Negative WOM of Generation Z in tourism

Users can have different experiences when using tourism services. The biggest problem for companies and other potential tourists is a negative experience that arises from an unmet need. It can be shared publicly via social media, privately in the form of negative word-of-mouth to family or friends, or by taking no action. Due to the increasing use of the Internet, users today feel much less discomfort when expressing their negative experiences. It can be observed that negative experiences are significantly caused by negative emotions that arise from unmet needs. In expressing their dissatisfaction, the greatest importance is attributed to Generation Z as the leading generation in the development of tourism. Their main advantage is reflected in the fact that they are young people who spend their daily lives in an online environment where they actively search for information. As they are characterized by high levels of family travel planning and a constant need for entertainment, the company‘s primary goal should be to eliminate dissatisfaction by providing high-quality services in line with user expectations. To understand how Generation Z users express their complaint behavior and whether they decide to share negative WOM, a study was conducted in the Republic of Serbia using the Pearson correlation test. The results obtained indicated that dissatisfied users express their complaint behavior by sharing negative recommendations both through websites and forums or directly to people in their close environment. The results of the conducted study may be a significant foundation for future research on the complaint behavior of Generation Z in tourism, especially if the sample is expanded to a larger number of respondents and research is conducted beyond the borders of the Republic of Serbia.