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.

Is Xenios Zeus Still Alive? Destination Image of Athens in the Years of Recession

“…Second, the study makes use of data collected from relevant and popular social media, so as to monitor the change of destination image through the years. Although the significance of social media in today’s tourism industry is well established (e.g., Fotis, Buhalis, and Rossides 2012; Hays, Page, and Buhalis 2013; Leung et al 2013; Sigala, Christou, and Gretzel 2012; Xiang and Gretzel 2010), there has been a significant gap in tourism literature on adequately analyzing them in order to capture perceptions and images in crisis situations (Sigala 2011). This study, therefore, takes advantage of social media’s penetration in the modern travelers, in order to analyze travel-related information and extract useful insights on the travelers’ destination image, something that has not been done before in this context.…”

“…TripAdvisor was chosen as the only data source because, first, it is the largest social online network of travel consumers worldwide (O’Connor 2010) and, second, it provides a sharing platform for reviews and experiences among consumers (Wei, Miao, and Huang 2013). As part of social media, it is, therefore, a rich source of travel-related information, which can provide useful insights on travelers’ perceptions, attitudes, and destination images (Fotis, Buhalis, and Rossides 2012; Hays, Page, and Buhalis 2013; Leung et al 2013; Sigala, Christou, and Gretzel 2012; Xiang and Gretzel 2010). The main challenge researchers need to tackle when studying TripAdvisor data is the legitimacy and authenticity of reviews and shared experiences, an issue that has been questioned recently (O’Connor 2010).…”

Generating destination brand awareness and image through the firm's social media

“…From a tourist perspective, travel and shopping activities involve high risks and uncertainty, and the role of information is to reduce these risks. Thus, it was found that 45% of tourists use social networks to search for travel ideas (Fotis et al. , 2012).…”