Abstract
The tourism industry in India represents a booming sector. This is because of the advent of a large number of foreign tourists every year as well as the demographic dividend of India's population, which is increasingly adopting tourism as a lifestyle constituent. Additionally, the revenue generated by this sector makes it very important for India. Studies from the World Travel and Tourism Council show that tourism contributed 9.4% to India's GDP in 2017 and is expected to show a significant growth rate. This chapter traces the changing landscape of the tourism sector and the emergent role of social media, identifies the pillars of social media for the tourism industry and delineates the various social media platforms, tools, and communities relevant to the travel and tourism industry.
TopBackground
India is popular globally, as a tourism destination, as also for niche avenues like adventure tourism, medical tourism, sports tourism, eco-tourism, rural tourism, cruise tourisms and spiritual tourism etc. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh are the most popular states and Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Agra and Jaipur are the most popular cities. Compared to the global scenario, India is a reasonably priced destination and is therefore a popular choice amongst global tourists. Further, the good air transport opportunities and adequate infrastructure makes India an attractive destination. In addition to global tourism, India is witnessing a major boost to domestic travel. This makes tourism an important sector with regard to generation of revenue. Rising family incomes and a shift in the cultural mindset has encouraged more and more people to open their eyes and minds to new cultures and experiences to enjoy their lives and domestic tourism provides a significant opportunity. Contemporary times are witnessing the growth of the informed travellers who completes his research about a tourism destination before setting out on his journey.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Social media: This refers to media vehicles and platforms, websites and applications that permit individuals to create, consumer and share content in participatory environments. The concept of social media revolves around the content generated by individuals and organisations across social networking platforms. The nomenclature has been derived from the social nature of the content.
Content Typology: This refers to the type of content posted by an organisation or individual on social media. Content can be of organisational or brand building type, relationship building type or promotional type.
Virtual Communities: These are online platforms enabling the formation of virtual groups or cliques. These groups are thronged by individuals with some level of homogeneity.