Abstract
This study identifies the factors affecting perceived usefulness of online consumer reviews by investigating two aspects of online information: (1) the characteristics of review providers such as the disclosure of personal identity, reviewer’s expertise and reputation, and (2) reviews themselves including quantitative (i.e., star ratings and elaborateness of reviews) and qualitative measurements (i.e., perceived enjoyment and readability of reviews). The results reveal that a combination of both messenger and message characteristics have positive influences on the perceived usefulness of reviews. In particular, qualitative aspects of reviews were identified as the most important elements that make the travel reviews useful. The implications of these findings contribute to tourism marketers to develop more effective social media marketing.