Travel Virtual Community The Conduct Of Members Of The Travel Decision-making

Independent travel has become a new popular way of traveling along the coming of Information Era, which gives rise to the emerging of a new functional part within travel industry called Online Travel Community. Online travel community has been considered central to models of Internet marketing and electronic commerce in the travel industry. But not so many companies and travelers participate in Online Travel Community now, therefore how to develop online travel community in China is really a problem worthy of discussing.The successful operation of an online travel community depends on the understanding of member's behaviors in the online travel community. The purpose of this article is to: (a) identify factors that affect the community member's behaviors; (b) determine if the behaviors in an online travel community would lead members to purchase products or travel together; and (c) investigate the process of traveling together among groups of online travel community members. Based upon the core characteristics of virtual communities and the fundamental needs of community members, this study evaluates an integrated model of an online travel community using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Finally, conclusions about traveling together among groups of online travel community members are drew from case analysis.The results of the study indicate that participation in the online travel community is driven mainly by psychological and functional benefits, while level of active interaction can be explained by three related sense of online virtual community: influence and relatedness, shared emotional connection, and membership. Implications for the development of a dynamic and sustainable online travel community are discussed from marketing and design perspectives.