Exploring the Effects of Electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) Marketing of Travel Agencies to the Buying Behavior of Leisure Travelers in Laguna

The advancement and popularity of the internet have resulted in a rapid shift from traditiona lword of mouth to electronic word-of-mouth, particularly in the tourism industry. The current paper attempted to explore the effects of e-WOM marketing of travel agencies on the buying behavior of leisure travelers. Similarly, determine the psychographic profile, the purpose of conducting consumer reviews and ratings, and their buying behavior. Finally, this aimed to determine the significant relationship between travelers’ purpose of conducting consumer reviews and ratings to their buying behavior when grouped according to psychographic profile. The researchers used a descriptive-correlational method with a sample of 134 respondents coming from cities and municipalities within Laguna. The findings indicate that social benefits, self-enhancement, concern for others, and economic incentives positively affect the consumers’ buying behavior. Significant relationships were also found between the purpose of conducting consumer reviews and ratings and leisure travelers’ buying behavior. Posting reviews and ratings has a direct impact on the buying behavior of leisure travelers. Generally, the proposed primary eWOM framework may be used by the travel agencies and tourism marketers to curate the needs and wants of the leisure travelers to improve their services; thus creating a positive eWOM..

Keywords: Consumer behavior, Electronic word of mouth, Tourism marketing.