Abstract
The widespread use of the internet by individuals has brought companies to carry out their marketing activities on social media. Destinations offer goods and services for their customers, just like the companies. They present different kinds of tourism products under their brands. The aim of the destinations is to satisfy their customers' needs and wants. Modern tourists want to choose the best destinations that meet their needs in a short time. This chapter aims to present and discuss conceptually the significance of social media in destination choice of tourists. Therefore, the concept of social media, the relation between social media and the tourism industry, word-of-mouth and electronic word-of-mouth are discussed. Destination choice, the positive and negative effects of electronic word-of-mouth in the tourism industry is also discussed in this chapter. Moreover, a literature review about social media and tourists' destination choice has also been provided.
TopIntroduction
Business practices, strategies and the structure of the industries have been influenced by the developments in the information communication technologies (Porter, 2001). The development and widespread use of the Internet and social media in the world has increased dramatically. In particular, with the introduction of Web 2.0 technology, one-way, two-way and simultaneous information sharing on the Internet without time and space limitation has emerged. Internet and social media have brought down the taboos of traditional media with the innovations it brought, and traditional media got familiar to the contents and features of social media over time. In social media, individuals have been promoted from being passive recipients to an active and participatory position. Today, social media influences individuals, societies and political life as well as business world and affects the functioning of various sectors.
The widespread use of social media by individuals encouraged companies to carry out their marketing activities through social media. Social media became increasingly important as businesses can communicate more easily with their existing or targeted customer base and advertise their brands. The main purpose of companies is to encourage consumers to prefer their own products. For this reason, customer satisfaction and achieving customer loyalty is the most important thing for companies. Destinations are units that offer goods and services to their customers, just like the companies. They present different kinds of tourism products under their own brands. The main objective of a destination is to satisfy its customers’ requirements and desires.
Information communication technologies have been transforming tourism globally since the 1980s. Accordingly, the tourism sector has also been influenced by the progress of new communication technologies. In recent years, consumption of tourist products and services has been changed permanently as a result of increased use of the Internet and social media (Buhalis et al., 2011). Therefore, the destination marketers have to follow the technologic advances and think strategically about the future developments. Although the tourism industry is labour intensive, technology and tourism industry have been interwoven for years, thus, it largely benefits from the technological advancements, too.
In the tourism industry, where competition is very intense, there are many destination alternatives for tourists. Tourists are generally influenced by their friends and relatives when making their decisions to choose a destination (Crompton, 1992; Hyde & Laesser, 2009). Word of mouth (WOM)—information and referrals from friends and family among others is one of the most important aspects of decision making. Internet users became significant actors in shaping customers’ purchase decision as a result of the increase in everyday usage of Web 2.0 technology and social media. In the tourism industry, decisions of tourists on travels, accommodations and destinations are highly influenced by comments of other internet users. Due to the nature of the tourism industry, evaluation of the quality of services is not possible by the customers before their consumption and experience. Tourists generally use social media or other internet platforms to share their travel experience with other internet users in order to help others to make their decisions (Litvin et al., 2008).
Social media generally refers to web applications that allow users to post and share content. Kaplan and Haenlein defined the social media as “a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content” (2010). Sharing and discussing everything in user-generated contents led to the emergence of electronic word of mouth (Buhalis & Law, 2008).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Marketing Strategies: The whole of the works that will help to attract the customer to the brand, goods and services.
Electronic Word-of-Mouth Marketing: Positive or negative comments about a product through the internet.
Social media: An online network where the users publish and share their own content.
Destination Choice: A touristic place preferred by the people.
Destination Marketing: Ensuring a touristic place is visited by people.
Social Media Marketing: Gaining customers and attracting attention through social media sites.
Word-of-Mouth Marketing: Positive or negative verbal comments about a product.