Use of Social Media by SMEs in the Tourism Industry

1. Introduction

A total of US$ 194.30 billion, or 6.8 per cent of India's GDP, was contributed by the travel and tourism sector in 2019. India's tourism sector supported about 13% of the nation's overall employment during the 2019 fiscal year. As a result, the share of employment increased marginally from the previous year. The stake went grown more than 1% from the fiscal year 2014 to the current one. In 2019, the tourist sector employed close to 90 million people worldwide. In the industry, there are more indirectly employed workers than directly employed persons (WTTC, 2019). India is not only the second-largest tourism market in Asia after China. According to UNWTO data for the year 2019, In terms of foreign tourism receipts, India Tourism has consistently risen to number 13 and number 22 in the globe, respectively (Tourism, 2021). India is one of the nations that have been most severely impacted by the pandemic. The pandemic has jeopardised the sector's growth possibilities, but it has also led to a serious economic downturn from which the industry will need some time to recover. Social media use in the travel and tourism sector has grown significantly during the covid-19. People were able to connect with friends and family through social media, who were far away. A lot of individuals relied on the internet to keep them entertained throughout the lockdown. These days, the majority of tourists choose their locations and travel plans based on reviews and experiences shared on social media platforms (Alghizzawi et al., 2018). Social media is now widely used by the travel industry. People utilise social media to gather knowledge and decide wisely on their travel plans, which saves them time and money. Additionally, it enables users to communicate about their shared travel-related experiences. They may discuss either a good or bad experience they had at a hotel, airline, restaurant, or some other business. Tourism SMEs companies use social media for

• 1.

  Travel Research- companies changed their strategies of research for the planning of the trip. They not only conduct practically all of their planning online, but they also frequently ask questions on social media. Although you might not consider websites like TripAdvisor to be the best social media channel, it is undoubtedly social network. Social networking networks have recently developed into fantastic resources for learning about locations, lodging options, activities, restaurants, and other things.

• 2.

  Destination Discovery - Social media is useful for locating desired destinations. Searchers may find and select you thanks to your strong social media presence. You can encourage the next tourist to book by having current customers post about their enjoyable and thrilling experiences at your establishment.

• 3.

  Customer Service- Social media communication is two-way. Marketers can hear the criticisms or compliments of their clients and reply with a remark or instant message. Essentially, this acts as a customer service avenue. Your brand will appear to care about its customers if it responds to their online comments, which will help to improve your reputation. Additionally, it humanizes your brand, giving you a more genuine appearance.

• 4.

  Loyalty Programs - Plans for social sharing are excellent for loyalty programmes at many different travel agencies. Customers can be enticed by attractive benefits or even discounts to post and share their experiences with a brand's goods. By doing this, you may accomplish two goals at once: you can get feedback and reward your fans.

• 5.

  Social Media Channels- Social media marketing can be done on different platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, and Snapchat. You don't have to participate in all of them, but maximizing your brand's exposure and recognition in the most well-liked ones can help. According to surveys, 40% of millennials base their vacation decisions on how attractive their Instagram photographs are.