Social Media Impact on Holiday Travel Planning

Abstract

The impact of social media on the travel industry is predicted to be tremendous, especially on its holiday travel segment. Although there is a plethora of studies concentrating on the role and impact of social media in travel related decisions, most of them are medium and community specific, or focus on a specific stage of the decision making or the travel planning process. This paper presents a comprehensive view of the role and impact of social media on the travel planning process: before, during and after the trip, providing insights on usage levels, scope of use, level of influence, and trust. The study was conducted through an online structured questionnaire on a sample of 346 members of an online panel of internet users from Russia and the other Former Soviet Union (FSU) Republics who had been on holidays in the previous 12 months. Findings reveal that social media are predominantly used after holidays for experience sharing. It is also shown that there is a strong correlation between level of influence from social media and changes made to holiday plans. Moreover, it is revealed that user-generated content is more trusted than official tourism websites, travel agents, and mass media advertising.

Utilizing Social Media to Encourage Domestic Tourism in Oman

“…It is clear from the literature that the study of social media in tourism context is a growing area of interest among researchers, due to the tremendous influence of such technology on travel industry (Fotis et al, 2011). In this fields of research, most of the literature focus on main two major topics: The use of social media in the tourism industry and the influence or impact of such technology on such sector.…”

“…During this phase, travelers not only consume social media to find holiday related information, but also begin to share their travel experiences, by producing comment and review on UGC, however producing social media content is much lower than consuming (Fotis et al, 2011).…”

“…Since the advent of social media, many researchers have tried to identify and classify its different types (Fotis et al, 2011;Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010;Fischer and Reuber, 2011;Constantinides, 2009;Al-Badi, 2014), indicating an academic disagreement over social media taxonomy. Among these attempts, Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) typology has received special recognition among the researchers in the field of social media.…”

Liminality in nature-based tourism experiences as mediated through social media

“…Similar aspects should be further investigated in tourism as well. Smartphones allow tourists to engage in the pre-and post-phases during the core of the experience by a variety of means (Dickinson et al, 2014;Fotis, Buhalis, & Rossides, 2011;Wang, Xiang, & Fesenmaier, 2014). For instance, by using social media apps, tourists can keep their connection with peers at home while away (Munar et al, 2013).…”

Exploring the characteristics of tourism industry by analyzing consumer review contents from social media: a case study of Bamako, Mali

“…Research guided by Google showed that 84% of leisure travelers use the Internet as a planning resource. In another study conducted by (Fotis, Buhalis, and Rossides 2011), the authors found that social media have changed the way online Internet users from Russia and other former Soviet Union Republics make to their holiday plans.…”