Ditch your Lonely Planet guidebooks and logon on to TripAdvisor. That’s what 70% of the folks surveyed and referenced in this article say they do. (The article doesn’t tell me much about the survey participants so take this for what it’s worth.) I still find the guidebooks useful when I’m walking around a city, but like many people, I plan my trips online first. My husband and I used TripAdvisor to find hotels and activities in Italy for our honeymoon, and recently used it to plan a trip to New Mexico. We’re big fans. TripAdvisor features user reviews on accommodations, activities, and restaurants. User reviews are the online equivalent of word-of-mouth. And word-of-mouth remains one of the most powerful marketing tools.
Businesses have caught on. We’ve been asked by hotels we stayed at to post our reviews on TripAdvisor. Super smart marketing.
Read the article here: Travellers’ internet tips proving a hotter destination than popular guidebooks – WalesOnline