Netnographic tourist research: the internet as a virtual fieldwork site

The Internet is emerging as a valuable fieldwork site for researching tourist experiences. This article argues that netnography, a web-based research technique developed by Robert Kozinets, could become more useful in tourism research as the Internet is increasingly normalized as part of everyday lifestyle. However, so far, in the field of tourism research, very few researchers have embraced netnographic techniques as alternatives or complements to traditional fieldwork methods such as face-to-face interviews and surveys. The article also considers the merits, opportunities, and challenges of netnographic tourism research, and provides suggestions for further study.