The Impact of Social Media on the Tourist Experience: Telling Your Story to Your Connected Others

Abstract

The development of the Internet and improvements in information and communication technologies (ICTs) allow consumers to share their opinions and experiences of products and services with other consumers through electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM, word-of-mouse) communication. Tourism is one sector that has a very close relationship with the innovations in information technologies. Today, social media provide many opportunities for travellers to share their holiday experiences with their connected others. People share their opinions with connected others by sending e-mails, posting comments and feedback on websites and forums, publishing online blogs, and forming and joining communities on the Internet. Sharing their experiences with others contributes to the value of the experience and makes it more meaningful and memorable. In this study, following a theoretical discussion based on a review of the relevant literature, the researcher would like to demonstrate the role and importance of sharing the tourist experience with connected others in social media. By conducting structured interviews (online and offline) with people who were chosen based on their holiday experience sharing habits, the contribution and role of storytelling in a tourism consumer's holiday experience are explored. For new tourists, storytelling plays a serious role in addition to the holiday experience itself, and sharing experiences with connected others is seen as a vital tool for a fulfilling holiday experience. The results will demonstrate the contribution of storytelling to the tourist experience and provide a basis for further research on scale development for assessing the impact of storytelling on the tourist experience.

Anlatıya Dahil Olmanın Hikâye Anlatıcılığına Etkisi: Unutulmaz Turizm Deneyimlerinin Aracı Rolü

“…Anlatıya ulaşımın, hikâye anlatıcılığı etkisi üzerinde unutulmaz turizm deneyiminin aracılık rolü de araştırma sonunda ortaya koyulmuştur. Yılmaz (2016), yaptığı çalışmada hikâyelerin, unutulmaz turizm deneyimine etki ettiğini ve turistin bu deneyimi paylaşma eğiliminde olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Buna ek olarak; Delgadillo ve Escalas (2004), yaptıkları çalışmada hikâyelerin, bellekte yer ederek tüketici davranışını etkilediğini belirtmişlerdir.…”

Potential and Analysis of Tourist Trend of Visiting Tourism Destination in West Java

“…Social media is internet-based application that is supported by platform of Web 2.0. Social media facilitates its user with valuable tools to interact and communicate with others [23]. Tourists who use social media tend to be more informed, independent, individualistics, and more active in participating in tourism activities.…”

“…Tourists who use social media tend to be more informed, independent, individualistics, and more active in participating in tourism activities. They also share their experiences to the others [23]. The higher their interaction in social media, the stronger their intention to consume tourism products [24].…”

“…The higher their interaction in social media, the stronger their intention to consume tourism products [24]. Based on survey results, active social media user will share their travel experiences to others [23]. Social media gives a big convenience for consumer since it provides information that will help them gaining more satisfying experience [24].…”

Foodstagramming ve Tatil Deneyimine Etkisi

“…Turistlerin iletişim içinde oldukları kişilerle tatil deneyimlerini paylaşması, tatmin edici bir tatil deneyimi için önemli bir araç olarak görülmektedir. Tatil deneyiminin değerine katkıda bulunmakta ve deneyimi daha anlamlı ve hatırlanabilir kılmaktadır (Yılmaz, 2016).…”