Location-Oriented Knowledge Management in a Tourism Context: Connecting Virtual Communities to Physical Locations

Virtual communities have shown to be rich sources of knowledge if community members are sharing what they know. A look at virtual communities related to traveling in Australia suggests that often members are more than happy to share what they know about certain locations. In this paper, we outline, from a Location-oriented Knowledge Management (LoKM) perspective, the steps necessary to connect virtual communities to physical locations (and travelers exploring these locations). We will argue that this connection exceeds connections established by traditional web sites, such as privately operated sites or commercial travel guide-sites. We also highlight benefits for individual travelers, virtual communities and last but not least local businesses and other organizations.