Using Social Media in Tourist Sentiment Analysis: A Case Study of Andalusia during the Covid-19 Pandemic

David Flores-Ruiz, Adolfo Elizondo-Salto and María de la O. Barroso-González
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David Flores-Ruiz: Research Center of Contemporary Thinking and Innovation for Social Development, University of Huelva, 21017 Huelva, Spain
Adolfo Elizondo-Salto: Department of Economy, University of Huelva, 21071 Huelva, Spain
María de la O. Barroso-González: Research Center of Contemporary Thinking and Innovation for Social Development, University of Huelva, 21017 Huelva, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-19

Abstract: This paper explores the role of social media in tourist sentiment analysis. To do this, it describes previous studies that have carried out tourist sentiment analysis using social media data, before analyzing changes in tourists’ sentiments and behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the case study, which focuses on Andalusia, the changes experienced by the tourism sector in the southern Spanish region as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic are assessed using the Andalusian Tourism Situation Survey (ECTA). This information is then compared with data obtained from a sentiment analysis based on the social network Twitter. On the basis of this comparative analysis, the paper concludes that it is possible to identify and classify tourists’ perceptions using sentiment analysis on a mass scale with the help of statistical software ( RStudio and Knime). The sentiment analysis using Twitter data correlates with and is supplemented by information from the ECTA survey, with both analyses showing that tourists placed greater value on safety and preferred to travel individually to nearby, less crowded destinations since the pandemic began. Of the two analytical tools, sentiment analysis can be carried out on social media on a continuous basis and offers cost savings.

Keywords: tourist behaviour; COVID-19; Twitter; Andalusia; text mining; KNIME; RStudio (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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