Gasdia, 2014; Lamb, 2011; Nowak et al., 2015; Tussyadiah and Pesonen, 2016;
Guttentag et al., 2018; PwC, 2015). This study also classified tourists into three groups,
i.e. pioneers, convenience seekers and conscious, according to their attitudes toward
the use of such applications.
Moreover, tourists’ age, gender and educational level and occupation, the aim and
duration of their trip, their annual expenses for holidays, type of preferred
accommodation and the type of other co-travelers have a significant impact on the
adoption of marketing application related to peer-to-peer rental services within the
sharing economy the in tourism sector.
In particular, pioneers are primarily men, 18-30 years old, have attended high school,
are free licensed, and have family income of >e23,000; they mainly travel for holidays
for 2-3 nights, spend <e500, prefer to rent a private bedroom through these
applications and travelling with friends. However, convenience seekers are primarily
women, 18-30 years old, have an undergraduate degree, are civil servants and have a
family income of e15,001-e23,000; their trips are primarily holidays of 4-7 nights, they
prefer to stay in a private bedroom, they have a holiday budget between e1,001 and
2,000 and they travel with friends. Finally, conscious tourists are mainly male,

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31-45 years old, have an undergraduate degree, are private employees and have a
family income of e9,001-e15,000; they have holidays for >7 days, they spend between
e501 and e1,000, rent the entire place and travel with families.
Although marketing applications related to peer-to-peer rental services within the
sharing economy in the tourism sector are not widely available in the Greek market,
scientifically based information on the anticipated purchasing behaviour of Greek
tourists is extremely important both for developers and policymakers. For the
developers such information is important because the expectation of viable markets will
motivate investments. For policy makers, this type of information will help them to
respond more adequately through regulation tools and programs. In this respect, the
empirical results of this pioneering study should trigger further investigation, both in
Greece and other parts of Europe whose economies suffered from economic
depression during the last decade with these forming a significant source of income for
their local economy.
However, because tourists’ behavior toward the adoption of digital marketing
application related to peer-to-peer rental services within the sharing economy in
the tourism sector might be culturally specific, the results are mainly applicable in
the Greek market. It is questionable whether they can be generalized to other countries
and similar studies have to be conducted to validate the insights obtained here.
However, the results offer significantly contribution to the literature on such digital
applications.
By understanding customer’s behavior and especially customer’s information behavior can
help industrial managers to develop, optimize and customize their websites to meet the
needs of their customers (Ha and Love, 2005). Internet has become one of the most
important sources of customers’ information, especially for young and better educated
customers.
Airbnb may actually benefit the entire tourism industry because visitors who choose
Airbnb accommodations spend more days for travelling (Airbnb, 2014). Consequently,
the market size of the tourism industry expands from the increase in the number of
visitors. For example, more restaurants are required to satisfy the increase in food
demand brought by the tourist influx. Hence, employment opportunities in the tourism
industry are provided to unemployed residents. However, the entry of Airbnb affects
the low-end hotels because they are replaced by Airbnb (Zervas et al., 2017) because
room owners do not need to employ workers and the social unemployment rate may
increase because of the closure of such low-end hotels. Therefore, the marginal effect
of Airbnb decreases along with the replacement of low-end hotels. Based on the
aforementioned points, whether Airbnb will benefit the tourism industry remains an
open question.
The last two insights are very helpful for managers, i.e. development, optimization and
customization of websites according to the needs of the customers and the extension of
touristic activities to other sectors of tourism industry.
However, because sites such as Airbnb have negative points, the governments must
formulate policies that will allow its entry in stages to ensure that the society will be
benefited. If the governments lose control over sharing economy rental services, then the
resulting drawbacks will negatively affect the society.
It is interesting to conduct a similar study to the other side of sharing economy
participants, i.e. the sellers. Previous studies by PwC (2015), Rossa and Moffat (2015)
and Nielsen (2014) present that the sellers come from all sections of society, although
the latter study revealed that more people are willing to participate in the sharing
economy in Asia, Africa and Latin America than in Europe and North America.

VOL. 13 NO. 4 2019 j INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH j PAGE 483
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Corresponding author
Stavros Valsamidis can be contacted at: svalsam@teikav.edu.gr

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