The Role of Guidebooks for Independent Tourism from Foreign Tourists’ Perspective

Abstract

The increasing number of independent travelers has caused an urgent need to provide accurate and reliable information in order to plan vacations. People who intend to travel personally, always face problems in searching and obtaining useful information about the destination they visit. In this regard, especially potential tourists need information that can minimize the risk associated with the use of services. However, people's criteria, beliefs and inclinations have an effect on the level and type of information they need and therefore can affect the level and type of information searched by them. The purpose of this research is to examine the information needed by independent travelers. This study examines the information needs of independent travelers at the destination, with a special focus on guidebooks. The nature of this research is quantitative and the data were analyzed using Z and UMann-Whitney tests. The results of the present research show that travel manuals are one of the important sources of information and a suitable auxiliary tool in order to reduce the risks associated with independent trips.