social media in the tourism industry

Why social media is a must-have marketing channel for tour operators

By Kevin Tjoe — 28 Feb 2022

marketing strategies   social media   tourism marketing

Updated April 2023 – Could #hashtags help grow your guest list? 

Can TikTok really boost your travel bookings?

If you’re running tours or activities in the tourism industry, chances are you’re maintaining a social media presence too. That’s because it’s the place to be found. 4.55 billion people now use social media actively, and as a population, we spend a surprising 15% of our waking hours scrolling our social feeds. That popularity translates into more bookings for many tourism businesses. 

Let’s explore the role of social media in tourism marketing at key points in the customer journey – and how you can use it to maximize your reach and impact.  

How does social media influence tourism?

The importance of social media in the tourism industry cannot be overstated. Social media and tourism pair beautifully together, because they both focus on sharing experiences. 

As highlighted by global tourism industry statistics , social media’s impact on tourism can be particularly potent for younger demographics. 46% of Generation Z travelers say Instagram influences their travel decisions, with 50% also taking cues from Facebook posts. Millennials are just as receptive to social media, with 51% saying their travel decisions are influenced or inspired by Facebook interactions. Given that Millennials alone make up 31.5% of the global population, that can be a massive share of your market you can easily and affordably reach!

So, what exactly is the role of social media in tourism marketing and at which points in the customer journey can social media have an effect?

Building awareness & providing inspiration

Those social posts about lounging over the water in the Maldives, camping at Yosemite or going on safari in Tanzania? They all inspire wanderlust and raise awareness of those unique places in the world.  Destination marketing can be just as important as promoting your specific products or services when it comes to the phenomenal impact of social media on tourism. As a result, effective social media marketing might not focus solely on inspirational content about your tours or activities but also highlight the truly amazing aspects of your special corner of the world.

Assisting with travel planning

Helping would-be guests dream about travel is a great outcome, but converting that interest to action is key for your business. Social media can be a powerful place to help customers form travel plans and solidify their travel dates. 

To encourage these positive social media effects on a tourism business, you could: 

• Post quick up-to-date videos on the best times of year to book
• Discuss any exciting events coming up in the area, and 
• Share useful tips about travel to your location

Easing the booking process

Now to convert that travel intent into active bookings. Online bookings can originate from a variety of sources – from Instagram, to big Online Travel Agents (OTAs) – so it helps to direct traffic to your own dedicated booking website or online tour scheduling software .

It’s so important that you have a secure, seamless online booking process available to capture interest from any location at any time of day. It’s also important that resellers and online travel agents can see live availability and make real-time reservations for your tours or activities, so you’ll be able to capture every ounce of that online interest.

Sharing experiences

The importance of social media in the tourism industry becomes crystal clear when you consider the way people love to share and recount their tourism experiences online. Social posts can be an incredibly important source of social proof, and a post from friends or family could be enough to inspire that next getaway. This is why it’s vital to follow up on your guest experiences with automated review requests for your website, social pages, or TripAdvisor. 

Benefits of social media marketing for tour operators

As a tour operator, you know the importance of reaching new customers and keeping existing ones engaged. Social media marketing can help you achieve both of these goals and much more.

In this section, we’ll explore some of the key benefits of social media marketing for tour operators.

Enhanced brand awareness

As a tour operator, social media marketing is an effective way to increase brand awareness. By creating and maintaining an active social media presence, tour operators can reach a wider audience and increase their visibility in the market. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn allow tour operators to showcase their products and services, share customer feedback and reviews, and create engaging content that appeals to their target audience. You can also play around with Instagram stories to show the more human side of your brand. Schedule Instagram stories to come out during peak hours when your audience is online.

By regularly posting high-quality content and interacting with followers, tour operators can build a strong online community and establish their brand as a trusted authority in the industry. This can lead to increased bookings, as customers are more likely to choose a tour operator with a recognizable brand and positive online reputation.

Increased customer engagement

Social media marketing can be a powerful tool for tour operators to increase customer engagement. By regularly posting relevant and interesting content, responding to comments and messages, and actively participating in online conversations, tour operators can create a sense of community with their customers. This engagement can lead to increased customer loyalty and advocacy, as customers feel more connected to the brand and are more likely to recommend the tour operator to others.

Targeted and relevant ads

Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram allow tour operators to create targeted and relevant advertisements that reach potential customers who are interested in their products or services. These ads can be based on a user’s interests, demographics, behavior, and more, ensuring that they are delivered to the right audience at the right time. This level of customization and targeting helps tour operators to maximize their advertising spend and improve their ROI by reaching people who are most likely to convert into paying customers. Additionally, social media platforms offer valuable analytics and reporting tools that allow tour operators to track the performance of their ads and make data-driven decisions about their marketing strategies.

Cost-effective marketing campaigns

One of the biggest online marketing challenges tour operators face is managing their marketing budget effectively. Social media marketing provides a cost-effective solution by allowing tour operators to reach a large audience with minimal spending. Compared to traditional advertising channels like print or TV, social media platforms offer much lower costs per impression or click, allowing tour operators to stretch their marketing dollars further.

On a similar note, social media platforms offer a range of advertising options to suit different budgets and objectives, from simple boosted posts to more advanced targeting options like custom audiences and lookalike audiences. By leveraging social media marketing, tour operators can maximize their reach and engagement while keeping their advertising costs under control. 

Social media tactics to reach customers and get more bookings

Social media is an essential marketing channel for tour operators who want to reach new customers and increase bookings. However, with so many social media platforms and marketing tactics available, it can be challenging to know where to start. 

Whether you’re just getting started with social media marketing or looking to take your campaigns to the next level, these tips and tricks will help you succeed. And if you’re looking for even more tour operator marketing ideas, you can check out more tour operator marketing ideas here.

• Share high-quality photos and videos of your tours and activities to showcase your offerings and entice potential customers
• Keep your Facebook page updated with fresh content and engage with your followers through comments and messages
• Use Facebook Ads to target specific audiences based on interests, demographics, and behaviors, and drive traffic to your website or booking page
• Join relevant Facebook groups for travelers, adventure enthusiasts, or people interested in your destination to promote your tours and interact with potential customers
• Utilize Facebook Events to promote upcoming tours and activities, and encourage followers to RSVP and share with their friends and networks.

• Share visually stunning photos and videos of your tours and activities to showcase your offerings and capture the attention of potential customers
• Use Instagram Stories to provide a behind-the-scenes look at your business and create a sense of exclusivity and urgency for potential customers
• Utilize Instagram Reels to create short, engaging videos that highlight the unique experiences and adventures you offer
• Collaborate with influencers or micro-influencers who have a following that aligns with your target audience, and have them showcase your tours and activities on their Instagram accounts
• Use relevant hashtags to increase your reach and attract potential customers who are searching for content related to your destination or activities
• Engage with your followers and potential customers by responding to comments and direct messages, and by following and engaging with relevant accounts in your industry

You can check out these great examples of tour operator Instagram pages for more inspiration.

• Share updates and news about your tours and activities on Twitter to keep your followers and potential customers informed and engaged
• Use relevant hashtags to increase the reach of your tweets and attract potential customers who are searching for content related to your destination or activities
• Monitor and respond to customer questions and comments on Twitter to provide excellent customer service and build a positive reputation for your business
• Retweet and engage with other relevant accounts in the tourism industry to build relationships and increase your visibility within the community
• Create high-quality videos showcasing your tours and activities, and upload them to YouTube to provide potential customers with a virtual tour and entice them to book
• Use targeted YouTube Ads to reach potential customers who are interested in your destination or activities, and drive traffic to your website or booking page
• Collaborate with relevant YouTubers or influencers to showcase your tours and activities to their audience and expand your reach
• Create virtual tours of your destination or activities to provide potential customers with an immersive and engaging experience, even before they book
• Utilize YouTube’s analytics tools to track views and engagement metrics and adjust your content and advertising strategies accordingly
• Create inspiring travel boards on Pinterest that showcase your destination and the experiences and activities that you offer
• Use relevant keywords in your board titles, descriptions, and pins to increase visibility and attract potential customers who are searching for content related to your destination or activities
• Collaborate with relevant influencers or travel bloggers to feature your destination or activities on their boards and increase your reach
• Include a “book now” call-to-action on your pins to drive traffic to your website or booking page

• Create short, engaging videos showcasing your destination and the experiences and activities that you offer on TikTok
• Participate in trending challenges and use popular hashtags to increase the reach of your videos and attract potential customers who are searching for content related to your destination or activities
• Use TikTok Ads to target specific audiences based on interests, demographics, and behaviors, and drive traffic to your website or booking page
• Collaborate with relevant TikTok influencers or micro-influencers to feature your destination or activities in their videos and increase your reach

Key takeaways

In today’s digital age, social media has become a crucial component of any tourism business’s marketing strategy. By leveraging the power of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest, tour operators can effectively promote their destination and activities, reach new customers, and increase bookings. From creating visually stunning content to engaging with followers and collaborating with influencers, there are countless ways that tour operators can use social media to drive business success.

Simply put, prioritizing social media marketing can be a key element of a business’s overall marketing strategy, tour operators can position themselves for success in the competitive tourism industry.

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The Role of Social Media in Tourism Marketing

Last updated on: December 7, 2023

Social media has revolutionized the way we travel and experience the world. Imagine this: You’re scrolling through your feed, and there it is – a breathtaking photo of a serene beach or a lively cityscape, instantly transporting you to a place you’ve never been. That’s the magic of social media advertising in tourism marketing. It’s not just about stunning images and catchy hashtag, it’s a dynamic platform that bridges the gap between dream destinations and eager travelers. 

From influencer collaborations to user-generated content, social media is reshaping how we discover, plan, and share our travel adventures. So, let’s embark on a journey to explore how these digital platforms are not just selling trips, but crafting experiences and memories that last a lifetime. Welcome to the intersection of wanderlust and the digital age!

Table of Contents

The Impact of Social Media on Tourism Marketing

The transformative effect that social media platforms have had on the way tourism destinations and services are marketed and experienced by consumers. This impact can be examined through several key aspects:

Enhanced Customer Engagement and Reach: Social media platforms provide tourism marketers with tools to engage directly with a global audience. Unlike traditional marketing methods, which were often one-way and region-specific, social media allows for two-way communication. This interaction fosters a more personalized connection with potential tourists. For instance, tourism boards and businesses can respond directly to inquiries, share updates, and gather feedback in real time.

Influence on Travel Decisions: Social media has become a crucial part of the decision-making process for travelers. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest are often where potential tourists seek inspiration and information. Photos, reviews, and travel stories shared on these platforms can significantly influence where people choose to travel. For example, a destination that frequently appears in Instagram posts can see a rise in popularity, sometimes called the “Instagram effect.”

Shift in Marketing Strategies: With the rise of social media, tourism marketing strategies have shifted from traditional advertising (like magazine ads and TV commercials) to content marketing and storytelling on social platforms. This involves creating engaging, shareable content that showcases a destination’s attractions, culture, and experiences. The goal is to create content that resonates with users, encouraging them to share it within their networks, thereby amplifying its reach.

Role of User-Generated Content: User-generated content , such as reviews on TripAdvisor or personal travel blogs, plays a significant role in shaping the image of a destination. Positive reviews and authentic travel stories shared by tourists can enhance a destination’s reputation, while negative experiences can have the opposite effect. Tourism marketers often encourage the sharing of user experiences to leverage word-of-mouth marketing.

Real-Time Marketing Opportunities: Social media enables real-time marketing, allowing tourism marketers to capitalize on current trends, events, or discussions. For instance, if a destination becomes popular due to a viral video or a celebrity visit, marketers can immediately use this buzz to promote the destination.

Measurable Impact and Data-Driven Strategies: Social media platforms offer extensive data analytics tools, allowing marketers to measure the impact of their campaigns, understand audience preferences, and tailor their strategies accordingly. This data-driven approach helps in making informed decisions and optimizing marketing efforts for better results.

Influencer Collaborations: Collaborating with influencers and travel bloggers who have a substantial following on social media has become a popular strategy. These influencers can offer authentic and relatable content to their followers, providing destinations with access to a targeted audience.

Key Social Media Platforms in Indian Tourism Marketing

The use of social media in the travel industry has transformed how destinations are marketed and perceived by potential travelers. Here’s an elaboration on how various platforms contribute to this dynamic field:

Facebook in Tourism Marketing

Facebook stands as a cornerstone in promoting tourism through social media. Its vast user base and sophisticated targeting options allow tourism marketers to reach a diverse audience. In India, where Facebook usage is widespread, tourism boards and companies use this platform to share engaging content, from stunning visuals of destinations to informative posts about local culture and festivals. The ability to create events, run targeted ads, and interact directly with users through comments and messages makes Facebook a valuable tool in the social media marketing for the travel industry.

Instagram as a Visual Storyteller

When it comes to the role of social media in promoting tourism, Instagram’s impact is undeniable. With its focus on visuals, Instagram is perfect for showcasing the beauty and diversity of Indian destinations. Tourism marketers leverage Instagram to post breathtaking images and videos, from the serene backwaters of Kerala to the vibrant streets of Jaipur. Hashtags and location tags enhance discoverability, while Instagram Stories and Reels offer dynamic ways to engage with audiences. Influencer collaborations further amplify reach, as travelers often seek inspiration from popular travel influencers.

Twitter for Real-Time Engagement

Twitter’s fast-paced nature makes it ideal for real-time engagement and information dissemination in the social media marketing in the tourism industry. Tourism boards and businesses use Twitter to post updates, engage in trending conversations, and provide customer service. During events or crises, Twitter becomes a crucial platform for providing timely information. The use of specific hashtags related to Indian tourism helps in segmenting the audience and engaging in relevant discussions.

YouTube – A Dynamic Showcase

YouTube advertising has emerged as a key player in social media tourism marketing. Through well-produced videos, tourism marketers can offer immersive experiences of Indian destinations. These videos range from professional documentaries highlighting cultural heritage to fun, engaging travel vlogs. YouTube also allows for longer, more detailed storytelling, which is essential in conveying the depth and richness of Indian tourism spots.

Strategies for Effective Social Media Marketing in Indian Tourism

Social media tourism marketing has become an indispensable tool. The diverse and vibrant culture, landscapes, and heritage of India offer a rich canvas for social media marketing in the tourism industry. Here’s how it can be effectively leveraged:

Creating a Compelling Narrative: The role of social media in promoting tourism is significantly enhanced when the content tells a story. For instance, the Rajasthan Tourism Department’s campaigns often focus on the historical and cultural richness of the state, weaving narratives that entice history buffs and cultural enthusiasts. This strategy helps in creating a connection with the audience, making them more likely to engage with the content and consider visiting the destination.

Utilizing Visuals and Videos: Given the visually driven nature of platforms like Instagram and YouTube, high-quality visuals and videos are essential for promoting tourism through social media. The Kerala Tourism Department, for example, effectively uses picturesque images and videos of backwaters, beaches, and cultural festivals, making it a visually appealing destination on social media platforms.

Influencer Collaborations: Influencers in the travel industry have a significant impact on their followers’ travel decisions. Collaborating with them for destination promotions can amplify reach. For instance, the Goa Tourism Department might collaborate with popular travel vloggers to showcase the beach life, nightlife, and cultural diversity of Goa, thus influencer marketing can help attract their followers to the destination.

Engaging with User-Generated Content: Encouraging tourists to share their experiences on social media and featuring their content on official tourism pages can create authenticity and trust. This approach is a key aspect of social media marketing for the travel industry, as real traveler stories are often more relatable and persuasive.

Leveraging Local Events and Festivals: Highlighting local events and festivals on social media can attract niche tourists interested in local experiences. For instance, promoting the Pushkar Camel Fair in Rajasthan or the Hornbill Festival in Nagaland can draw attention to these unique cultural experiences.

Interactive Campaigns and Hashtags: Creating interactive social media campaigns and hashtags can increase engagement and visibility. The #IncredibleIndia campaign by the Indian Tourism Department is an excellent example of a successful hashtag campaign that created a buzz and encouraged user participation.

Real-Time Updates and Information Sharing: Platforms like Twitter can be used for real-time updates, which is crucial for travel planning. Sharing information about weather conditions, festivals, or special events can be useful for tourists planning their trip.

Customer Feedback and Engagement: Actively engaging with comments, queries, and feedback on social media platforms is crucial. It not only improves customer service but also builds a community of engaged followers.

Adapting to Changing Trends: The social media landscape is continually evolving. Staying updated with the latest trends and platform features, like Instagram Reels or TikTok videos, is essential for keeping content fresh and engaging

Challenges and Solutions in Social Media Tourism Marketing

The evolution of social media tourism marketing has significantly influenced the travel industry, opening up new avenues for promoting tourism. However, it’s not without its challenges. Here’s an exploration of these challenges and the innovative solutions being adopted in the industry.

Managing Online Reputation and Misinformation

In the realm of social media marketing for the travel industry, maintaining a positive online reputation is crucial. Tourism brands must actively monitor social media channels to address misinformation and negative reviews promptly. This involves having a dedicated team to engage with customers, provide accurate information, and resolve issues quickly.

Balancing Promotional Content and Authenticity

Promoting tourism through social media requires a delicate balance between marketing and authenticity. Over-commercialized content can deter the modern traveler seeking genuine experiences. To tackle this, brands are increasingly turning to storytelling, sharing real stories and experiences of travelers. Encouraging user-generated content, where tourists share their own experiences, adds an authentic voice to the brand.

Keeping Up with Evolving Platforms and Trends

The digital landscape is ever-changing, and so is the role of social media in promoting tourism. Brands must stay abreast of the latest trends and platform updates to remain relevant. This includes experimenting with new social media features, like Instagram Reels or TikTok challenges, to engage potential tourists in novel ways.

Measuring Return on Investment (ROI)

Quantifying the success of social media marketing in the tourism industry can be complex. Tourism brands should invest in analytics tools to track engagement, conversions, and other key performance indicators. This data-driven approach helps in refining strategies and proving the value of social media marketing efforts.

The role of social media in promoting tourism is not static,  it’s a dynamic and ever-evolving aspect of the digital world that mirrors the changing preferences and behaviors of travelers. As the industry continues to innovate and adapt, social media stands as a powerful tool in the arsenal of tourism marketing, offering a pathway to connect, engage, and inspire travelers worldwide. Ultimately, the effective use of social media in tourism marketing not only enhances destination visibility but also enriches the travel experience, creating a win-win scenario for both travelers and the tourism industry.

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43 ROLE AND IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN TOURISM – Contributions by Ulrike Gretzel

In this chapter I will summarize my contributions to understanding social media. I feel passionate about my research on social media because social media have changed the way we shop/consume (Zhou, Zhang & Zimmermann, 2013), learn, play, work, explore our identities and express our creativity, socialize, date (Finkel et al., 2012), find out about new trends and world events (and the latest gadgets), support causes and create movements, entertain ourselves, do research (Kozinets, 2020), fuel and follow our passions (Kozinets, Patterson & Ashman, 2017), find support, celebrate, grieve, and build our legacies; and, of course, they have revolutionized the way we travel (Gretzel, 2018). Social media have allowed me to stay in touch with family and friends, connect with new friends and colleagues, share my interests with others and join communities I never knew existed, learn about people and places, find out about hidden travel gems, and post lots of cat pictures. My drive to capture meanings and effects of social media use therefore emerges from a deep personal need to make sense of the world around me.

Besides these impacts on individual consumers, social media have also transformed the way tourism businesses and destinations can market. Social media provide especially smaller establishments and micro-entrepreneurs around the world with new opportunities to be seen and heard and to understand and connect with potential and existing customers. Importantly, social media platforms gave rise to new technological innovations like augmented reality that are revolutionizing the information landscape for consumers and businesses alike. At the macro-level, social media have not only helped create new economies (e.g., the sharing economy or, more generally put, the reputation economy) and new forms of value (co-)creation (Vargo, Maglio, & Akaka, 2008), but they have also led to significant social and political change across the globe.

At the same time, social media have brought the worst out in people, businesses, and society. They have enabled new forms of scams and identity theft, led to misinformation, discrimination, bullying, envy, hate crimes, filter bubbles and increasing polarization, have interfered with elections, and have enabled the emergence of new tech giants and new economic dependencies as well as new forms of censorship. They continue to challenge our privacy rights, make us buy junk, chain us even more to our technological devices, and sometimes keep us from experiencing RL (real life). I have been stalked on social media, have spent way too much time scrolling through feeds, and have bought unnecessary items. And I often see and hear about the negative impacts social media can have on tourism businesses and entire communities, whether it is Airbnb contributing to housing shortages or influencers leading mobs of tourists to formerly pristine areas (Gretzel, 2019).

Both aspects of social media, the good and the bad, make it absolutely critical to understand social media as more than just technological applications. My research has tried to grasp what social media are, how they are being used by whom and for what purpose, how they facilitate but maybe also hinder certain human behaviors, how they shift power, what dependencies they create, why they are so persuasive, what promises they hold in terms of making our lives better, and how they might develop in the future. And tourism is an important application area in which to study social media as a phenomenon because it provides a context in which exploration (but also stupidity, see Pratt & Tolkach, 2020), desire, mobility, risk, social dynamics, etc. lead to unique information and sharing needs and behaviors on the consumer side, while hyper-competition, fragmentation and volatility create an industry context in which social media applications seem to particularly thrive.

Social Media – A Research Journey

My social media research journey began organically while investigating the impact of the Internet on tourism. At the time, virtual travel communities sparked my interest in travel information that was not created and promoted by traditional tourism intermediaries. However, it was not until 2006 that my interest in social media research became more focused. Two important things happened that year: 1) I was introduced to CyWorld by my Korean graduate students, who also convinced the Korean Tourism Organization to invite me to speak at the inaugural Korea e-Tourism forum about the travel stories consumers increasingly create and share online (Gretzel, Lee & Lee, 2006); and, 2) I met a group of enthusiastic people from a relatively unknown travel start-up at a conference for destination marketers in Austin, Texas who were there to convince people that their platform, TripAdvisor, would revolutionize the travel industry.

These occurrences led (besides a life-long passion for all things Korean and an addiction to social media) to formal research projects with the respective organizations and the start of a research program. The research report written for the project with TripAdvisor was the first empirical research study on online travel reviews and continues to be available on the TripAdvisor website (Gretzel, Yoo & Purifoy, 2007). Up to this point, fifteen years later, this research interest in social media has continued to keep me extremely busy because of the fast-paced and complex evolution of social media.

Social media have grown and developed in unexpected and profound ways. While my research on social media has explored many avenues and aspects connected with these technologies, there are many areas that remain virtually untouched and require examining, while others warrant re-examining. In this chapter I outline some of the streams of research to which I have contributed so far.

I wanted to depict my personal research journey in relation to social media in a somewhat systematic way to help others explore some of the topics I have been interested in. Over the years, I have written over 100 social media-related contributions that span journal articles, edited books, book chapters, conference papers, industry publications, commentaries, and even a published poem about popular hashtags. Figure 1 depicts the words that most frequently appear in the titles of these publications.

Figure 1 shows that besides addressing social media and consumer-generated media in general ways, I have done a lot of work on online reviews and have looked at impacts from consumer as well as operator and destination marketing perspectives. It also shows that I have explored social media in different geographic contexts, including China, Australia, and Iran. And, while the analysis of textual elements of social media has always been a focal area of my research, visual elements and practices (travel photos, selfies, emojis, videos, etc.) have become an ever more important part of my social media-related research interests in recent years.

Looking more broadly at these publications, my social media research addresses six different lenses through which social media can be understood. Three of these lenses pertain to the technological foundations of social media and to the informational landscape they create. The other three speak to the human side of social media and describe the social and cultural phenomena that emerge from their use (Figure 2). The six lenses or ways of understanding are, of course, highly interconnected and the diagram depicted in Figure 2 suggests that the human activity feeds back into the technological and informational infrastructure through the digital traces it creates. Thus, both technological and human perspectives are needed to grasp the complexity and dynamic nature of social media.

Before diving into the specific themes I explored using these lenses, I would like to note that there were a few publications that did not fit this classification. First, I have published articles, chapters and two edited books that give broad overviews of social media in tourism and therefore cover several, if not all, of these themes. They are listed in Table 1. The latest addition to this list is a co-authored review paper that examines general trends in the social media in tourism literature (Zarezadeh, Rastegar, & Gretzel, 2018). Second, I have one publication that looks at social media from a learning and teaching perspective (Isacsson & Gretzel, 2011). Unfortunately, I never pursued this specific theme further despite its obvious importance.

Table 1. General Social Media Publications.

General Social Media Publications

Sigala, M., Christou, E., & Gretzel, U. (Eds.) (2012). Social Media in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality . Brookfield, VT: Ashgate.

Gretzel, U., Sigala, M., & Christou, E. (2012). Social Media Change the Name of the Game in the Tourism and Hospitality Industries. The European Financial Review , October 20, 2012, http://www.europeanfinancialreview.com/?p=5648

Gretzel, U. & Yoo, K.-H. (2017). Social Media in Hospitality and Tourism. In S. Dixit (Ed.), Routledge Handbook of Consumer Behaviour in Hospitality and Tourism , pp. 339-346. New York: Routledge.

Zarezadeh, Z., Rastegar, R. & Gretzel, U. (2018). Reviewing the Past to Inform the Future: A Literature Review of Social Media in Tourism. Czech Journal of Tourism , 7(2), 115-131.

Sigala, M. & Gretzel, U. (Eds.) (2018). Advances in Social Media for Travel, Tourism and Hospitality: New Perspectives, Practice and Cases . New York: Routledge.

Gretzel, U. (2018). Tourism and Social Media. In Cooper, C., Gartner, W., Scott, N. & Volo, S. (Eds.). The Sage Handbook of Tourism Management , Volume 2, pp. 415-432. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Social Media as Technology

The first lens refers to my work on social media in tourism that seeks to understand social media as technologies. This means looking at Web 2.0 technologies as the base on which social media are built, examining specific platforms like TripAdvisor, and investigating and classifying the technological affordances that shape social media use. I have also explored the relationship between social media and other technologies (smartphones and camera-technologies like GoPros, see Dinhopl and Gretzel, 2016) to understand the wider social media and device ecosystem and its implications for tourism.

Looking at social media as technologies also involves understanding their adoption and use. I have investigated this topic from consumer and organizational perspectives. A main thread in this research stream is how adoption is shaped by national and institutional contexts. Another key topic is whether social media allowed tourism providers to “leapfrog” earlier stages of Internet technology adoption and establish their online presence solely through social media. Finally, as a persuasion scholar, I have also examined social media as persuasive technologies. Specifically, I have conceptualized the potential of social media to induce behavioral change (e.g., regarding food waste and overtourism) and to support tourism-related activism through affordances that facilitate collective action (Gretzel, 2017).

Table 2. Social Media as Technology.

Technological Foundations

Ge, J., Gretzel, U. & Clarke, R. J. (2014). Strategic Use of Social Media Affordances for Marketing: A Case Study of Chinese DMOs. In Xiang, Z. & Tussyadiah, I. (Eds.), Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2014 , pp. 159-174. Berlin: Springer.

Gretzel, U. (2015). Web 2.0 and 3.0. In Cantoni, L. & Danowski, J. A. (Eds.). Communication and Technology, Handbooks of Communication Science (HOCS) series , pp. 181-192. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.

Dinhopl, A. & Gretzel, U. (2015). Changing Practices/New Technologies: Photos and Videos on Vacation. In I. Tussyadiah & A. Inversini (Eds.), Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2015 , pp. 777-788. Berlin: Springer Verlag.

Dinhopl, A. & Gretzel, U. (2016). Conceptualizing tourist videography. Journal of Information Technology & Tourism , 15(4), 395-410.

Yoo, K.-H., Sigala, M., & Gretzel, U. (2016). Exploring TripAdvisor. In Egger, R., Gula, I., Walcher, D. (Eds.). Open Tourism: Open Innovation, Crowdsourcing and Collaborative Consumption Challenging the Tourism Industry, pp. 239-255. Berlin: Springer.

Persuasive Technology

Gretzel, U. (2017). Social Media Activism in Tourism. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism , 15(2), 1-14.

Murphy, J., Gretzel, U., Pesonen, J., Elorinne, A.-L. & Silvennoinen, K. (2018). Household Food Waste, Tourism and Social Media: A Research Agenda. In Stangl, B. & Pesonen, J. (Eds.), Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2018 , pp. 228-239. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International.

Gretzel, U. (2019). The Role of Social Media in Creating and Addressing Overtourism. In Dodds, R. & Butler, R. (Eds.). Overtourism: Issues, realities and solutions , pp. 62-75. Berlin: De Gruyter.

Technology Adoption

Gretzel, U., Kang, M. & W. Lee (2008). Differences in Consumer-Generated Media Adoption and Use: A Cross-National Perspective. Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management , 17(1/2): 99-120.

Shao, J. & Gretzel, U. (2012). Social media Usage by Chinese Community supported agriculture farms. CAUTHE National Conference 2012 . Melbourne, VIC, February 6-9, 2012.

Gretzel, U., Kennedy-Eden, H. & Mistilis, N. (2014). Organizational Factors Driving Technology Non-Adoption in Australian Tour Operators. 21st Annual ENTER 2014 Conference . Dublin, Ireland, January 21-24, 2014. http://ertr.tamu.edu/enter-2014-volume-4-research-notes/

Gretzel, U., Mendes Filho, L., Lobianco, M., Alonso Vazquez, M. & Mistilis, N. (2017). Technology Adoption by Tourism Operators in Australia and Brazil: An Institutional Theory Perspective. ENTER 2017 Conference.  Rome Italy, January 24-26, 2017. http://ertr.tamu.edu/content/issues/enter-2017-volume-8-research-notes/

Ge, J. & Gretzel, U. (2018). A new cultural revolution: Chinese consumers’ internet and social media use. In Sigala, M. & Gretzel, U. (Eds.), Advances in Social Media for Travel, Tourism and Hospitality: New Perspectives, Practice and Cases , pp. 102-118. New York: Routledge.

Zarezadeh, Z. & Gretzel, U. (2020). Iranian Heritage Sites on Social Media. Tourism Analysis , 25 (2/3), 345-357.

Soares, A. L., Mendes-Filho, L. & Gretzel, U. (2021). Technology adoption in hotels: Applying institutional theory to tourism. Tourism Review , 76(3), 669-680.

Social Media as Information

Social media platforms and applications differ from other Internet technologies because of their emphasis on the creation, sharing and curation of consumer-generated media (CGM). My research has focused on understanding the characteristics of CGM (especially their perceived trustworthiness), the motivations and traits of their creators, and their role in travel information search and decision-making processes (Table 3). Most of this research has focused on online travel reviews. My papers on false reviews were the first in tourism to investigate the phenomenon and formed the basis for later efforts by others to inform automated false review detection.

The publication that most stands out in this section is Xiang and Gretzel (2010), because it was one of the first to define social media for the tourism context and draw attention to their increasing importance and impact in the travel domain by illustrating the extent to which social media were starting to dominate travel information search. My recent work related to this theme of social media as information looks at the impact of mobile technology on consumer-generated media creation, specifically that of online travel reviews (Mariani, Borghi & Gretzel, 2019).

Table 3. Social Media as Information.

CGM Creation

Yoo, K. H. & Gretzel, U. (2008). Understanding Differences Between Online Travel Review Writers and Non-Writers. In Hara, T. (Ed.), Proceedings of the 13th Annual Graduate Education and Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism , Orlando, FL, January 3-5, 2008, pp. 21-29.

Yoo, K. H. & Gretzel, U. (2009). What Motivates Consumers to Write Online Travel Reviews? Journal of Information Technology & Tourism, Special Issue on Virtual Communities , 10(4), 283-296.

Yoo, K.-H. & Gretzel, U. (2011). Influence of Personality on Travel-Related Consumer Generated Media Creation. Computers in Human Behavior , 27(2), 609-621.

Yoo, K.H., & Gretzel, U. (2012). Use and Creation of Social Media by Travelers. In Sigala, M., Christou, E., & Gretzel, U. (Eds.), Social Media in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality (pp.189-206). Brookfield, VT: Ashgate.

Mariani, M. M., Borghi, M., & Gretzel, U. (2019). Online reviews: Differences by submission device. Tourism Management , 70, 295-298.

Role in Travel Information Search

Yoo, K. H. & Gretzel, U. (2008). Use and Impact of Online Travel Reviews. O’Connor, P., Höpken, W. & Gretzel, U. (Eds.). Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2008 , 35-46. Vienna, Austria: Springer.

Yoo, K. H., & Gretzel, U. (2008). The Influence of Involvement on Use and Impact of Online Travel Reviews. Hospitality Information Technology Association Conference , Austin, TX, June 15-16, 2008.

Gretzel, U. (2009). Das Online-Suchverhalten von Touristen. (in German). Zeitschrift für Tourismuswissenschaft, Special Issue on New Media, 2(1), 151-164.

Xiang, Z., & Gretzel, U. (2010). Role of Social Media in Online Travel Information Search. Tourism Management , 31 (2), 179-188.

Simms, A., & Gretzel, U. (2013). Planning a vacation using social media: Influences of demographic, psychographic, and trip-related characteristics. ENTER Conference 2013 . http://ertr.tamu.edu/ files/2013/03/enter2013_submission_15.pdf

Characteristics and Perceptions of CGM

Lee, W., & Gretzel, U. (2007). Impact of Sensory Information on Evaluations of Online Travel Reviews. In Hsu, C. and H. Tsai (Eds.), Proceedings of the 12th Annual Graduate Education and Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism , Houston, TX, January 4-6, 2007, pp. 815-822.

Yoo, K.-H., & Gretzel, U. (2009). Generational Differences in CGM Perceptions and Use for Travel Planning. In J. Petrick (Ed.), 40th Annual Proceedings of the Travel and Tourism Research Association Conference . Honolulu, HI, June 21-24, 2009. Travel and Tourism Research Association.

Yoo, K. H., Lee, K. S., & Gretzel, U. (2007). The role of Source Characteristics in eWOM: What Makes Online Travel Reviewers Credible and Likeable? In M. Sigala, L. Mich, J. Murphy, and A. Frew (Eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International ENTER Conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia, January 24-26, 2007, pp. 23-34. UK, Axon Imprint.

Yoo, K.-H., & Gretzel, U. (2010). Antecedents and Impacts of Trust in Travel-Related Consumer Generated Media. Journal of Information Technology & Tourism , 12 (2), 139-152.

Yoo, K.-H., Lee, Y.-J., Gretzel, U., & D. R. Fesenmaier (2009). Trust in Travel-Related Consumer Generated Media. In W. Höpken, U. Gretzel & R. Law (Eds.), Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2009 , pp. 49-60. Vienna, Austria: Springer Verlag.

Maister, T. & Gretzel. U. (2018). What is Branded Content and is it Ethical? The Relevance Report 2019 . Los Angeles, CA: USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations.

Yoo, K.-H., & Gretzel, U. (2009). Comparison of Deceptive and Truthful Travel Reviews. In W. Höpken, U. Gretzel & R. Law (Eds.), Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2009 , pp. 37-48. Vienna, Austria: Springer Verlag.

Gretzel, U. (2022). Online Reviews. In Buhalis, D. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Tourism Marketing and Management . Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Yoo, K.-H., & Gretzel, U. (2009). Detection of Deceptive Hotel Reviews: Influences of Length and Type of Review. Proceedings of the 14th Annual Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism . Las Vegas, January 4-6, 2009.

Social Media as Communication

As a tourism researcher with a PhD in Communications, looking at social media from a communication perspective is of great importance to me. Three distinct sub-streams of research belong to this theme: 1) social media as a language and rhetorical device; 2) marketing communications using social media; and, 3) communication flows mediated by travel opinion leaders and influencers (Table 4). I have adopted a linguistics lens to examine the peculiarities of social media language, such as emojis and hashtags. More recently, I have followed the visual turn in social media, with images and videos increasingly replacing text (Ge & Gretzel, 2019). In addition, I have looked at social media contents using rhetorical theory to understand argumentation and persuasion in social media contexts. Humor embedded in posts and memes plays a crucial role in grabbing the attention of social media users and eliciting engagement in the forms of likes, comments, or shares.

How to effectively market tourism services and destinations using social media is an issue with which many tourism marketers continue to struggle. Conceptualizing social media marketing communications as conversations and value co-creation opportunities that require unique approaches and extensive organizational commitment has been my focus in this research stream. Opinion leaders and influencers who translate the vast amount of available travel information into bite-sized, entertaining, and relevant contents for their loyal followers are increasingly mediating communication flows between marketers and consumers. I have been following this phenomenon for over a decade now, starting with key opinion leaders in China. Understanding the role of these influencers in destination marketing is a central theme in my current work (see Femenia-Serra & Gretzel, 2022).

Table 4. Social Media as Communication.

Linguistic and Rhetorical Perspectives

De Ascaniis, S. & Gretzel, U. (2012). What’s in a Travel Review? In Fuchs, M., Ricci, F., and Cantoni, L. (Eds.), Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2012 , pp. 494-505. Vienna, Austria: Springer.

Ge, J. & Gretzel, U. (2017). The Role of Humour in Driving Customer Engagement. In Schegg, R. & Stangl, B. (Eds.). Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2017 , pp. 461-474. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International.

De Ascaniis, S. & Gretzel, U. (2013). Communicative functions of Online Travel Review titles. A pragmatic and linguistic investigation of destination and attraction OTR titles. Studies in Communication Sciences , 13(2), 156-165.

Ge, J., Gretzel, U. & Zhu, Y. (2018). Humour in Firm-initiated Social Media Conversations – A Conceptual Model. International Journal of Digital Culture and Electronic Tourism , 2(4), 273-293.

Gretzel, U. (2015). #justsayin. Poem. CCT Conference, Fayetteville, Arkansas, June 18-21, 2015. Published in Sherry, J. F., Schouten, J., & Downey, H. (Eds.). Chicksaw Craft Threnody , p. 10. South Bend, Indiana: Aire Lyre Media.

Ge, J. & Gretzel, U. (2018). Impact of Humour on Firm-Initiated Social Media Conversations. Journal of Information Technology & Tourism , 18(1-4), 61-83.

Gretzel, U. (2017). The Visual Turn in Social Media Marketing. Tourismos , 12(3), 1-18.

Ge, J. & Gretzel, U. (2019). Social Media-based Visual Strategies in Tourism Marketing. International Journal of Semiotics and Visual Rhetoric , 2(2): 23-40.

Ge, J. & Gretzel, U. (2018). Emoji Rhetoric – A Social Media Influencer Perspective. Journal of Marketing Management , 34(15-16), 1272-1295.

Shao, J., Yi, S., Shen, Y., Gretzel, U. & Joppe, M. (2020). Research on the Influence of Emoji Communication on the Perception of Destination Image: The Case of Finland. In Paris, C. M. & Benjamin, S. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2020 TTRA International Conference . June 16-18, 2020, Victoria, BC, Canada. Whitehall, MI: Travel and Tourism Research Association. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/ ttra/2020/research_papers/19/

Marketing Communication

Gretzel, U. (2006). Consumer-Generated Content – Trends and Implications for Branding. eReview of Tourism Research , 4 (3).

Yoo, K.-H., & Gretzel, U. (2010). Web 2.0: New Rules for Tourism Marketing, 41st Annual Proceedings of the Travel and Tourism Research Association Conference . San Antonio, TX, June 20-22, 2010. Travel and Tourism Research Association.

Shao, J., Davila, M.A., & Gretzel, U. (2012). Riding the Social Media Wave: Strategies of DMOs who successfully engage in social media marketing. In Sigala, M., Christou, E., & Gretzel, U. (Eds.), Social Media in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality (pp. 87-98). Brookfield, VT: Ashgate.

Gretzel, U. & Yoo, K. H. (2013). Premises and Promises of Social Media Marketing in Tourism. In McCabe, S. (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Tourism Marketing , pp. 491-504. New York: Routledge.

Buhalis, D., Mistilis, N., & Gretzel, U. (2014). Future eDestination Marketing: Perspective of an Australian Tourism Stakeholder Network. Journal of Travel Research , 53(6), 778-790.

Tischler, S. & Gretzel, U. (2017). Online-Marketing in Australien und Neuseeland. In Pforr, C. & Reiser, D. (Eds.), Tourismus in Australien und Neuseeland , pp. 79-94. Berlin: DeGruyter.

Ge, J. & Gretzel, U. (2018). A Taxonomy of Value Co-creation on Weibo – A Communication Perspective. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management , 30(4), 2075-2092.

Gretzel, U. (2022). Online Reputation Management. In Buhalis, D. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Tourism Marketing and Management . Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Opinion Leadership and Influencers

Yoo, K.-H., Gretzel, U. & Zach, F. (2011). Travel Opinion Leaders and Seekers. In Law, R., Fuchs, M. and Ricci, F. (Eds.), Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 201 1, pp. 525-536. Vienna, Austria: Springer Verlag.

Shao, J., & Gretzel, U. (2011). Social Media Created the Chinese Backpacker Star. In Frost, W., Croy, G., Laing, J., and Beeton, S. (Eds.), International Tourism and Media Conference , 28-29 November. La Trobe University and Monash University: Melbourne.

Hochmeister, M., Gretzel, U., & Werthner, H. (2013). Destination Expertise in Online Travel Communities. In Cantoni, L. & Xiang, Z. (Eds.), Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2013 , pp. 219-230. Berlin: Springer.

Shao, J. & Gretzel, U. (2014). Integrating Social Media Influencers into the Marketing Strategy of Chinese Travel Communities (Abstract). In Griffin, K. & Joppe, M. (Eds.). Proceedings of the ttra 2014 International Conference , Brugge, Belgium, June 18-20, 1079-1084.

Linton, H., Han, S. & Gretzel, U. (2017). TripAdvisor Super Contributors: Projecting Professionalism. Frontiers in Service Conference , June 22-25, 2017. New York.

Gretzel, U. (2018). Influencer marketing in travel and tourism. In Sigala, M. & Gretzel, U. (Eds.), Advances in Social Media for Travel, Tourism and Hospitality: New Perspectives, Practice and Cases , pp. 147-156. New York: Routledge.

Femenia-Serra, F. & Gretzel, U. (2020). Influencer Marketing for Tourism Destinations: Lessons from a Mature Destination. In Neidhardt, J. & Wörndl, W. (Eds.), Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2020 , pp. 65-78. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.

Femenia-Serra, F. & Gretzel, U. (2022). Destination Influencer Marketing. In Buhalis, D. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Tourism Marketing and Management. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Social Media as a Form of Sociality

Social media get their name from their ability to connect people, and from the opportunities they provide for users to share content and socialize, i.e., discuss, debate, organize, show off, argue, and commune, online. The social aspects of social media are especially relevant for tourism as an activity that creates and fosters bonds and for which storytelling and information sharing have always been central aspects. In this context, I have looked at identity construction in online communities and among bloggers. Most of my research on online sociality has focused on the fans of TV shows that use social media to organize as a community that often engages in travel. Most recently, I have become interested in the #vanlife community as a neo-tribe with a very strong emphasis on social-media sharing (Gretzel & Hardy, 2019). My research on social media-facilitated sociality has also looked at the relationship between travelers and tourism providers/destinations. It has found that it is a rather complicated one that requires careful management because it is often short-lived and derives from a complex mix of functional and emotional needs. Table 5 provides specific references for the two sub-topics within this lens.

Table 5. Social Media as a Form of Sociality.

Identity Construction, Cyberfandom & Neo-tribes

Scarpino, M., & Gretzel, U. (2008). Cyberfandom: Understanding the new generation of media-induced travelers. In Croy, G., Beeton, S. & Frost W. (Eds.). Proceedings of the International Tourism and Media Conference . Melbourne, Australia: LaTrobe University & Monash University.

Lee, Y., & Gretzel, U. (2014). Cross-cultural Differences in Social Identity Formation through Travel Blogging. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing , 31(1), 37-54.

Shao, J., & Gretzel, U. (2009). Online Responses to a Chinese popular TV Series: Implications for Film-Induced tourism. In L. Lowry (Ed.), Proceedings of the 2009 Annual International Society of Travel and Tourism Educators (ISTTE) Conferenc e, October 15-17, 2009 in San Antonio, TX (Vol 21, pp.224-235). St. Clair Shores, MI: ISTTE.

Dinhopl, A., Gretzel, U. & Whelan, A. (2015). Labeling as a Social Practice in Online Consumption Communities. Special Issue on Online Consumption Communities. Psychology & Marketing , 32(3), 240-249.

Lee, Y.-J., Yoo, K.-H., & Gretzel, U. (2009). Social Identity Formation Through Blogging: Comparison of U.S. and Korean Travel Blogs. Proceedings of the 14th Annual Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism . Las Vegas, January 4-6, 2009.

Shao, J. & Gretzel, U. (2018). Power of Dramas: A Comparison of Voluntourism between Chinese and American Film Tourists. In Kim, S., & Reijnders, S. (Eds.), Film Tourism in Asia , pp. 187-201. Singapore: Springer Nature.

Shao, J., Scarpino, M., Lee, Y., & Gretzel, U. (2012). Media-Induced Voluntourism in Yunnan, China. Tourism Review International , 15(3), 277-292.

Gretzel, U. & Hardy, A. (2019). #VanLife: Materiality, Makeovers and Mobility amongst Digital Nomads. e-Review of Tourism Research , 16(2/3): 1-9.

Relationship with tourism businesses and destinations

Gretzel, U. & Fesenmaier, D. R. (2012). Customer Relations 2.0 – Implications for Destination Marketing. TTRA Annual International Conference , June 17-19, 2012. Virginia Beach, VA. http://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1755&context=ttra

Gretzel, U. & Dinhopl, A. (2014). Breaking Up is Hard to Do: Why Do Travellers Unlike Travel-Related Organizations? In Xiang, Z. & Tussyadiah, I. (Eds.), Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2014 , pp.267-280. Berlin: Springer.

Social Media as Experience

Social media can also be viewed from a phenomenological perspective, as an increasingly central part of human experience in everyday life and during travel. Social media impact tourism experiences and create new forms of touristic experiences. Through this lens, I have explored how social media influence the tourist gaze, how they shape experiences before, during and after the trip, and how they change tourism in specific contexts, such as city tourism and adventure travel (Table 6). In relation to the tourist gaze, I have been interested in selfies as a particularly prominent way in which social media impact on touristic practices. In Dinhopl and Gretzel (2018), we show that social media audiences are internalized and guide every detail of the experience, from planning to post-trip social media sharing. My other work has also shown that these impacts span all phases of the experience, from the dreaming phase to trip satisfaction (Sedera et al., 2017) and post-trip memory work.

Table 6. Social Media as Experience.

Social Media-Enabled Tourist Gaze

Gretzel, U. (2010). Travel in the Network: Redirected Gazes, Ubiquitous Connections and New Frontiers. In Levina, M. & Kien, G. (Eds.). Post-global Network and Everyday Life , pp. 41-58. New York: Peter Lang.

Dinhopl, A. & Gretzel, U. (2016). Selfie-taking as touristic looking. Annals of Tourism Research. 57, 126-139.

Dinhopl, A. & Gretzel, U. (2015). Consumer Soiveillance: Observations of the Self by means of New Media Technologies. In Diehl, K. & Yoon, C. (Eds.), Proceedings of the Association of Consumer Research North American Conference, Special session on iMirror/iMirror: Digital Reflections of Self-Consumption . New Orleans, LA, October 1-4, 2015, p. 134.

Kozinets, R., Gretzel, U. & Dinhopl, A. (2017). Self in Art/Self as Art: Museum Selfies as Identity Work. Frontiers in Psychology , 8:731.

Dinhopl, A. & Gretzel, U. (2016). GoPro panopticon: Performing in the surveyed leisure experience, in S. Carnicelli, D. McGillivray, & G. McPherson (Eds.). Digital Leisure Cultures: Critical Perspectives , pp. 66-79. Routledge: London.

Dinhopl, A. & Gretzel, U. (2018). The networked neo-tribal gaze. In Hardy, A., Bennett, A. & Robards, B. (Eds.). Neo-Tribes: Consumption, Leisure and Tourism , pp. 221-234. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave-Macmillan.

Impact on Experiences Beyond the Trip

Gretzel, U., Fesenmaier, D. R., Lee, Y.-J., & Tussyadiah, I. (2011). Narrating Travel Experiences: The Role of New Media. In R. Sharpley & P. Stone (Eds.), Tourist Experiences: Contemporary Perspectives , pp. 171-182. New York: Routledge.

Sedera, D., Lokuge, S., Atapattu, M., & Gretzel, U. (2017). Likes – the key to my happiness: The moderating effect of social influence on travel experience. Information and Management , 54(6), 825-836.

Gretzel, U. (2021). Dreaming about Travel: A Pinterest Netnography. In Wörndl, W., Koo, C. & Stienmetz, J. (Eds.) Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2021 , pp.256-268. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.

Specific Experiences

Gretzel, U. (2015). The role of technology-mediation in the context of adventure travel. In Black, R. & Bricker, K. (Eds.), Adventure Programming and Travel for the 21st Century , pp. 451-455. State College, PA: Venture Publishing.

Gretzel, U. (2019). Social Media and the City: Mediated Gazes and Digital Traces. In Šegota, T., Sigala, M., Gretzel, U., Day, J., Kokkranikal, J., Smith, M., Henderson, J. C., Seabra, C., Pearce, P., Davidson, R., Van Zyl, C., Newsome, D., Hardcastle, J., Rakić, T., Future Agendas in Urban Tourism Research: Special Editorial, International Journal of Tourism Cities , 5(2), 109-124. DOI: 10.1108/IJTC-12-2018-0095.

Gretzel, U. (2020). The growing role of social media in city tourism. In Morrison, A. M. & Coca-Stefaniak, J. A. (Eds.). Routledge Handbook of Tourism Cities , pp. 389-399. New York: Routledge.

Social Media as Data

Social media activities lead to digital traces that, when collected for research purposes, become data. This data fuels the algorithms of social media platforms but can also (at least to some extent) be extracted and interpreted to derive research insights and marketing intelligence. While I have used many different kinds of approaches to analyzing social media data, netnography has become my method of choice because it allows me to keep contextual information intact and to derive rich and meaningful insights. Table 7 lists some of my netnography work in tourism that was not included in any of the previous tables.

Doing research on social media and research with social media has sensitized me to specific data quality issues, which are starting to receive attention in the tourism literature (Xiang et al., 2018). For instance, numerical ratings in online travel reviews do not necessarily correspond with the sentiment expressed in the review text (Jiang, Gretzel & Law, 2010). And established approaches like semiotics, which has gained in importance as social media data have become more visual, need to be adjusted to fit the social media context and need to address the ethical considerations necessary for social media research (Ge & Gretzel, 2022).

Table 7. Social Media as Data.

Netnography

Gretzel, U. (2017). #travelselfie: a netnographic study of travel identity communicated via Instagram. In Carson, S. & Pennings, M. (Eds.), Performing Cultural Tourism: Communities, Tourists and Creative Practices, pp. 115-128. New York: Routledge.

Kennedy-Eden, H. & Gretzel, U. (2021). My Heritage in my Pocket: Mobile Device and App Use by Genealogy Tourists. Journal of Information Technology & Tourism , forthcoming.

Gretzel, U. & Murphy, J. (2019). Making Sense of Robots – Consumer Discourse on Robots in Tourism and Hospitality Service Settings. In Ivanov, S. & Webster, C. (Eds.). Robots, Artificial Intelligence and Service Automation in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality, pp. 93-104. Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing.

Kozinets, R.V. & Gretzel, U. (2022). Netnography. In Buhalis, D. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Tourism Marketing and Management . Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Rastegar, R., Zarezadeh., Z. & Gretzel, U. (2021). World Heritage and Social Justice: Insights from the Inscription of Yazd, Iran. Journal of Sustainable Tourism , 29(2/3), 520-539.

Social Media Data & Analysis

Jiang, J., Gretzel, U., & Law, R. (2010). Do Negative Experiences Always Lead to Dissatisfaction? – Testing Attribution Theory in the Context of Online Travel Reviews. In Gretzel, U., Law, R. and M. Fuchs (Eds.), Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 201 0, pp. 297-308. Vienna, Austria: Springer Verlag.

Ge, J., Alonso Vazquez, M. & Gretzel, U. (2018). Sentiment analysis: a review. In Sigala, M. & Gretzel, U. (Eds.), Advances in Social Media for Travel, Tourism and Hospitality: New Perspectives, Practice and Cases , pp. 243-261. New York: Routledge.

Ge, J. & Gretzel, U. (2022). Social Media Semiotics. In Buhalis, D. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Tourism Marketing and Management . Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Marketing Intelligence

Gretzel, U., Lee, W. & K.S. Lee (2006). Listening to the Stories Consumers Tell. Proceedings of the Korea e-Tourism Forum . Seoul, Korea, September 8-9, 2006.

Jiang, J., Gretzel, U. & Law, R. (2014). Influence of Star Rating and Ownership Structure on Brand Image of Mainland China Hotels. Journal of China Tourism Research , 10(1), 69-94.

The Future of Social Media Research

Reflecting on my social media-related research journey fills me with gratitude to all my wonderful collaborators and co-authors. Very often it was them who charted the paths forward and it was their passion that inspired me. Thinking about the different themes that I have explored with them also makes me feel antsy because it is pretty clear that there is so much more that warrants investigation. Given the dynamic nature of social media, I realize that many themes remain underexplored and that many of the topics should be re-investigated as social media technologies and use cultures continue to evolve. Thus, while it is nice to summarize my research in this area and emphasize my contributions, I see the greatest value of this exercise in providing a research framework that illustrates different ways of understanding social media and, thus, can help with identifying research priorities and gaps.

I often get asked about the future of particular platforms or types of CGM. My answer is always that social media will continue to take on new forms and will transform our lives in ways that we cannot yet anticipate. But I also add that one thing is for certain: they are here to stay and will continue to shape tourism in wonderful as well as disruptive ways. Thus, there will be no shortage of social media-related research topics in the future.

Written by Ulrike Gretzel, University of Southern California, USA Read Ulrike’s letter to future generations of tourism researchers

Dinhopl, A. & Gretzel, U. (2016). Conceptualizing tourist videography. Information Technology & Tourism , 15(4), 395-410.

Femenia-Serra, F. & Gretzel, U. (2022). Destination Influencer Marketing. In Buhalis, D. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Tourism Marketing and Management . Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Finkel, E. J., Eastwick, P. W., Karney, B. R., Reis, H. T., & Sprecher, S. (2012). Online dating: A critical analysis from the perspective of psychological science. Psychological Science in the Public Interest , 13(1), 3-66.

Gretzel, U., Lee, W. & Lee, K.S. (2006). Listening to the Stories Consumers Tell. Korea e-Tourism Forum . Seoul, Korea, September 8-9, 2006.

Gretzel, U., Yoo, K. H. & M. Purifoy (2007). Online Travel Reviews Study . Technical Report. College Station, TX: Laboratory for Intelligent Systems in Tourism. Accessed online at (August 1, 2021): https://www.tripadvisor.com/pdfs/OnlineTravelReviewReport.pdf .

Isacsson, A. & Gretzel, U. (2011). Facebook as an edutainment medium to engage students in sustainability and tourism. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology , 2(1), 81-90.

Jiang, J., Gretzel, U., & Law, R. (2010). Do Negative Experiences Always Lead to Dissatisfaction? – Testing Attribution Theory in the Context of Online Travel Reviews. In Gretzel, U., Law, R. and M. Fuchs (Eds.), Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2010 , pp. 297-308. Vienna, Austria: Springer Verlag.

Kozinets, R. V. (2020). Netnography: The essential guide to qualitative social media research . London: Sage.

Kozinets, R., Patterson, A., & Ashman, R. (2017). Networks of desire: How technology increases our passion to consume. Journal of Consumer Research , 43(5), 659-682.

Pratt, S., & Tolkach, D. (2020). Stupidity in tourism. Tourism Recreation Research , https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2020.1828555 .

Vargo, S. L., Maglio, P. P., & Akaka, M. A. (2008). On value and value co-creation: A service systems and service logic perspective. European Management Journal , 26(3), 145-152.

Xiang, Z., Du, Q., Ma, Y., & Fan, W. (2018). Assessing reliability of social media data: lessons from mining TripAdvisor hotel reviews. Information Technology & Tourism , 18(1), 43-59.

Xiang, Z. & Gretzel, U. (2010). Role of Social Media in Online Travel Information Search. Tourism Management , 31 (2), 179-188.

Zhou, L., Zhang, P., & Zimmermann, H. D. (2013). Social commerce research: An integrated view. Electronic commerce research and applications , 12(2), 61-68.

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Social Media Marketing in Tourism: 6 Ways to Drive Success

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June 28, 2021 | Gain Knowledge

Explore our best practices for social media marketing in tourism. Discover how travel companies can engage users and attract new customers.

As the world begins to bounce back from the effects of COVID-19, people are itching to get on a plane, a train, a car, a bicycle—anything that will take them someplace new and exciting.

After so much time spent at home, we can expect a boom in the travel and tourism industry , and that means your business needs to be ready to hit the ground running.

Start planning your travel social media strategy now so that your tourism business can ride that wave of hungry travelers like a pro.

Why Social Media Marketing in Tourism Matters

Any travel business not leveraging social media is seriously missing out on prime marketing real estate.

Think about the types of posts you’re likely to run into when, say, scrolling through Instagram. Pets, food, fashion, travel, etc. are all common themes. After all, if you travel to a scenic locale but don’t document it online, did it really happen?

So, you know travel aficionados are likely to be active on social media. And since much of social media is highly visual, it provides an excellent opportunity to lure customers in with enticing pictures and videos of a sunny beach or an Italian villa.

Social media is also a place people turn to when they have questions about travel and tourism, and if your company can provide these answers, you might just have yourself a loyal customer.

One loyal customer can lead to many more as they spread the word about your company with their friends and followers.

Social Media for the Travel Industry Best Practices

We’ve established that the role of social media in the tourism industry is incredibly important. But how can you fully take advantage of the power of social media? Here are some tried and true best practices:

1. Target the RIGHT Demographic

While people from all walks of life travel, many prominent influencers and travel bloggers are young. That means that creating content that caters to this Gen Z demographic and staying on top of the latest trends and hippest social media platforms will serve you well.

Depending on your specific business, though, you may be targeting an older, more affluent audience. If most of your customers are business travelers, for instance, LinkedIn may be a good place to focus your attention.

If you provide cruise experiences, you might do well to target retirees and other people looking for a luxurious, slow-paced form of travel. So, do your research and meet your audience where they are .

2. Leverage Travel Influencers

On the note of influencers, partnering with one can skyrocket your conversion rates. See if a travel blogger can feature your site, if a travel expert can do a review, or if an influencer will rep your business.

These powerful online figures bring with them hoards of loyal followers who trust their judgement, so building good relationships here can dramatically increase the number of customers you have overnight.

That being said, don’t put all your eggs in this basket; who is “in” as an influencer can change faster than the weather, and one connection won’t save you if your marketing strategy is otherwise lacking.

Instead, think of these connections as a potential cherry on top of an otherwise glowing social media campaign.

3. Make Connections with Video

Video content has been growing in importance and popularity in the past couple of years, and this is one trend tourism companies should hop on.

A quality video showing exciting locations will make anyone start thinking about saving up for a plane ticket. Instagram and Facebook are musts for tourism agencies, but also consider posting on YouTube, SnapChat, and TikTok.

When planning video content, don’t limit yourself to pre-recorded videos either. Consider live streaming. It’s a trendy way to pull in viewers.

To enhance your video production process, use a free online video editor tool to edit your videos. Make them look more professional and polished.

4. Paid Social Ads

Ads are an easy and effective way to get your business in front of new customers.

When creating your ads, focus on targeting the correct audience and crafting ad copy that is engaging and compelling. You want something that will stop a person mid-scroll.

5. Customer Service

It’s now common for people to reach out to businesses via social media when they have questions or comments. And when you’re in the travel industry, you know your customers will always have plenty of questions!

As such, make sure your team is monitoring comments and messages on social media and is able to respond to them quickly and effectively.

6. Use a Social Media Tool

Your business needs to post consistently across your social media platforms to maintain a strong online presence, which means that organization is critical.

Rather than trying to dump all your info in an Excel sheet, you can use a tool such as Hootsuite to schedule posts and track performance.

Partnering with a travel social media agency also makes it easy to crank out quality content without anything slipping through the cracks.

Whatever your strategy looks like, consistency is key. Regularly putting out social media posts for tourism will help you increase visibility and stay top of mind for customers.

Bon Voyage!

While the tourism industry has certainly taken its hits, the future looks bright.

It’s the perfect time to dust off your social media marketing in tourism strategy and inject it with added energy and determination.

Tourism and social media dance together beautifully at all times, but especially when people are so eager for a little tourism magic in their lives.

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What’s the Social Media Impact on Tourism?

By Breanna Lawlor

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Ever driven up to a house and gotten the sense that the owners couldn’t care less about keeping it presentable? 

When it comes to tourism, social media can be considered the virtual equivalent of your front yard. If you haven’t cut the lawn in a year and have left a bunch of garbage out front, you’re not exactly going to entice guests to come in for tea. 

In how you care about your business and aim for it to be welcoming to guests, people’s initial interaction with your social media channels will determine whether to explore further. Welcome potential customers into your tourism business with a solid first impression. 

When’s the last time someone asked for your business card? Phone number? Now, how about your Instagram handle? 

The travel industry’s presence on mobile has exploded compared to where it was even a few years ago. Social media is paving the way for people from different corners of the world to plan their trips and share their experiences abroad. 

Regardless of where you are in the world, social media has an impact on tourism, which is why you should include it in your digital marketing strategy.

The importance of social media in the tourism industry

Social media channels are tools designed to help you own your brand and share interesting information about your company. Social media marketing for tour companies has drastically altered the landscape, offering sneak peeks to different corners of the world while inspiring people to travel. 

More people are using platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Youtube as search engines to decide where and when to venture to next. Geographic and trending hashtags on Instagram make it easy for social media users to hone in on what they’re looking for.

Using these wisely will encourage and make it easy for people to find your company within seconds. From there, it’s a matter of sharing content they will be intrigued by to keep users engaged. 

Despite the restrictions that vary between countries, guests are planning trips in 2021 even before international travel is widely available again. This speaks to the importance of activity providers and tour operators maintaining an active presence on social platforms. 

Signalling that you’re open for business, you care about your customers and you’re welcome to guests is all made easier with an active presence on social media. Choose to be intentional about how you invest time online, taking 20 minutes a day to check in, respond to comments and share helpful insight within your industry. With more travelers looking to align booking choices with their values, social media gives you the opportunity to identify what matters to you.

As an expert in the tourism industry, your story is yours to tell. With social media, you’re able to connect with your audience faster and more direct than ever. Be intentional about finding out what they’re searching for and make it your purpose to post visually stimulating content with helpful information. In doing so, you’ll give followers a sense of the type of experience you set out to provide. 

Consider the booking journey  

Social media can influence decision-making throughout the trip planning process. Traveling is exciting and there are so many unknowns when guests first start evaluating their options! Focus on creating ways to answer questions and plant ideas as people are just starting to consider their options.

People are drawn in by beautiful photos. By using captivating, real-life images paired with personality-infused captions, you’ll intruigue your audience. Consider addressing common questions and sharing helpful tips as part of creating a happy guest experience.

Post a ‘top 5 tips’ list along with a photo showing off what the view is like once a guest arrives on site. Structure your social media posting schedule to be consistent so that you maintain a regular connection with your followers.

Here are some points along the booking journey to engage with your followers on social media:

Maybe your followers are getting lost in their browser dashboard photo or googling ‘tropical vacations’. Meet them where they are at with some wanderlust-inducing visuals that allow them to transport themselves there emotionally.

If there are secretive locations or activities only those ‘in the know’ get to enjoy, tease what makes them worth exploring. Your efforts on social media should highlight what makes you stand out from the rest.

Known favourably as keeping 17-tabs open ‘just in case’, the planning phase of the booking journey is all about ideas. It’s easy for people to research travel ideas using location and activity-specific hashtags on social media.

You can use social media to offer tips and ideas to inspire and help to streamline their trip planning. Consider sharing sneak peeks of tours-in-action, cozy-looking accommodations and remarkable sights to set the wheels in motion for people exploring your business.

Why not give them a reason to keep coming back to your social media channel for trip-planning inspiration? 

This is where the commitment happens as a result of having easy accessibility to the ‘book now’ button. As a tour operator, your goal needs to be to make the booking process streamlined, answering questions along the way.

Once a guest decides to book, your role is to guide them through the process, reducing friction as much as possible. Ensure key information is clearly communicated and the necessary intel is right there.

Make pricing buttons easy to find and let them know if they can book directly within the social media channel or provide a re-direct right to your website.  

Experiencing

This segment of the booking journey is the real deal. The goal should be to design an enjoyable booking experience from beginning to end. Experience comes down to every single interaction a guest has with your brand.

Imagine being halfway across the world, attempting to book a kayaking tour without knowing where the best spots are to explore. Put yourself in the guest’s position and see what kind of questions come to mind. Then, build your posts with the customer experience front of mind.

You may have a way of eloquently describing the activities you offer on your website, but does this match how your audience searches for the tours, activities, or information you offer? Tease new activities, adventures and tours on your social feed with the intent of igniting an emotional response for your viewer.

Be sure to address questions like: 

• Is your business kid-friendly? 
• Can I bring my dog? 
• How long can I expect to be on tour?
• Where are the nearest facilities?
• What are your COVID-19 safety protocols?
• When are tours/activities available?
• What should I bring to this experience?

This leg of the customer experience takes place before, during and after a guest interacts with your travel business. It might look like publishing a short video of the fun move your guide showed them they could do while on a zipline or a photo of a camouflaged creature in the back 40 while on a mountaineering trek.

A critical element of sharing on social media is making use of feedback you receive. People widely use social media to highlight firsthand accounts of interactions with brands – both the good and the bad.

Plus, positive reviews can inspire future customers to book with you, especially if they happen to be considering booking with a competitor. Your goal is to foster an atmosphere of trust that you can be relied upon to meet, and more importantly, exceed their expectations. 

The role of social media in tourism marketing

Social Media is the virtual equivalent of sitting around a campfire and sharing stories – acting as a hub for sharing photos, meant to inspire others to experience the same thing for themselves.

As a snapshot or highlight reel of best moments, social media is a powerful marketing tool for tour and activity operators. A well-curated social channel can take care of your advertising needs, customer service and engagement strategy.

As a tour operator, time and energy are in limited supply. Focus on what you feel is key for your ideal guest and what information will be most helpful. ou can share firsthand recommendations of fun things to do, ways to explore and tours to participate in, along with your personal experiences as an authority in the tourism industry.

When thinking of what to post on social media as a tourism company, try infusing personality and practicality in your content. For instance, if you are returning from a guiding weekend, Facebook can act like a travel journal complete with personal accounts, photos and videos meant to draw a viewer into your offering. 

Sharing reviews online helps curious followers to perceive your company as trustworthy. Ensure your posts are engaging and offer value, making sure to include guests in the conversation. 

Travelers are more likely to book an experience or location after reading through reviews. Leverage social sharing to highlight what you do well and point out what makes you worth booking with. 

Social media marketing tips

• Share photos from a first-person perspective
• Showcase views of mountain vistas or sitting in a kayak
• Give a glimpse of the sounds (or lack thereof) while enjoying stargazing at your resort
• Demo food + even DIY recipes offered by your resort
• Opportunities to include your pet in outdoorsy adventures 

Sharing travel inspiration on social media is one of the visual platform’s strongest selling features. You can get really granular with what you offer and use the power of storytelling to compel your audience. Promoting a helpful, enjoyable and positive experience will give followers a reason to stop scrolling and discover about what you have to share. 

Keeping your sanity with social media 

If you know you cannot dedicate, or just don’t want to allocate time to managing another social feed pick a handful of feeds to focus on. It’s a good idea to claim your business name on social media, with a redirect to where you are most active on social feeds. 

As an experience provider, you know how important quality images are. Try planning out your content schedule in advance. Batch the process by making it a weekly task on a regular posting schedule as part of your marketing strategy. It’s more about consistency than publishing for the sake of posting. 

Realistically, if you’re focused on managing the daily tasks of running a business, perhaps posting every day is a stretch. Instead, try aiming to post 3 times a week, during times when your followers are likely to be online. 

Start exploring insights in the social media platforms you may already have active accounts with, including Instagram and Facebook, along with your website. You may notice your followers find value in specific content including sample itineraries or reviews from previous guests. 

Social media users appreciate hearing about real-life customer experiences. So, focus on connecting with your followers in the way you would interact with a guest in real life.

Final thoughts

Social media absolutely plays a role in the tourism industry whether you offer experiences, lodging or tours. Make social platforms work for you by honing in on the kind of guests you want to attract and what they are looking for as they plan their next adventure. 

Create visually engaging content that’s inspiring and relevant to your followers. Social media’s impact on tourism connects the dots for travelers longing to experience something new and exciting. Curating an active social media presence will have a positive impact on your tourism business, especially if you focus on sharing content that is both emotionally and visually appealing.

If you’re looking for creative ways to optimize your business, integrate social media in a way that helps you focus on continuing to create amazing opportunities for people to discover and rave about your tourism business.

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How has Social Media Changed the Tourism Industry?

Written by Marissa Volkman on December 2, 2022 . Posted in Blog .

The tourism industry looked very different merely 10 years ago. At that time, widespread internet usage had already wildly changed the landscape of the industry, increasing customer autonomy from the days of travel agency appointments and packages. But the explosion of social media platforms between 2006 and 2010 connected individuals around the world like never before, paving the way for another industry upheaval under social media marketing. Read on to learn the history of how social media changed the tourism industry .

The tourism industry before social media

Let’s rewind to 2004. TV, print, and radio advertisements prevailed as travelers and companies were still adapting to the nascent digital world. Airlines didn’t begin selling tickets online until 1994, and hotels followed a year later. Kayak–self-proclaimed pioneers of metasearch for travel–hit the stage in 2004, making it easier than ever for regular people to compare the growing number of internet sources on travel experiences and prices. These revolutionary tools meant that the industry would be forever changed for both tourists and destinations.

The Travel Cycle

A typical “travel cycle” had always looked something like this:

• Potential tourists become aware of a destination.
• They decide to go on the trip, making their payments to tourism businesses to book flights, hotels, and activities.
• They go on the trip and experience all the things they have heard about.
• They form their own opinions on the destination and share them with close friends and family (i.e. other potential tourists), causing the cycle to repeat.

As more people gained access to computers and populated the web with tourism content, a new step emerged: between hearing about a place and deciding to go there, people started doing their own online research. It thus became necessary for tourism businesses and destinations to develop a web presence to ensure they were findable and bookable.

The rise of the internet also led to a change in the  tourism feedback loop . Previously, hotels and airlines solicited reviews through phone interviews and comment cards, which had low response rates. TripAdvisor revolutionized the industry in 2001 by making a public online platform for customer reviews. This feature impacted how travelers shared their trip and, subsequently, how they influenced other customers. Having customer relations on display made it even more important for tourism industry businesses to engage positively with customers.

Tourism marketing in the age of social media

Facebook was born in 2004 and had 50 million users by October 2006. By 2010, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube were also popular, and the rise of smartphones encouraged people to share their lives in real time. Marketers quickly realized the value of these massive audiences, which have grown to billions today.

Given the social purpose of these platforms, most users share the highlights of their lives–and traveling is a major highlight. Today, travel is the most engaging industry on Instagram , and 43% of millennials say they won’t even go on a trip if they can’t post about it.

User-Generated Content (UGC)

UGC is the content that regular people (not businesses) post about a business or destination. This type of content has been revolutionary for travel marketers. In the past, destinations had to set aside a large portion of their budget to push out different types of media, hoping it would reach an eager traveler. Even when internet sources became widely available, people had to intentionally search for tourism content. That’s where social media changed the tourism industry. Now, customers organically share their best vacation photos, putting destinations, hotels, and restaurants on their Friends’ and Followers’ radars. Developments like location tags have expanded the utility of social platforms from travel inspiration to travel planning resources. Today, 85% of millennials use social media to plan their trips.

Free Marketing Channels

Destinations and businesses don’t have to wait for users to post about them–they can (should) also create their own account. This free in-house marketing allows destinations to create a unique brand persona by publicly engaging with previous and potential customers. By posting authentic content, a destination can make their brand visible to billions of people around the world–a wider reach than any other type of media advertisement. These metrics make social media bios a great place to cross-market and insert links to drive traffic to the destination’s booking website or other social platforms.

Another perk is the free analytics the platforms provide. With these, a destination’s social media manager can analyze which posts did well, with what audiences, and at what time in order to learn more about how to engage their target demographic.

Advertisements 

Destinations can also pay for social media advertisements. Facebook first introduced paid advertisements in 2006. Nearly every social media platform thereafter has followed suit, designing advertisements to look as close to a normal post as possible. These advertisements encourage user interest and engagement, as they portray more authenticity than the big pop-up ads that break up content on other web-resources like blogs and search engines.

Most importantly, paid advertisements can get content in front of specific target audiences. Social platforms have access to some of the most telling details about users’ interests, buying habits, community, and demographics, and can use this information to increase traffic to a business page.

Influencer Marketing

A more recent way social media changed the tourism industry is with influencer marketing. Destinations or businesses pay “influencers,” people with a large social media following, to post content about their place, product, or service. The influencer’s audience already trusts them, so hiring influencers whose content aligns with the destination’s brand values makes the brand all the more likely to gain traction with that audience. On platforms like TikTok, relatively small influencers with around ten thousand followers see higher engagement and can help smaller marketing campaigns get started and reach niche audiences.

Dangers of misusing social media marketing

As a visually-based tool, social media changed the tourism industry, but did so in some negative ways too. It can be difficult for brands to compete in this space, so they may be tempted to edit out distractions and enhance photos to make them more clickable. Market emphasis on getting the “perfect shot” lessens brand authenticity, leading to disappointed travelers, negative reviews, a poor reputation, and, ultimately, a decrease in visitation.

On the flip side, viral trends and fad destinations can lead to over-tourism. When the number of visitors exceeds the capacity of a destination, tourism is no longer beneficial to local communities. For instance, while there are countless Italian beach towns, Positano went viral as the Italian beach town. Subsequently, Positano saw an influx of visitors who posted the place on their socials, further increasing the town’s online presence and visitation. This cycle has led Positano to be crowded with tourists whose focus is on getting a great picture, rather than on participating in local economic or cultural activities. These unsustainable results make it necessary for destinations to create parameters for successful marketing that go beyond sheer numbers.

Using social media for sustainable destination marketing

Sustainable tourism prioritizes the authenticity and longevity of economies, cultures, and environments in touristic destinations. Destinations can promote sustainable tourism with social media by prioritizing authentic over viral content. Responsible branding involves thoughtful storytelling such that local customs and cultures are part of the tourist drive. Strategic planners can also limit overtourism by choosing the right social platforms and influencers to target specific age groups and types of travelers. The consultants at Solimar International are experienced in navigating the complexities of social media for sustainable destination marketing all around the world.

Digital marketing on Atauro Island 

In 2018, Solimar began working under the USAID “Tourism for All” project to develop sustainable tourism in the island nation of Timor-Leste. Solimar worked closely with communities on Ataúro Island –the island with the most biodiverse waters in the world –to develop a Destination Management Organization called ATKOMA.

To promote the new Ataúro Island DMO website they created in October 2020, Solimar launched the “Adventures in Ataúro ” social media contest, offering the winner a free trip to the island. The campaign reached more than 7,000 people across all of ATKOMA’s social platforms and directly resulted in more than 200 clicks on the new website. ATKOMA’s Facebook page also saw an increase of 75 followers, an exciting figure for a destination that previously had next to no online presence .

Solimar continues to support the marketing of Ataúro Island through the ATKOMA Facebook and Instagram pages. Between July 2022 and January 2022, increased and consistent posting in both English and the local language of Tetum led to a 96.29% increase in website users and a 75.2% increase in Facebook reach.

Influencer marketing for domestic tourism in Tunisia

Solimar has been supporting USAID’s Visit Tunisia project since 2021 by creating and implementing a national strategy to diversify Tunisia’s tourism sector. Throughout the summer of 2022, the project used influencer marketing to promote the National Tourism Office’s domestic tourism campaign , #Weekend_Tunisia.

Between April and June 2022, the campaign reached more than 2 million people on social media, leading the Instagram page to see a staggering 300% increase in followers. By July, the campaign had over 6 million views on social media , with featured businesses reporting an increase in bookings. At the end of the season, USAID posted two videos with Tunisian influencers that got more than 12 million views from the target audience in Tunisia.

So, yes, Social Media has changed the Tourism Industry . What does that mean?

Social media is a powerful tool for destinations to use. It must be used carefully to get the right amount and type of tourists to the right decisions. Through working as a sustainable tourism consultancy since 2001, Solimar International has seen how social media changed the tourism industry, and  has a successful track record of strategically planning tourism for destinations in an ever-changing digital world. 

Interested in how we can help you with social media marketing? Contact us to learn more!

Tags: #SustainableTourism , AtauroIsland , destinationmarketing , DigitalMarketing , InfluencerMarketing , SocialMedia , SocialMediaMarketing , TourismIndustry , TourismMarketing , Tunisia

Promotion of urban tourism: insights into user engagement on social media

• Original Research
• Published: 12 October 2021
• Volume 23 , pages 611–632, ( 2021 )

Cite this article

• María Bonilla-Quijada   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6580-2421 1 ,
• Juan Tugores-Ques 2 &
• Josep Lluís Olmo Arriaga 1  

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Interactions between tourism and social networks are among the most notable phenomena of recent times, generating new approaches, in terms of both analyses of and policies for tourism promotion. Public authorities have been forced to become involved in these new realities, adapting their promotion channels to tourists’ new behaviour patterns and carefully cultivating interactions with them. It is becoming ever more important to create and transmit an image capable of stimulating high levels of engagement. This article analyses the role of one of the most booming social networks, Instagram, applied to the case of Berlin, a leading tourist city. All posts generated over the course of a year on the German capital’s official Instagram account were encoded, and the characteristics of those that generated the most interaction with users in the form of likes and comments were analysed. Our study reveals that posts more directly intended as advertising generate more negative results, while there are differences between the elements capable of generating more likes and more comments, respectively: likes are more general in nature, while comments are more specifically linked to the Berlin brand. These findings suggest important conclusions for the more efficient development of strategies to promote interaction with users.

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Bonilla-Quijada, M., Tugores-Ques, J. & Olmo Arriaga, J.L. Promotion of urban tourism: insights into user engagement on social media. Inf Technol Tourism 23 , 611–632 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-021-00213-6

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Bring Visitors to Social With These Tourism Marketing Tips

Tourism marketing on social media has evolved. While social media has been a key player in connecting destinations with potential travelers since its inception, the medium has changed to place a greater emphasis on video content and algorithmic discovery. In order to see results from social media, marketers now have to invest in the dynamic short-form video format while also understanding how to create a content marketing strategy that sticks the landing with audiences. For tourism marketers, it’s not just about posting beautiful photos anymore but about highlighting engaging, authentic experiences that audiences will want to watch and engage with. 

Let’s dive into the world of social media marketing for tourism to help you build a robust strategy — in this blog, we explore: 

• Why social media is important for tourism.
• The best social channels for tourism marketing.
• Five steps to developing a tourism social media strategy. 

Why Social Media Is Important for Tourism Marketing

Tourism is a massive $5.8 trillion industry across the globe. To put it into perspective, the industry averages nearly one billion tourist arrivals yearly. Marketing destinations to an audience this large — a sizable portion of the global population — requires channels that are able to reach almost everyone, and nothing fits that criteria quite like social media.

Social media is electric; content can spread to thousands of people in minutes and marketers simply do not see that kind of reach outside of expensive paid campaigns. Tourist destinations can reach a global audience, engage with future travelers and showcase their unique offerings without breaking the bank. 

The benefit of modern social media is that it is simple. A ten-second video filmed on a phone can reach comparable audiences to a paid campaign. With the right strategy, particularly by optimizing content to strike gold on the algorithm, marketers can drive awareness, boost bookings and foster a community of loyal followers.

The Best Social Media Channels for Tourism Marketing 

There is no universal answer for which social channel marketers should invest in. Different channels cater to different audiences and have varying purposes depending on your brand’s goals.

• Facebook is home to an older demographic and is great to share detailed information about your offerings to audiences with buying power. However, marketers have to compete with saturated newsfeeds, and boosting posts with ad spend is the name of the game to gain an audience.
• Instagram focuses on visuals and has recently entered the world of social entertainment with Reels. Reels perform well organically, meaning marketers can gain significant traction without spending a lot on ads.
• TikTok is the channel that disrupted the market and inspired change from all platforms. It offers the opportunity to reach younger demographics who seek fun experiences, which aligns well with the tourism industry.

5 Steps To Develop a Social Media Marketing Strategy for Tourism

Successful social media campaigns for travel marketing have many moving pieces, including channel strategy, identifying audiences, creating engaging content and measuring results to make refinements. 

Here are some tips that will help bolster your tourism marketing campaigns .

Practice Social Listening

Social listening is the easiest way to determine what audiences want, how they’re talking about you and what content they’re most likely to engage with. Traditionally it has involved monitoring mentions of your brand as well as relevant keywords, however, it has evolved to include AI-powered features such as:

• Social listening trends and topics identification - to help you make better-performing content.
• Advanced filtering - to ensure you cut out all the noise, including using images as a reference for filters rather than just keywords.
• Competitive benchmarking - to help you figure out where you stack against your competitors.

Dive Into Tourist Demographics 

Understanding your target audience is key to developing content that works for them. Consider factors like age, location, interests and travel preferences. Budget is also important, as older travelers may have the buying power for all-inclusive experiences, while younger travelers may be more interested in sightseeing and other low-cost activities. These factors will help create content that resonates most with your audience demographic across social channels.

Localize Campaigns When Relevant 

Social media is global, and tourism campaigns can find a more vast audience than other mediums. Developing a global social media strategy by localizing campaigns by region and language can make them more relevant and engaging. This could involve highlighting attractions that are appealing to international audiences but old news for locals, sharing local stories, or even partnering with influencers who have traveled from afar. When it comes to tourism, there is nothing more authentic than a testimonial from a real tourist who had an amazing time, and in many cases, they will create user-generated content.

Measure Success

The best way to create a successful campaign is through experimentation and iteration. Social media analytics tools allow brands to track the performance of their campaigns in ways that native social analytics do not allow. Metrics such as engagement, reach and conversion rates are valuable to understand what’s working and what’s not — and platforms such as Dash Hudson offer even more sophisticated metrics, such as Entertainment Score , to rank how entertained audiences were by your content on a scale of 1 to 10, or Vision , which uses AI to give a star rating to content that will perform well with audiences before you even post it.

Lean Into Stunning Visuals 

Ultimately, tourism marketing is visual. High-quality images and videos make all the difference in inspiring travelers to visualize themselves at your destination. Text provides meaningful context to help drive bookings, but it is the imagery that tells the story of what your travel spot is and what experiences travelers can expect once they’re there.

Social Media Marketing Tourism Examples 

Let’s look at the brands that are already doing a good job with social media marketing in the tourism industry. The following brands come from a variety of different areas and have different target audiences, but it is clear that they excel at common factors such as entertainment and creating content that resonates with audiences.

Eden Roc Cap Cana 

Luxury resort Eden Roc Cap Cana uses social to its fullest potential, combining a mix of static imagery and dynamic video to showcase guest experiences, events and seasonal highlights.

The Viator travel app has a vibrant, digital-first approach to marketing. The brand understands that social media users care about experiences, and it also pairs its content with specific aesthetics, such as colors or astrological signs, to truly inspire viewers to picture themselves in the moment.

Celebrity Cruises 

Celebrity Cruises has a robust TikTok marketing strategy, using the video format to immerse viewers in international destinations and experiences. The brand’s top-performing posts are notably behind-the-scenes footage of the crew answering questions and having fun.

Explore Charleston

Explore Charleston uses TikTok to partner with local businesses, tourist destinations and independent creators to create a compelling narrative about the city’s vibrant community.

NYC Ferry has taken a modern, trendy approach to TikTok — appealing to Gen Z riders with humorous content and all the latest trending sounds . This is a great example of an organization taking a much different approach for TikTok, as diverse channel strategies are essential for maximizing social media impact.

Breeze Airways

Breeze Airways excels at video on Instagram, including sharing a plethora of fun Reels showcasing flights, destinations and marketing campaigns. Its focus on flight staff helps give a face to the brand, while its content helps to demystify the flying experience.

Dash Hudson For Your Tourism Strategy

Stunning visuals are a huge factor in travel — 37% of travelers in the United States used their mobile phones to find travel inspiration on social media. To make your tourism marketing as impactful as possible, brands should use a combination of compelling images and videos to entice users. 

Dash Hudson offers a suite of tools to support your tourism marketing strategy and visual content. With a wide range of features like Vision , Campaigns and Social Listening , you can create better content with AI-powered insights that predict visual performance, report on your success in just a few clicks and develop a cohesive profile of your audience. 

What is tourism marketing?

Tourism marketing involves promoting a destination, tourism-related product or service, with the goal of attracting visitors and boosting bookings.

How does social media impact tourism and travel? 

Social media has a significant impact on tourism and travel. It allows brands to reach a global audience, engage with potential travelers and showcase their unique offerings. It also provides travelers with a platform to share their experiences, influencing the decisions of others through user-generated content.

How has social media changed tourism? 

Social media has revolutionized tourism by making it more interactive and personalized. It has given travelers a way to share their experiences and opinions, and algorithms serve content to people who have expressed an interest in travel. For tourism brands, it offers a budget-friendly way to market to a large number of people.

How is social media boosting global tourism? 

Social media has removed all limitations in destination discovery. Travelers can find content about any location, get inspired by UGC, and make decisions based on what they’re seeing on their feeds. Many tourist destinations have seen sudden upticks in travelers because of social media trends, which are impossible to predict but highly beneficial when they happen.

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Social Media for Tourism: 2023’s Top Trends You Should Know

As many businesses in the travel and tourism industry re-emerge from the pandemic with leaner budgets, they’re searching for marketing solutions to strike a balance between of-the-moment innovation and cost-effectiveness. Attempting to do more with less, a proven strategy that has gained even more traction post-pandemic, continues to be connecting with consumers on social media. Travelers have been searching for inspiration to plan their next “splurge trip” since 2020. 

Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok continue to lead the way for destination marketing , and it’s easy to see why: the content is visually appealing, highly engaging, easy to consume, and short-form. Beyond the basics, tourism organizations also utilize UGC (user-generated content) to showcase real live people experiencing the destination, which ultimately helps scrolling travelers imagine what it could be like for them to visit. 

A recent study found that about 52% of travelers decided to visit a specific destination after seeing its image/video from friends, family, or peers on social media. Furthermore, a whopping 87% of millennials said they specifically use social media for their travel inspiration.

Moving into 2023, we’ll see a few trends take the top spot for reaching the most travelers in the most impactful way when it comes to visual storytelling to promote destinations through social media marketing .

Authenticity > Anything Else 

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ulia Ali | NYC Creator (@uliaali)

UGC for a destination on Instagram

“Authenticity” has been this year’s buzzword, with apps like BeReal built upon the concept. But your followers really do want you to lift the veil – 90 percent of social media users say authenticity is crucial when deciding which brands they like or support (up from 86 percent in 2017), and 83 percent of marketers agree. 

However, social followers and marketers still disagree on what constitutes “authentic content.” Around 61 percent of marketers believe authenticity is the most effective component of social content. Yet, the content they feel is most authentic tends to be brand-created, while consumers are 2.4 times more likely to say that user-generated content is the most authentic. This particular disconnect leads to a drop in channel engagement.

Amplifying UGC voices will be the key to 2023 for destination marketing – customers trust their peers, and destination brands can leverage user-generated content on multiple levels to strengthen brand messaging and reach. Keep a “Rolodex” of on-location nano-influencers, natives, and experts already creating visually stunning content that aligns with your various planned campaigns. If your NTO, DMO, or travel business is marketing the destination as “Instagrammable,” the UGC you post should also evoke that.

Video is King

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Official Thailand Tourism (@thailandinsider)

A social media post featuring video

We’ve heard this since the app first came on the scene in 2017 – TikTok is coming for Facebook and Instagram. So much so that Meta is changing both platforms to keep up with Chinese developers. This is all to say: video content will outperform photos on most social platforms if it already hasn’t.

Immersive, engaging short-form video content has massively influenced how consumers dream about their next trip. About two-thirds of travel videos are viewed on mobile devices, as travelers reach for their phones up to a hundred times during the day. Another study concluded that while photos are still essential for sharing intimate experiences, video content is indispensable for prompting travelers to recreate the featured activity within said content. 

Ultimately nothing compels travelers towards a destination or travel business more than viewing authentic footage of the exact locale, attraction, event, accommodation, or experience. As they say, we need to see it to believe it.

A New Approach to Paid Ads

As stricter privacy regulations settle into the world of social media advertising as we know it, the importance of highly targeted creative will come to the forefront. In some ways, creative has been undervalued as a path to the consumer, and it’s going to come back with a vengeance in 2023. In addition to channel engagement, a robust creative strategy will also be considered a destination’s most significant driver of performance.

In 2023, investing in creative strategy will be imperative to social ad performance as algorithmic targeting continues to change. Many marketers already see the investment is worth it. Per predictions , social media advertising is set to hit $177 billion in 2022, with total spending on digital advertisements for 2023 projected to reach $681 billion (the lion’s share will go into social ads). 

Social media advertising is also reported to have better ROI when compared to traditional advertising; a survey completed by SurveyMonkey states that almost 50% of social media users will buy a product or service after seeing social ads. Recent trends suggest investing in creative that specifically conjures ephemeral or “FOMO” feelings, or promotions that only last for a limited amount of time (utilizing video content) to earn the highest interactions for your channels.

And with increasing e-commerce integrations into Facebook and Instagram continuing rollout, destinations will soon have more to sell than just trip envy – key stakeholders can package and sell what users are experiencing within your content directly on the app. Talk about never having to leave your couch.

All in all, social media marketing has seen many changes post-pandemic. Users spend more time in front of their devices, and how they interact with content changes as rapidly as the technology itself. Before you spread yourself too thin in an attempt to adapt your marketing tactics to meet each new, sparkly innovation, remember point 1: authenticity over everything else. That trend is undoubtedly here to stay.

If your destination wants to take your social media presence to the next level connect with our tourism social media experts to get started today.

• By: Julie Chung
• October 25, 2022

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The Impact of Social Media on the Tourism Industry

• By Christian Brandt
• August 6, 2023

In today’s digitally connected world, where friends, family, and even strangers are just a click away, social media has undeniably become an integral part of our daily lives. But have you ever stopped to ponder over the impact of social media on the tourism industry?

From sharing breathtaking travel photographs to seeking recommendations and reviews, social media platforms have revolutionized the way we plan, experience, and reminisce about our vacations. But their impact goes far beyond mere photo sharing.

It’s a fascinating terrain where influencers have the power to make or break a destination, where viral videos can turn a hidden gem into a must-visit hotspot, and where travelers can connect with locals in ways never before possible.

In this post, I will unravel the powerful impact of social media on the tourism industry and show how it’s changing the world of travel!

The Rise of Social Media in Tourism

In the not-so-distant past, the tourism industry relied heavily on traditional marketing channels like print media, television, and travel agencies. However, the rise of social media marked a paradigm shift in how tourism operates. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube brought about a new era of digital connectivity, opening boundless opportunities for the industry.

Statistics showcase the significance of social media in tourism. Countless travelers turn to social media to research destinations, read reviews, and share their experiences. The industry leverages these insights to tailor services and cater to modern travelers’ preferences.

Smartphones play a vital role in facilitating social media engagement while traveling. Easy access to mobile internet and a plethora of social media apps empower tourists to document and share their experiences instantaneously. As a result, they become content creators, amplifying destinations’ reach and influencing other travelers’ choices.

Social media’s evolution continues to impact the tourism industry significantly. The ease of sharing experiences, the speed of information dissemination, and the power of digital connections have transformed how travelers plan, experience, and remember their journeys. The rise of social media in tourism has not only changed how we explore the world but has also revolutionized strategies employed by businesses and destinations to stay relevant in an increasingly connected world.

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Positive Impacts of Social Media on Tourism

Now let us delve into the positive impacts that social media has brought to the tourism industry. From increased exposure and customer engagement to the power of user-generated content, social media has transformed the way destinations are marketed and experienced. Let’s explore the fascinating ways in which these positive factors have shaped the landscape of modern-day travel.

Increased Exposure and Reach

One of the most significant positive impacts of social media on the tourism industry is the unprecedented increase in exposure and reach for destinations and businesses alike. Social media platforms serve as powerful marketing tools, allowing destinations to showcase their unique attractions, culture, and experiences to a global audience.

Furthermore, social media’s sharing capabilities enable travelers to share their experiences in real-time, acting as brand advocates and influencers for the destinations they visit. This organic word-of-mouth marketing extends the reach of destinations far beyond traditional marketing boundaries, reaching audiences that may have previously been challenging to target.

Through the strategic use of hashtags, location tags, and collaborations with travel influencers, destinations can gain more visibility and attract the attention of their target audience. The power of social media algorithms also plays a crucial role, as engaging and relevant content is often prioritized and exposed to a broader audience.

Enhanced Customer Engagement

Another positive impact of social media on the tourism industry is the enhanced customer engagement it facilitates. Unlike traditional marketing channels, social media allows direct and real-time communication between travelers and tourism businesses, creating a more personal and interactive experience.

Travelers can engage with destinations, hotels, airlines, and tour operators directly through comments, messages, and posts. This level of accessibility fosters a sense of trust and transparency, as businesses can respond promptly to inquiries, provide assistance, and address customer concerns. Positive interactions and excellent customer service on social media can lead to enhanced brand loyalty and repeat visits.

Moreover, social media serves as a platform for travelers to share their feedback and experiences openly. This user-generated content, whether positive or constructive, provides valuable insights for destinations and helps them improve their services and offerings.

In return, tourism businesses can share updates, promotions, and behind-the-scenes content, keeping their audience informed and engaged. This two-way communication strengthens the relationship between travelers and businesses, creating a community of passionate advocates for the destination.

Additionally, social media allows destinations to run engaging contests, polls, and interactive campaigns, encouraging travelers to actively participate and share their experiences. This gamification of content further boosts engagement and expands the reach of the destination’s message.

User-Generated Content (UGC)

User-Generated Content (UGC) has emerged as a game-changer for the tourism industry, revolutionizing the way destinations are perceived and marketed. Unlike traditional promotional materials, UGC relies on authentic and unbiased content created by travelers themselves, making it a powerful tool in shaping traveler perceptions and influencing their travel decisions.

The impact of UGC lies in its ability to build trust and credibility. When travelers see real people enjoying and endorsing a destination, they feel more confident and inspired to explore it themselves. UGC acts as social proof, assuring potential visitors that the experiences showcased are genuine and attainable.

Destinations have embraced UGC by curating and featuring this content on their official social media accounts, websites, and marketing campaigns. By doing so, they not only amplify the reach of UGC but also strengthen the sense of community among travelers. This inclusive approach makes travelers feel valued and recognized, leading to a higher level of engagement and brand loyalty.

In addition to its influence on potential travelers, UGC also provides invaluable insights into destinations. By analyzing the content shared by travelers, businesses can identify emerging trends, understand customer preferences, and make data-driven decisions to enhance their offerings.

Furthermore, the rise of digital influencers and travel bloggers has amplified the impact of UGC. Collaborating with these influencers allows destinations to tap into their dedicated and engaged audiences, creating a ripple effect of UGC that spreads across social media channels.

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Fostering Digital Influencer Partnerships

Fostering digital influencer partnerships has emerged as a strategic approach for the tourism industry to leverage the power of social media and reach wider audiences. Digital influencers, such as travel bloggers, vloggers, and social media personalities, have amassed dedicated and engaged followings, making them influential brand advocates for destinations.

By collaborating with digital influencers, tourism businesses can tap into their authentic storytelling and captivating content creation skills. These influencers can showcase destinations in a relatable and aspirational manner, resonating with their followers and inspiring travel decisions.

When digital influencers share their travel experiences, it creates a ripple effect of user-generated content (UGC). Their followers often engage with and share the content, extending the destination’s reach far beyond traditional marketing efforts.

Influencer campaigns can take various forms, including sponsored trips, product reviews, and destination takeovers. These collaborations provide a dynamic and immersive experience for the influencer’s audience, encouraging them to explore the destination through the influencer’s lens.

However, transparency and disclosure are essential in influencer partnerships. Ensuring that sponsored content is identified as such maintains trust and credibility with the influencer’s audience.

Beyond the immediate impact, influencer partnerships can have long-term benefits. Building ongoing relationships with digital influencers can result in sustained visibility and continuous engagement with the destination’s target audience.

Negative Impacts of Social Media on Tourism

Let us now examine the negative impacts that social media can exert on the tourism industry. As much as social media has revolutionized travel experiences, it also brings forth unique challenges and considerations that destinations and businesses must navigate. So let us now delve into the darker side of social media’s influence on tourism and explore ways to address these concerns responsibly.

Overtourism

Overtourism stands as a significant negative impact of social media on the tourism industry. While social media has undoubtedly amplified the visibility of destinations, it has also led to the exponential growth of tourist footfall, surpassing the carrying capacity of certain places. 

As picturesque locations and unique experiences are shared widely on social media, they become viral trends, attracting hordes of travelers seeking to capture the same enchanting moments. As a consequence, popular destinations face overcrowding, congestion, and strain on local infrastructure and resources.

Additionally, overtourism can lead to increased prices, gentrification, and displacement of residents as the focus shifts from sustainable growth to short-term profits.

Addressing overtourism requires a multifaceted approach. Destinations must focus on sustainable tourism practices, manage visitor numbers through innovative measures like visitor quotas or timed entry, and promote lesser-known attractions to disperse tourist traffic.

Furthermore, social media influencers and travelers alike have a responsibility to promote responsible tourism practices, encouraging a mindful approach that respects local communities and their environments.

Misinformation and Negative Reviews

Misinformation and negative reviews represent another significant negative impact of social media on the tourism industry. While social media provides a platform for authentic user-generated content, it also opens the door to the spread of false information and negative feedback, which can have detrimental effects on destinations and businesses.

In the age of information, rumors and inaccurate details about destinations can quickly circulate through social media channels. Misleading content, whether unintentional or malicious, can harm a destination’s reputation and dissuade potential travelers from visiting.

Negative reviews and complaints posted on social media platforms can significantly influence a traveler’s decision-making process. One negative experience, blown out of proportion, can create a lasting impression on potential visitors, impacting a destination’s tourism revenue.

The challenge for the tourism industry lies in managing and addressing such misinformation and negative reviews effectively. Proactive reputation management and prompt response to customer feedback are crucial in mitigating the impact of unfavorable content.

Destinations and businesses can also focus on encouraging positive customer experiences and cultivating a strong online presence through engaging content and exceptional customer service. Building trust and credibility with their audience can counterbalance the effects of isolated negative incidents.

Privacy and Security Concerns

Privacy and security concerns emerge as significant issues arising from the impact of social media on the tourism industry. As travelers share personal information, location data, and travel plans on social media platforms, they inadvertently expose themselves to potential risks and threats.

One primary concern is the risk of privacy breaches. When users share their travel itineraries and check-ins, they may unknowingly disclose sensitive information, making them vulnerable to theft, fraud, or even physical harm if accessed by malicious entities.

Geotagging features on social media posts can pinpoint a traveler’s exact location, potentially revealing their absence from home and making them susceptible to burglary. Similarly, oversharing travel plans may lead to unwanted attention or safety risks.

Additionally, public Wi-Fi networks often used by travelers can be vulnerable to cyber attacks, compromising personal data such as passwords and credit card information. The use of public charging stations could also expose devices to data theft through USB ports.

Destinations and tourism businesses face their own privacy and security challenges. From managing customer data to ensuring secure online transactions, protecting visitors’ personal information becomes a crucial responsibility.

To address privacy and security concerns, travelers must exercise caution when sharing personal details on social media. Utilizing privacy settings and restricting the visibility of posts can help minimize exposure to potential risks.

Tourism businesses can implement secure payment gateways, encryption protocols, and data protection measures to safeguard customer information. Providing clear guidelines to visitors on responsible social media use during their stay can also contribute to a safer travel experience.

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Case Studies: Real-Life Examples

In this section, I will present five instances that showcase the powerful influence of social media on the tourism industry. From destinations experiencing unprecedented growth to unique travel trends sparked by digital platforms, these real-world examples reveal the transformative nature of social media in shaping our travel experiences. 

1) Iceland’s Tourism Boom

Social media played a significant role in promoting Iceland as a picturesque destination. Stunning landscapes, including the Northern Lights and unique natural wonders, were shared widely on platforms like Instagram, attracting a surge of tourists. While this brought economic benefits, the sudden influx also led to overtourism concerns, pushing the Icelandic government to adopt sustainable tourism practices and manage visitor numbers effectively.

2) Tourism Recovery in New Orleans

After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, social media played a crucial role in the city’s recovery. Local businesses and tourism authorities used platforms like Twitter and Facebook to share updates on rebuilding efforts and showcase the city’s cultural richness. As a result, travelers were encouraged to support the revitalization, contributing to the city’s tourism resurgence.

3) The Rise of Geotagging in Bali

Bali’s pristine beaches and lush landscapes attracted hordes of travelers seeking idyllic vacations. With the rise of geotagging on Instagram, popular spots in Bali became viral trends, leading to overcrowding and environmental degradation. As a response, local authorities launched campaigns to raise awareness of responsible tourism and protect the island’s fragile ecosystems.

4) Airline Crisis Management

Airlines have faced numerous challenges with social media, as negative incidents and customer complaints can quickly go viral. Companies like United Airlines and British Airways experienced public relations crises when videos of passenger mistreatment circulated on social media. Responding swiftly and transparently to such incidents became critical in managing their reputations and restoring public trust.

5) Airbnb’s Influence on Travel Trends

Airbnb disrupted the traditional accommodation industry with the power of social media. Its user-friendly platform allowed travelers to share their unique and authentic stay experiences, inspiring others to opt for local and personalized lodging options. As a result, boutique hotels, homestays, and experiential accommodations gained popularity, reshaping travel preferences and fueling a demand for more meaningful travel experiences.

These case studies demonstrate how social media’s impact on the tourism industry can be both transformative and challenging. They highlight the importance of responsible use, strategic marketing, and proactive measures to navigate the evolving landscape of modern-day travel.

Social media has had a profound impact on the tourism industry. It has revolutionized the way travelers research destinations, connect with other travelers, and share their experiences. Both tourists and businesses must navigate these challenges effectively, as social media continues to shape and transform the tourism landscape in significant ways.

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Social Media has the Greatest Influence on Travel Destination Choices

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The COVID years have paved the way for greater consumer trust and familiarity with advancement in biometric identity management and automatic check-in at airports. However, social media continues to cement itself as a crucial ingredient for many travelers, with 75% using social platforms as a source of inspiration for travel.

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Positive and negative effects of Social Media on the Tourism industry

Social media tourism statistics

Importance of social media in the tourism industry, impact of social media on tourism, impact of social media influencers on tourism, negative effects of social media on the tourism industry, advances in social media for travel, tourism, and hospitality, examples of tourism social media campaigns.

The social media phenomenon has this incredible power to impact various industries . The tourism industry seems to be very susceptible to the effects of social media platforms . To what extent, though?

The travel industry is among the early adopters of new technologies and solutions . Social media networks enabled the sector to improve various processes and deliver better experiences to travelers worldwide.

Let’s see the most crucial social media tourism statistics , followed by the effects of social media on tourism , and some of the most noteworthy examples of social media use in the sector .

The relationship between social media platforms and the travel industry is best understood through relevant stats. Here are the most interesting social media tourism statistics. 

When it comes to travelers and social networks, it’s surprising to discover that almost 85% of millennials use someone else’s social posts when planning their vacations . Around 43% of them won’t go on a vacation if they can’t be sure that their followers can see their vacation posts , while 34% book a hotel because they saw it via user-generated content. 

People from all corners of the world keep using social media channels to talk about their travels. In fact, 74% of people who travel use social media while on vacation . During 2019, social media users kept generating a travel-related hashtag search volume of 1 million every week . 

According to recent research, social media became a vital part of tourism companies’ strategic operations during the pandemic, and consumption increased by 72% .  

Social media tourism statistics also reveal some interesting shifts in tourism marketing strategies pursued by travel agencies, hotels, travel agents, and OTAs. 

The travel industry continues to be the most engaging industry on Instagram, with an average engagement rate of 1.41% . The engagement rates on Twitter are 0.04%, TikTok 8.74%, and Facebook 0.27%. The spike in TikTok travel industry posts engagement indicates that this social media channel can provide very lucrative opportunities to the travel sector in the future. 

Representatives of tourism businesses use various marketing channels in their mix. However, the International Tourist Research Centers found out that 88% of tourism businesses actively use social media to promote destinations and offers and understand the attitudes of consumers. 

Paid ads continue to be the favorite social media marketing strategy for travel marketers, and the most attractive platform is Facebook . According to recent research, almost 80% of travel marketers use Facebook to launch paid ad campaigns to achieve a range of goals, from increasing awareness to boosting booking rates. 

With the above stats in mind, it’s pretty clear that social media is quite an important asset for the tourism sector. 

When it comes to the importance of social media in the tourism industry, we first have to acknowledge the opportunities social media platforms deliver to hotels, travel agents, agencies, and OTAs. The power of social media lies in the sheer number of people who use it daily:

• Facebook has 2.93 billion monthly active users ;
• Instagram has 1 billion monthly active users ;
• Twitter has 290.5 million monthly active users ;
• TikTok has 1 billion monthly active users .

Any business or individual involved in the tourism sector can create and use these social media platforms for free. They can create official profiles and use them to provide relevant information, answer users’ questions, or engage with users to create a large following. No wonder many marketers use social media to help hotels and travel agents increase visibility. 

More importantly, social media platforms offer paid marketing opportunities . They have access to a ridiculous amount of information on their users. It’s important because it enables travel marketers to launch comprehensive marketing strategies. The platforms have advanced targeting options allowing marketers to target very specific demographics.

Another important factor is engagement and interaction. Social media platforms are also communication channels. They also support the integration of AI and chatbots that travel companies can use to answer important questions or enable online booking. 

Finally, travel companies can use social media with social media analytics software . It can help them make sense of the data, measure KPIs such as engagement and click-through rate, and gauge followers’ sentiment.

Social media’s impact on tourism is huge . The best way to understand is to discover what people do before going on a trip. Social media helped create this environment where people are invited to research a tourist destination and share personal photos and videos. In other words, social media has completely changed the way people make travel decisions.

In fact, according to GlobalData, 30% of Gen Z and 32% of millennials see a direct engagement with a brand as the most important purchasing decision factor . The same report indicates that social media has also changed the best customer services paradigm. Travel companies now use social media channels to enhance customer service and offer availability 24/7/365.

Social media has also enabled travelers to do comprehensive research on destinations. An average traveler has 400 digital moments on average before making the booking decision, and almost 90% of those experiences are mobile experiences. 

One of the studies reveals that 27% of travelers make the initial decision to travel to a specific destination thanks to Facebook posts. 

Social media didn’t only transform how travel and hospitality companies market their offer but also how they interact with customers to facilitate direct bookings. A recent survey by GuestCentric discovered that 49% of hoteliers see social media as the second most important marketing and sales priority. We are talking about a 4.5% increase over one year.

Finally, we have reviews via social media. Travelers are four times more likely to choose a hotel with reviews higher than other hotels at the same price point. 76% of travelers are willing to spend more when booking a hotel if most reviews are positive and the score is high. 

More importantly, properties that responded to over 50% of the reviews posted via social media were able to boost occupancy rates by a staggering 6.4% . 

Influencer marketing is one of the most effective digital marketing strategies. Influencers have become important for the tourism sector. However, they are still not as important as organic social media reviews and posts.

Authentic photos and videos have more value to travelers than paid and staged visuals influencers create and share. Almost 40% of people report that influencer photos and videos don’t impact their decisions when choosing a hotel or resort. 

However, one of the recent studies suggests that this might change in the foreseeable future as social media influencers have the potential to impact all stages of the travelers’ decision-making process, including:

• Information search;
• Evaluating alternatives;
• Purchase decisions;
• Satisfaction;
• Experience sharing.

It partially applies to a tourism business interested in attracting young travelers. It appears that young travelers positively respond to social media influencers, specifically Instagram influencers . Influencers have the power to affect their followers’ intention to visit the places featured in their content.

At the same time, it’s equally important to consider how tourism positively impact and benefits local communities . Explore the synergy between tourism and community development in our focused piece, where we uncover the myriad ways tourism can be a force for local empowerment.

Beyond the significant impact of social media influencers on tourism, there’s a critical need for tourism businesses to craft travel experiences that remain etched in customers’ memories. Uncover effective strategies and practical tips to achieve this by delving into our comprehensive guide about customer journeys in the travel and tourism sector.

Social media doesn’t only have positive effects on the tourism industry. It also has the potential to negatively affect it. One of the biggest concerns for tourism brands is maintaining the brand image. However, as one comparative study finds out , negative interactions on the official social media posting can potentially hurt a travel brand’s image.

The problem with social media is that negative comments don’t only spread among the followers. Potential customers can see these comments and start to second-guess their decisions to travel with the company or book through it.

Finally, as we’ve all seen in the past, social media can negatively affect the tourism industry in one geographical location. The event that comes to mind is the Maldives tourist authority’s Twitter campaign idea . Instead of promoting the tourism industry, the campaign backfired, and the entire sector in the Maldives suffered.

The tourism and hospitality sectors didn’t become interested in leveraging social media only because of billions of people using it. It goes beyond destination marketing via paid ads and influencers. Over the last decade, there have been some significant advances in social media that benefit the entire travel industry.

Take Facebook, for instance. The platform has released a Marketing API , which travel companies can use to streamline advertising on Facebook. Additionally, companies can use Conversions API to enrich their internal marketing data with Facebook’s data. It helps them optimize ad targeting, run a cost-efficient operation, and achieve specific goals.

The advances helped make the Facebook ad platform one of the most comprehensive paid ads platforms online.

When it comes to promoting destinations to reflect modern travelers’ expectations, Instagram hit the sweet spot with the 2020 Reels update . Instagram users, including influencers, can create stunning 15-second videos to highlight some destinations, activities, or services. 

The best way to understand the power of social media is to look at some campaigns and the extent of their success.

#ArtsinLB – destination social media marketing

Long Beach arts and culture are among the main tourist attractions in this location. However, the city of Los Angeles managed to take center stage. To bring culture and arts back into the spotlight, Long Beach CVB decided to use social media influencers for every major social channel, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. 

The results were outstanding. The #ArtsinLB generated almost 2,000 unique posts, and the posts generated 38 million impressions . 

Visit Wiltshire – driving social engagement through the roof

Visit Wiltshire is a renowned tourism development organization. After receiving funding from the Discover England Fund, the organization decided to use a multi-channel marketing approach with social media as its central piece. 

The organization was mainly focused on building a social following on Facebook, creating content with engagement in mind.

The campaign lasted for six weeks, and the results were that audience reach increased by 125%, and social engagement actions increased by 156% . 

Discover Your South Africa – increase the number of visitors and considerations

South African Tourism is one of the leading organizations in Africa’s travel sector. The organization wanted to increase the number of visitors from Ireland and the UK. Social media platforms appeared to provide the best opportunities to promote destinations in South Africa to this specific demographic . 

They created a sharable interactive quiz featuring Instagram-like square images. The campaign turned out to be a huge success – it reached 1.5 million UK and Irish users, and the bookings increased by 57% .

Beekman Tower – increasing click-through rates

Beekman Tower is a renowned Manhattan hotel and one of the top tourist attractions in this borough of New York City. The hotel wanted to keep attracting the valued guests while staying true to the modern-classic experience it offers. They decided to go for social media because the hotel market in this area is fast-paced, and competition is harsh. 

The social media campaign targeted Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. After social listening and analysis, they created content that perfectly resonates with their target audience. Every post generated 3,000 impressions on average, but more importantly, posts generated 1,500 clicks on average . 

At this point, the ties between social media and the tourism industry have become inseparable. The impact of social media on tourism and hospitality is immense. Today we have tourism businesses of all sizes leveraging social media to increase awareness, engage with potential guests, and improve bookings. 

Given the current situation, it’s safe to assume that we will continue to see travel companies using social media to establish a better position in their target market. 

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Marc Truyols has a degree in Tourism from the University of the Balearic Islands. Marc has extensive experience in the leisure, travel and tourism industry. His skills in negotiation, hotel management, customer service, sales and hotel management make him a strong business development professional in the travel industry.

Mize is the leading hotel booking optimization solution in the world. With over 170 partners using our fintech products, Mize creates new extra profit for the hotel booking industry using its fully automated proprietary technology and has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue across its suite of products for its partners. Mize was founded in 2016 with its headquarters in Tel Aviv and offices worldwide.

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April 16, 2024

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Emojis make tourism advertising on social media more effective and appealing, finds study

by University of Granada

A study by the University of Granada (UGR) shows that users understand advertisements better and with less effort when congruent emojis and messages are used. The findings also suggest a shift in the preferences of potential consumers towards more nature-based tourism.

UGR researchers from the Department of Marketing and Market Research have carried out a pioneering study showing how the use of congruent messages and emojis when promoting tourist destinations on social media leads to greater user attention. This strategy helps users to process the information effectively and reduces their cognitive effort.

More specifically, the use of emojis in online messages about tourism destinations facilitates processing and reduces ambiguity, especially when the recipients encounter content with low levels of congruence.

The main objective of the research, recently published in the Journal of Destination Marketing & Management , was to understand how messages posted on social media by destination management organizations (DMOs) and subsequent comments from other users (electronic word-of-mouth or eWOM) influence the perception and behavior of potential tourists.

The study was carried out at the UGR's Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Centre (CIMCYC). It consisted of an experiment using eye-tracking techniques on 60 users of the social network Facebook. These individuals underwent a series of experimental procedures in which the researchers manipulated the level of congruence between the messages of those posting and the users, the use or omission of emojis in the content, and the way in which the tourist destination was positioned in the media (natural environment, gastronomy, hotels, sun and beach).

The UGR research team, which includes Beatriz García Carrión, Francisco Muñoz Leiva, Salvador del Barrio García and Lucia Porcu, point out that the study "clearly illustrates the benefits in terms of the effectiveness of using congruent messages in marketing communications in general, and especially in digital communications via social media, as well as how the use of emojis contributes to improving users' information processing, increasing their attention and reducing the cognitive effort involved.

"Moreover, congruent messages not only facilitate users' information processing, but also improve their affective evaluation—a crucial aspect when it comes to making a decision on a tourist destination."

The UGR study yields several key findings for tourism management in relation to communication approaches aimed at social media users. To begin with, the research shows how important it is for tourism managers to maintain a high level of congruence in the information they convey through social media.

As the researchers explain, "This involves systematically reviewing and managing comments across all communication channels to identify any comments that do not align with the destination's desired positioning, with a view to mitigating potential negative effects."

Pictorial representations (emojis) significantly enhance the overall comprehension of the information. However, the study did not find a significant impact of emojis on the formation of affective evaluations. The UGR study emphasizes that tourism managers should focus on information related to the destination's gastronomy and natural environment, rather than more conventional aspects such as sun and beach facilities or hotel offerings, as the former attract more attention and are perceived more favorably, even under low levels of congruence.

The research findings suggest a shift in the preferences of potential consumers towards more nature-based tourism. Therefore, tourism managers should place greater emphasis on communicating aspects related to the environment and sustainability of the tourist destination in their social media posts, thereby reaping benefits in terms of visual attention and affective evaluations.

Provided by University of Granada

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• Hospitality, Marketing & Tourism

'Okanagan's got it': Wineries pull together amid devastating loss of 2024 vintage

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With seasons shifting and spring arriving, farmers in the Okanagan are holding their breath while they await the annual time of “bud break” — the emergence of buds on the vines.

The valley’s wine industry especially awaits their fate,  expecting little to no grapes  in their vineyards after this winter's cold snap. The cold snap occurred in January across the valley, where temperatures reached below -20 C to -25 C for a prolonged period of time, which ultimately killed potentially-fruitful buds.

“There’s a lot of unrest in the industry right now,” says Ruth King, program manager of Sustainable Winegrowing BC. Many are wondering what the future will look like, especially those who rely on grape growing in the Okanagan.

The B.C. provincial government announced in March that they would put  $70 million toward replanting  orchards and vineyards. Even with these replanting funds, King explains the real challenge with replanting vines is the number of years it takes from replant, to wine production.

Although some may look to replant, “most producers will probably call this one a write-off and they’ll prune for structure and renewal,” King says, which means there will be no chance of a 2024 vintage in order to preserve vineyards for the long run, and avoid a total replant.

No expectation for a viable crop

This preservation method is exactly what Ben Bryant and Katie Truscott, owners of 1 Mill Road Winery, are doing. With no expectation for a viable crop from their Naramata Bench vineyards this year, the couple made the choice to prune with “vine regeneration” in mind in order to give the vines the best shot at recovery for a fruitful 2025 vintage.

In the meantime, without a physical tasting room, 1 Mill Road will be focusing on what they can do to engage in their community this season, with local pop-ups, and attending various events promoting their current vintage wines.

While  expanding hospitality ventures  and pruning for preservation may be the answer for some small businesses in the short term, others are wondering what long term solutions there are for the Okanagan.

The adaptation to these climatic changes is where the learning can happen for our growing industry, says Donna Senese, associate professor of geography at UBC Okanagan. “Can we actually adapt in such a way that the industry has a huge benefit...and ends up in a better place after this black swan disaster?”

Senese seems to think there’s hope, and would like to see more “developing relationships between people in the industry and the university” so that there is passing of information and collaborative brainstorming on various sustainable approaches for the future.

This kind of collaborative effort and supportive learning process is echoed by King, who also says the industry has a lot of learning to do. “We have more pressure than ever to look at our numbers and our data... and really take a good look at what we’re doing and do some smart business and be more sustainable in all of our practices.”

King believes that these major challenges also present an opportunity to “relaunch the brand of BC wine”. King says collaborative initiatives, such as Sustainable Winegrowing BC, can help industry members push past these hard times. “We really need to get together and make sure we all survive this so that we can all thrive in the future”.

Okanagan's Got It

The industry may not have all of the answers for the future, but the need for collaboration and regional support is the one thing that is certain. This season, members in the industry are urging people to visit while they still have past vintages up for grabs. The “Okanagan's Got It” challenge has surfaced on social media after Elephant Island Winery, JoieFarm Winery, and Deep Roots Winery collaborated to encourage neighbouring wineries to show their fans that there’s still plenty of wine in the Okanagan Valley.

The three wineries posted a reel to Instagram mid-March with the joint caption: “We know the Okanagan wine industry has been in the news lately. Much of the conversation has focused on  farming challenges . Despite these challenges, we want fans to know there are still many beautiful wines and amazing experiences waiting for them in wine country. We’re tapping winery and hospitality friends and neighbours to show us what you have. ‘We've got what you need, come visit us!’ #okanagansgotit."

The challenge continues to grow, with many wineries in the valley taking part.

Miranda Halladay, proprietor of Elephant Island Winery, says the idea for the challenge first started when the cold snap created the perception that there wasn’t going to be any wine in the Okanagan this season.

“We wanted to reassure people and invite them to come and visit us, and provide a counterpoint to some of the stories of the farming challenges.” Halladay says “the response has been overwhelming” and “it’s also created a sense of appreciation and pride of what our neighbours and fellow producers are offering.”

Halladay is “hoping this can be translated to visiting traffic” as  tasting rooms start to open for the season.

So, for those of us looking to visit our favourite wineries this season, rest assured, the Okanagan’s still got it.

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