Tourists versus locals: How bias affects online customer ratings

By J. N. Halm

So just as expected, the Ishowspeed Africa Tour just sped through Ghana, and Africa, and is finally done and dusted. 20 countries. 28 days. For the past few weeks, this 21-year-old Internet sensation held our attention as he moved from one country to another. If we are to take the word of those who actually followed every stream, then without a doubt, Ghana’s experience topped all.

However, as I watched the reviews online about the experiences in different countries, and foreigners waxing all lyrical about Ghana and the other countries, one question kept coming to mind. Were these tourists using the same marking scheme that locals use in evaluating service quality? For instance, would a 21-year-old Ghanaian, born and raised in Dansoman, who has the money to spend, have the same experience Ishowspeed had at Hamamat’s Shea Butter village?

In the age of digital connectivity, online ratings have become the new word-of-mouth. Before we book a hotel, purchase a product, or decide where to dine, many of us instinctively reach for our smartphones to check what others are saying. These ratings, generated by millions of users worldwide, have become invaluable sources of information for both businesses and consumers. However, a critical question arises: are all ratings created equal?

Many of us believe treat online ratings as if they were all the same, regardless of who generated them. We behave as if a five-star rating means the same thing whether it comes from a regular customer or a first-time visitor. However, a fascinating study published in the October 2025 edition of the Information Systems Research journal challenges this assumption. The researchers discovered something quite intriguing: tourists and locals do not rate restaurants the same way. The study was titled, “Why Is the Grass Always Greener on the Other Side? Tourist Bias in Online Restaurant Ratings”.

The study, which examined data from an online review platform for restaurants, found that tourists exhibit an upward bias in their restaurant ratings. More specifically, the findings revealed that a consumer as a tourist is at least 13.4% more likely than as a local to give a higher rating to a restaurant. This is not a marginal difference. It is significant enough to potentially distort the overall picture that online ratings present.

It is important to note that this discovery raises several critical questions. Why would tourists rate restaurants more favourably than locals? What factors contribute to this upward bias? And perhaps most importantly, what does this mean for businesses relying on online ratings and for consumers who depend on them to make informed decisions?

The researchers conducted an extensive investigation to understand the mechanisms underlying this tourist bias. They analysed the phenomenon at multiple levels, examining data from the reviewer level, restaurant level, cuisine level, and even city level. Through this comprehensive approach, they were able to identify several factors that contribute to the bias.

One of the key findings relates to what the researchers described as a change in focus. When individuals dine out as tourists, their attention shifts from certain practical considerations to more experiential ones. Locals tend to focus on factors such as location convenience, cooking quality, and price. These are the bread-and-butter concerns of someone who might return to the same restaurant multiple times. However, tourists approach the dining experience differently. Their focus shifts toward service quality, the restaurant environment, and the emotions they experience during their visit.

This shift in focus is not merely academic. It has real implications for how restaurants are perceived and rated. A tourist on holiday is more likely to be impressed by attentive service and an attractive ambience because these elements contribute to the overall vacation experience. The same tourist might overlook slightly higher prices or minor inconsistencies in food quality that would bother a local who visits regularly.

Additionally, the study found that tourists change their evaluation process. Locals tend to evaluate restaurants more cognitively, weighing various factors rationally and critically. Tourists, on the other hand, tend to evaluate restaurants more affectively, meaning their assessments are more influenced by feelings and emotions. When someone is on vacation, they are generally in a more positive state of mind. They are away from the daily grind, exploring new places, and seeking enjoyment. This emotional context colours their perception of the dining experience.

The researchers also examined other factors such as restaurant price levels, service quality, environmental factors, and cuisine authenticity. They even looked at differences between cities of various sizes to determine if the tourist bias was consistent across different contexts. The consistency of their findings across these various dimensions strengthens the conclusion that tourist bias in online ratings is a real and measurable phenomenon.

It is worth considering what this means for the restaurant industry and for consumers who rely on online ratings. For restaurant owners and managers, understanding tourist bias can be both an opportunity and a challenge. On one hand, if a restaurant caters primarily to tourists, the upward bias might work in its favour, potentially inflating its overall rating. On the other hand, if the restaurant serves a mixed clientele of both tourists and locals, the bias could create a misleading impression.

From a customer experience perspective, this finding underscores the importance of understanding who is generating the ratings one reads. A restaurant with an overwhelmingly positive rating from tourists might not necessarily provide the same experience for a local who will judge it by different standards. Similarly, a restaurant with more critical reviews from locals might actually be excellent but is being held to higher standards by regular patrons who know what the establishment is capable of delivering.

The implications extend beyond just restaurants. Online review platforms that aggregate ratings might need to reconsider how they present this information. Should there be separate ratings for tourists and locals? Should the platform provide context about who is leaving reviews? These are questions that platforms must grapple with as they strive to provide accurate and useful information to their users.

For consumers, the key takeaway is to approach online ratings with a more discerning eye. Rather than simply looking at the overall star rating, it helps to read through the reviews and try to understand the perspective of the reviewer. Was the person a tourist or a local? What were they looking for in their dining experience? Did their priorities align with yours? These contextual factors can make a significant difference in how useful a particular review is to your decision-making process.

The study also highlights a broader truth about human behaviour and perception. Our judgments are never entirely objective. They are always influenced by our circumstances, our emotional state, and our expectations. A tourist experiencing a city for the first time brings a completely different set of expectations and emotions to a restaurant than a local who has lived in the city for years. Neither perspective is wrong; they are simply different.

The truth is that understanding these differences is crucial for anyone in the service industry. Whether one operates a restaurant, hotel, or any other customer-facing business, recognising that different types of customers evaluate experiences differently can inform everything from marketing strategies to service delivery approaches. A business that primarily serves tourists might want to emphasise ambience and service quality, knowing these factors resonate more strongly with that demographic. Conversely, a business catering to locals might focus more on consistency, value, and convenience.

From a practical standpoint, online review platforms have an opportunity to enhance their value by providing more context around ratings. Product retailers and service providers can benefit from understanding that not all five-star ratings represent the same level of satisfaction or the same likelihood of repeat business. A glowing review from a tourist might indicate a memorable experience, but it does not necessarily predict that the same person would return if they lived locally.

The phenomenon of tourist bias in online ratings reminds us that perception is reality in the service business. How a customer perceives an experience matters more than any objective measure of quality. However, it also reminds us that perceptions are shaped by context. The grass might appear greener on the other side not because it actually is, but because we are looking at it through the rose-tinted glasses of a tourist mindset.

In conclusion, the discovery of upward tourist bias in online restaurant ratings is more than just an academic curiosity. It has real implications for how businesses understand their reputations, how platforms present information, and how consumers make decisions. By recognising that tourists and locals bring fundamentally different perspectives to their dining experiences, we can all become more sophisticated in how we generate, present, and interpret online ratings. The key is not to dismiss tourist ratings as invalid, nor to assume that local ratings are always more accurate. Rather, it is to understand that both perspectives offer valuable but different insights. For businesses striving to deliver exceptional customer experiences, understanding these differences is not optional. It is essential.

With this in mind, should those who prepared that jollof that failed to impress Ishowspeed be worried? Or was it the tourist bias at work?

 

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