An analysis of the existing literature has demonstrated the importance of word of
mouth as a source of information for potential tourists and service consumers. The
growth of the Internet and interactive websites has lead to the creation of online
communities that serve as points of reference for word of mouth and in particular
for independent, personal and experiential information. Recent articles have noted
the growing interest of tourism companies and destinations to include UGC areas
in their official websites to provide their users with these types of information and
interactivity among each others. However, so far little research has been performed
on the success factors of online communities. This paper wants to create a platform
for further research on the topic. If destinations want to boost visits to their
websites through UGS areas and create a “buzz” through positive word of mouth,
it is necessary to know the correct ingredients for success. Some of these
ingredients have been discovered through a netnographic analysis of an Italian
virtual mountaineering community. The analysis has shown that some of the most
important issues when creating online communities are the reliability of
information, the ease of finding information and creating threads and posts, the
constant appearance of interesting threads and discussions, the respect for other
members, the passion of all of the active users for the same topics and a certain
homogeneity within the users.