A

TERM PAPER
ON

Scope and Effectiveness of Social Media in Tourism Marketing


Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of
Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) to Amity University Haryana


Submitted By: - Submitted To: -
Mr. KRISHNA MURARI Mr.SATYAM AGGARWAL
A50006412046 FACULTY
BBA(3
rd
sem) ABS, AUH





Batch 2012-2015
Amity Business School
Amity University Haryana





DECLARATION
The term paper on the topic Scope and Effectiveness of Social Media in Tourism Marketing is
my original work. This term paper has not been submitted to any other institution or university
for the award of any degree. This is submitted in pursuing of the requirements for the award of
the degree of Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) to Amity University Haryana, (Gurgaon).
Whatever contributions of others are involved, every effort is made to indicate that
clearly, with due reference to the literature, of collaborative research and discussions.


















----------------- ------------------
Mr. KRISHNA MURARI Mr. SATYAM AGGARWAL
E.NO.A50006412046 FACULTY
BBA (2012-15) ABS, AUH











ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my guide Mr. Yogesh sir and my mentor Mr.
Satyam Aggarwal, Amity Business School, for his unvarying guidance, valuable support and
direction throughout the duration of the Term paper. The constant and regular encouragement
and motivation at various stages of the Term paper enabled me to accomplish the work to the
satisfactory level.
I also extend my appreciation towards the institute, Amity Business School, AUH, which
provided me with an extremely valuable platform in order to carry out project work of this
nature and equipped me with various requisite resources.























Krishna Murari
A50006412046
BBA (2012-15)








PREFACE
I am extremely happy to place before the esteemed Teachers/Management the Report of the
Term paper entitled "Scope and Effectiveness of Social Media in Tourism Marketing". Partial
knowledge is an impotent suffix to theoretical knowledge; one cannot merely rely upon the
theoretical knowledge. Classroom make the fundamental concept clear, but practical survey in a
firm has significant role to play in a subject of Business Management to develop managerial
skills, it is necessary that they combine their classroom's learning with the knowledge of real
business environment.
It has not only helped me to enhance my knowledge about various fields of Human Resources &
Company responsibilities towards their welfare but also gave new dimension to my knowledge
about psychology & attitude of the Employees towards the work & their duties.





























Executive Summary
Travel research and studies have consistently shown the high influence and role of word-of-
mouth (WOM) in travelers decision-making process. In recent studies its electronic version, the
eWOM presented on social media and internet sites is gaining importance and has become the
focus of these discussions. This study took one step further, by examining travelers social
media usage and how it can be leveraged for travel purposes, with the aim to suggest creative
and new ways for destination marketers or DMOs to exploit the lucrative features of social
media in their promotional activities and marketing campaigns. The study examined the usage
of social media in a specific context, regarding Young Indians social media usage and
presence. A quantitative (n=62) survey was conducted in order to obtain a thorough picture of
the social media usage. Indians social media usage was identified through a five steps travel
planning framework, while analyzing possible variables that influence its usage. Moreover, it
was assumed that younger Indians would use social media differently, thus requiring a different
approach from travel marketers when applying social media in their promotion. The results
indicated, in consistence with previous studies, that social media is considered as a really
important information source during travel planning due to it particular qualities such as
informativity and credibility, however, it is mainly used in the information search phase. Though
it was pre-assumed, the results showed no correlation between age, and the extent of social
media usage in travel and holiday planning. The main influencing factor was found to be the
purpose of the trip. However, age plays a role in the way of social media considered to be
important and used, where the personal recommendations and the audio-visual features like
travel related photos and videos were favoured. The study represents a new perspective on
comprehensive studies of social media usage in tourism context and hopefully contributes to a
greater understanding of the possibilities of using social media in tourism destination
promotion.


















TABLE OF CONTENT AS PER TERM PAPER
S.NO TOPICS
1 Introduction
2 Indian Tourism and Hospitality Industry
2.1Advantage India
2.2Evolution of Indian Tourism Industry
2.3Segmants of the Tourism and Hospitality Industry
2.4Growth Drivers of the Tourism market
2.5Opportunities
3 Literature Review
3.1Base Paper Review
3.2Tourism Behaviour
3.3Demographic characteristics in travel behavior
3.4Tourists travel planning behavior
3.5Tourist information Search
3.5.1Modelling Information Search
3.5.2Factors Influencing the Tourist information search
3.6A shift from WOM to Ewom
3.6.1One of the most influencing information Source WOM
3.6.2Electronic WOM
3.7Social Media in Tourism
3.7.1What is Social Network?
3.7.2Social Media features
3.7.3Usages of Social Media
3.7.4Why people use Social Media
3.7.5Challenges of Social media
3.7.6Possibilities of Social Media
4 Research Methodology
4.1Quantitative Empirical Data and Sampling

4.2Research Questions Instrumentation
4.3Variability,reliability and generalization
4.4Limitations
5 Data Analysis and Findings
5.1Profile of the Respondents
5.2Role of Social Media in the Travel Planning Process
6 Conclusion and Recommendation
Bibliography
Appendix
Survey Questionnarie




























1. Introduction
Marketing of travel services and promoting a destination is not an easy task. Because of the
multi-attributed nature of the destination or travel product on the one hand and a non-
homogeneous demand of travelers on the other hand, travel marketing is certainly challenging
and difficult. Travel and hospitality marketers have to face with the challenge of creating
concise and clear messages that capture the essence of the destination and differentiate the
destination from the several similar ones. It has been argued among marketers that a different
approach is required while promoting a destination for the different segments of a
heterogeneous market not only regarding the content of the message but also the
communication channels as well. Different communication and delivery channels like print
media or Web 2.0 can be explored in travel marketing so as to reach to different segments of
the market.
In recent years new communication methods, known Social Media Platforms or Web 2.0 have
started to gather ground and achieve great success in two way communication with the
consumer. Several factors facilitated that the social media applications became enormously
popular among many consumers, such as the evolution of the Internet and the change of
consumer behaviour as its consequence. For the consumers of today the internet has become a
very important source for information search and an essential tool to keep in touch with others,
through e-mails or using messengers. Moreover, the increase of internet penetration in many
countries and the technological evolution of the internet and its applications had also fuelled
the process of how the social media gathered ground.
Social medias success can be attributable to enabling interactive communication compared to
traditional communication methods which provide a unidirectional communication form, where
the information is generated by the marketer. The appearance of peer review applications, such
as Trip Advisor, Virtual Tourist or Social Networking sites as Twitter or Facebook change the
way how the consumers can engage with the information presented via the Internet, as it
enables them to submit, review and to respond to an online content. The appearance and the
increasing popularity of the social media will have consequences for tourism professionals as
well in several aspects.

From the tourism marketers point of view the Web 2.0 applications or the social media have the
potential to positively enhance the destination marketing activities of a certain region, as these
sites can raise attention towards the region, provoke desire to visit and even induce action to
plan the trip to the destination. Moreover, as the majority of these sites are not economically
biased in their reviews, due to the content generated by the consumers themselves and not by a
business oriented company, therefore, the sites would be perceived as more credible and
reliable. Due to these advantages, more and more travel marketers have started to realize that
they should exploit the benefits of social media in their promotional activities. However, people
use social media in different way which can challenge the tourism destination marketers but
also gives an interesting potential for them when designing their promotional activities.
A recent successful example of the social media usage in tourism destination marketing is the
promotional campaign of Tourism Queensland, in Australia launched as The best job in the

World in 2009. They have posted an enticing job offer, where during a 6 months period the
best candidate, the Island Caretaker would discover, explore and report on his travel; therefore,
would help to promote the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef to the world through social media.
The promotional tasks were blogging of his adventures, uploading pictures and posting video
diaries on the website of www.islandreefjob.com. The blog also enables to follow the
experiences of the Island Caretaker on other social media applications such as YouTube,
Flicker, Twitter or Facebook. For this job more than 34000 people applied and more than 8.6
million people visited the website. This social media marketing effort led to an enormous
increase in the tourist footfall in Queensland Australia.
However, despite of the social medias actuality and clear importance, except some notable
studies, there is not much academic research conducted on the strategic usage of social media
yet. We know little about how young people use the different types of social media or how the
social media can influence them in their travel planning or travel decision making. Moreover,
discussions concerning the potentials or possibilities of the social media usage for destination
marketers, how its advantages could be used in their destination marketing promotion is
sparse. Academic research regarding the subject concerns so far the young travelers behavior
in tourism context or the social media usage among consumers; however, the correlation
between these two areas of concern, therefore, how young travelers use social media remains
under researched.
Questions concerning the young travellers acceptance of social media or its usefulness and
reliability in tourism context can be raised, and therefore, its suitability for possible official
destination promotion campaigns can be discussed. Furthermore, it can be analyzed which role
social media plays for the young travellers in their travel planning process; whether social
media is merely raising the attention in regards to a certain destination or inducing desire to
visit the destination, or due to the reviewed information even provoke an action to start
planning the visit. By knowing the role of the social media in their destination choice process,
travel marketers could adjust their promotional activities.
This dissertation will focus on one specific segment of the heterogeneous market, the young
travellers segment and takes as point of departure their preferences and behavior in terms of
choice of communication channels, media and content of message when they are about to plan
a holiday. It will be explored whether the usage of the popular social media can play an
important role in destination marketing communication when conveying meaningful messages
towards young travellers. The focus of this project was chosen to be the segment of young
travellers as the usage of social media is more widely known and used among the young people
than among other segments and therefore, can be used as a new way of communication
towards them.


2. Indian Tourism and Hospitality Industry
2.1 Advantage India
Its a boom time for Indias tourism and hospitality sector. A 5000 year history, culture,
religion, and alternative medicine fascinate and attract both the luxury and budget travellers
alike towards India. The focus of tourism industry is towards Athiti Devo Bhavah campaign,
targeted at the inbound tourists from foreign countries, which means Guest is God. The
Department of Tourisms resolve in promoting Indian tourism has strengthened as it recognizes
its potential. Tourism in India is the third largest foreign exchange earner accounting for 2.5
percent of the GDP. It also makes a direct contribution to economy with significant linkages
with agriculture, horticulture, handicrafts etc. Currently the Indian tourism and hospitality
Industry is growing at a compounded annual rate of 13%.
The major factors that which are responsible for a booming India Tourism and Hospitality
industry are as follows:

The demand for Indian tourism and destinations is rising heavily around
the world more number of inbound foreign tourists are visiting India each year and the
numbers are ever increasing.

o Foreign tourists arrivals have increased by about 40% during the period 2006-2010.

o Domestic spending on tourism and travel is also growing due to rising income levels in India.

opportunities India has lot to offer because of its rich culture and history. People
come to India from abroad to relive that old world charm and experience royal Indian heritage.

o India presents diverse offerings such as adventure, heritage, rural and wildlife tourism
opportunities.

o Medical tourism is also expected to grow to a staggering $3.2 billion market by the end of
2012.

-

o India has got 28 world heritage sites and 25 bio-geographic zones which fetch a majority of
the tourists to India.

o When the Taj Mahal is considered, it attracts over 0.9 million foreign visitors annually.

o The countrys big coastline also provides excellent tourism options like Goa, Pondicherry,
Cochin, Puri etc.


The government of India has also made its policies attractive enough to
support tourism in a good way.

o Various marketing campaigns are being designed by centre and state governments. E.g.
Incredible India campaign, Hindustan ka dil dekho by Madhya Pradesh govt. etc

o The government is also increasing the allotment for tourism in the annual budget.

2.2 Evolution of Indian Tourism Industry

.National Tourism Policy announced in 1982
The government formulated a comprehensive plan to promote tourism in 1988
Various states in India declare tourism as an industry
Government stresses on private-public partnership in the sector
Government policies give fillip to the hotel industry
A national policy on tourism is announced in 2002 with focus on developing robust
infrastructure
Online travel portals and low-cost carrier airlines boost domestic tourism
The government undertakes various marketing initiatives to attract tourists
Domestic markets provide over 75 per cent of the total tourism revenues
The foreign tourists visiting India per year stands at 5.4 million in 2010 against 3.9 in 2005



2.3 Segments of the Tourism and Hospitality Industry
The Indian tourism and hospitality industry is divided in to the following five segments:

1. Accommodation and Catering

2. Transportation

3. Attractions

4. Travel Agents

5. Tour Operators

Source: IBEF, Tourism and Hospitality Sector, 201

2.4 Growth Drivers of the Tourism market

Growing Demand
Domestic expenditure on tourism is expected to rise due to the growing income of
households
A number of niche offerings such as medical tourism and eco tourism are expected to create
more demand
Policy Support
100 per cent FDI allowed through automatic route in the hotel and tourism sector
Campaigns such as Incredible India and Athithi Devo Bhavah were launched to harness the
tourism industrys potential
Investments
The tourism and hospitality sector attracted investments of over USD20 billion in 2010


2.5 Opportunities
Apart from the conventional tourism and travel options that India provides there lies huge
growth opportunities in other not so conventional areas of tourism. These areas are meant for
special segments of tourists and are very niche in nature. Some of the areas which Indian
tourism industry can adapt to are as follows:



o The presence of world-class hospitals and skilled medical professionals make India a
preferred destination for medical tourism

o Medical tourism could earn India USD2.2 billion per year by 2012

o Tour operators are teaming up with hospitals to tap this market



o Cruise shipping is one of the most dynamic and fastest growing components of the global
leisure industry

o India with a vast and beautiful coastline, virgin forests, and undisturbed idyllic islands can be
a fabulous tourist destination for cruise tourists



o India has potential to develop the rural tourism industry as most of its population resides in
rural areas

o This can benefit the local community economically and socially, and enable interaction
between tourists and locals for a mutually enriching experience


India has been recently emerging as a preferred destination for adventure tourism as well. Every
year large number of bikers comes to India to tame the highest Himalayan roads of Ladakh.
Skiing teams from many countries like Switzerland, US etc come to the snow slopes of Himachal
and Uttarakhand in the winter months. Thus the scope for adventure a tourism option in India
is huge.





3. Literature Review
3.1 Base Papers Review
Before working on this project I consulted a few research papers and literature available so that
I could lay a foundation of my project and have a better understanding of Social Media usage in
the travel and tourism industry. The intention was also to look at the various travel initiatives
that are being carried on social media. I carefully examined the following papers and literature
from the books available.
1. Intention to use online social networks for travel purposes: A case study at three Bangkok
based Universities (Jiaming Ling)
Extract from the paper: This paper aims to identify how differences in terms of college students
who are basically young or we may call them Gen Xers or Gen Yers, who are exposed to a lot on
online media sources. The paper studies how their characteristics affect these students
perception of the use of Online Social Networks (OSNs) and intention to use OSNs for travel and
holiday purposes. A research survey was conducted on a sample of 383 students at three
Bangkok-based universities, who are members of Online and Social Media Sites and have taken
a trip to a destination in the previous 12 months. The findings reveal that females perceived
higher benefits (functional, emotional and social) using OSNs for travel purposes than their
male counterparts. And differences in the respondents nationalities, gender and disposable
money result in perceived differences with regard to trust incentives to use OSNs for travel
purposes. Moreover, the intention to use OSNs for travel purposes are directly influenced by the
perceived benefits of that use (functional, social and hedonic); it was also determined that
incentives such as trust, altruism and the socio-technical environment facilitate and promote
the use of OSNs when organizing and taking vacation trips.
2. The Effectiveness of Electronic Word-of-Mouth Communication: A Literature Analysis (Christy
M.K. Cheung, Dimple R. Thadani)
Extract from the paper: Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communication has been one of the
most exciting research areas of inquiry. There is an emerging attention on the effectiveness of
eWOM communication. The scope of published studies on the impact of eWOM communication
is rather broad and the studies appear relatively fragmented and inconclusive. In this study, I
focused on the individual-level eWOM research. I conducted a systematic review of eWOM
research and identified key factors that are specific to the context of eWOM communication. I
believe that this literature analysis not only provides us with an overview of the current status
of knowledge within the domain of eWOM communication, but also serves as a salient guideline
for future research directions.
3.2 Tourism Behaviour
Consumer behaviour is a difficult and challenging area to research, even more in the field of
tourism where the purchase decisions are more of emotional. Planning and Purchasing a holiday
generally involves a larger spend, but also provides the consumer with the possibility to escape
from the everyday life. The intangible nature of service products coupled with the high spend
aspect of tourism will have significant affect on the consumer behaviour causing high level of
insecurity during the purchase process. Thus the consumer will be highly interested and

involved in the decision-making process, which will result in a high level of information search
from several sources. The complexity of tourism behaviour is shown in the below figure.

During the complex tourist decision-making process several motivators and personal and
external determinants influence the consumer behaviour. By the motivators we mean those
factors that motivate the consumer to wish to purchase a certain tourism product, such as 16
personal, cultural, status, personal development, emotional and physical motivators. However,
these motivators might vary according to several factors, such as the travellers personality,
lifestyle, past experiences, travelling partner, demographic characteristics or the timing of the
purchase decision. Moreover, it can be argued that several motivators can influence the tourist
behaviour in the same time, as e.g. visiting friends and relatives (personal motivator) can have a
relaxation angle (physical motivator) as well.
The determinants are those personal and external factors that determine the extent of the
consumers ability to purchase the desired product. The personal determinants can be certain
circumstances (e.g. leisure time, health), attitudes and perceptions, knowledge of (e.g.
destinations, products) or experience of (e.g. types of holidays), while the external
The
Consumer
Long term
decision
High level of
Information
Search
High level of
insecurity linked to
intangibility
High involvement
in purchase
decisions and high
commitment
Strongly
influenced by
other people
Considerable
emotional
significance

determinants are factors such as views of friends, marketing activity of the tourism industry,
the media or political, economic, social and technological factors.
It can be argued that as these motivators and determinants influence the tourist behaviour as
such, therefore, those can have a great impact on tourists information search during travel
planning, thus, on the usage of social media as well. Great importance will be given to the
demographic background and personality trait in this project. Moreover, among the
determinants, the views of friends will play a significant role in this project as word of mouth is
claimed to be clearly influential during travel purchase and also because social media is seen as
a new form of WOM and may regarded as eWOM.


3.3 Demographic characteristics in travel behaviour
It is necessary to look into the generational characteristics as the project is aiming to
understand the young Indians information search behaviour and identify whether social media
plays a different role in their travel planning. However, the project is not strictly considering the
age as a variable regarding the use of social media during travel planning.
Generational cohorts share a common and distinguishing social character due the shared
experiences and conditions through the time, where their unique values, attitudes and
behaviours have a significant impact of how a generation will react to different public and social
circumstances. However, there is no absolute harmony of how to classify the different
generational cohorts regarding the birth dates; but many generational theorists define the
generation born between 1943-1960 as Baby Boomers, between 1961-1981 as Gen Xers and
the generation born during 1982-2002 as Gen Yers. Thus, according to these generation
segments the projects respondents can be mainly grouped into the Gen Xers and Gen Yers.
The Generation Xers are often characterized as pessimistic and depressed, while the
Generation Yers frequently portrayed as conventional, confident, expert novices and Interactive.
The below table illustrate the differences of the generations incorporating the diverse attributes
of generational types.



The above figure shows clear differences between Generation X and Generation Y, of which
several factors can play an important role in their tourism behaviour as well. The different
motivations, either individuality (Gen X) or relational (Gen Y) can also be related to the type of
the trip they would take; as in case of the Gen Yers it can be argued that socializing e.g. making
new friends could be of their motivator, then in the case of Gen Xers who tend to be more
individually focused. Knowing the different generational cohorts decision-making is of great
importance. Whether friends and relatives (Gen Y) are considered as the most influential during
decision making, or the individual prefers to rely on experts (Gen X) such as travel agents or
guide books, arguably will have significant impact on the social media (as a new type of WOM)
usage as well. Furthermore, the different generational approaches towards marketing and
communication, whether they prefer direct marketing such as catalogues, promotional letters
(Gen X) or are fond of participative, communication and marketing styles such as travel forums
or blogs (Gen Y) would clearly influence whether social media can play a role as a marketing or
a communication channel towards them. Gen Yers can also be regarded the hero generation
with focus on friends, fun and digital culture and where the members of the generation are
relaxed, conservative, educated, impatient, multi-taskers and team-members. They claim that
this generation is the first generation born in the Information Age which results in a native
comfort level with information and communication technologies; hence, Generation Yers are
often called digital natives.
Seven core traits that represent the unique character of this generation: special, sheltered,
confident, team oriented, conventional, pressured and achieving. By special he refers to their

digital capabilities, they are sheltered by their parents and community and confident in that
sense that they accept uncertainty and so far they have experienced a good economic base.
Furthermore, they are conventional in certain areas of life, such as regarding work-life balance
or carrier. They are pressured in time-wise as they are always busy and achievement is of great
importance for them, which also shows that they are the most education minded among all
generations. It has to be argued that all these generational traits have an important impact in
shaping their behaviour, thus their travel behaviour as well, which is detailed in the below
figure.

As the above figure shows several features characterize the travel behaviour of Gen Yers, such
as they travel more often, spend more money during travelling, they often use the internet for
booking their travel, keen on new experiences, are brave travellers and they consult a wide
range of travel information sources, which features can also be linked to the claimed
generational traits. However, the question can be raised whether these generational traits and
features might only just describe this demographic segment of Generation Yers, or whether
these stereotypes can also portray certain behavioural types, where the individuals do not
necessarily belong to or are not defined by any age groups.
Thus, the younger Indians social media usage in travel planning will be analyzed on the one
hand by assuming that certain above claimed generational features can play an influential role
such as being digital experts, consulting a wide range of information sources or relying

more on friends and relatives, and on the other hand also keeping in mind that these features
may also shape the behaviour of those travellers who actually do not belong to the Generation
Y.


3.4 Tourists travel planning behaviour
As it was already mentioned tourism decisions involve the consumer in a high-risk decision
making process due to the tourism products intangible nature and social implications of its
purchase, therefore, the consumer will be highly interested and involved in the entire decision
making process. Travel decision-making is often presented as a long planning process
involving extended problem-solving. Many attempts were made to model the tourist behaviour
during the purchase process, where those models can be rooted back to the general consumer
behaviour models.
However, experts argue that many consumer behaviour models adapted to tourism appear to
be linear and rather simplistic, compared to the general consumer behaviour models as they
tend to view tourists as a homogenous group, they presume a high level of rationality and fail
to recognize the impact of motivators and determinants on the purchase decision.
However, despite of the claimed weaknesses existing studies on the process of travel planning
and destination choice tended to rely on the general consumer decision-making model, which
suggests five key stages. These five stages when adapted to a tourism context would follow
three trip phases, the pre-trip, during the trip and the post trip phase in a linear way. This is
represented in the figure below.


According to the proposed model, travellers during the pre-trip phase would go through on
three phases by recognizing the need or the desire for vacation, then starting to search for
information and followed by evaluating the different alternatives. During trip phase, the
purchase decision would take place, therefore, choosing between the alternatives, which would

be followed with the travel experience. At the Post-trip phase the travel satisfaction outcome
and evaluation would take place. Experts argue that rational decision making is limited in
tourism mainly due to the incomplete information available to the majority of the tourists and
because tourists are influenced by their own opinions and perceptions which might be
irrational. They also argue that travellers during their travel planning might not follow all steps
of the travel planning process in the predicted order. They claim that due to the individual
differences, the contingency of decision-making and the adaptability of the traveller one should
assume different decision making processes in tourism. They point out that due to the strong
influence of situational and social variables decision making should be seen as an adaptable
and an opportunistic process, which departs from the rational, problem-solving understanding
of the travel planning. It can be argued that vacation decision-making is often fostered
incidentally, such as in the case of last minute trips, where the decision making is made
spontaneously following the contextual contingencies and without going along the three pre-
trip phases, therefore, without following a rational behaviour scheme. Some experts even add
that adaptability and opportunism can be related to emotional triggering factors, where the
spontaneous, sudden decisions may result from a sudden impulse, a sudden pleasure or a
sudden feeling (falling in love). Although, travel planning might not particularly follow the
proposed sequential order, a certain evolution can be seen in the travel decision making.
They have observed that a planning evolution takes place during travel planning, meaning that
dreams are moving towards reality with an increasing commitment to make a choice. They
pointed out that this shift from ideas to real plans is felt more strongly concerning certain
decisions, such as destination, travel period or duration and travel party. Thus, it has to be
argued that regarding certain travel decisions some kind of structural behaviour can be seen,
but might not strictly in the proposed rational framework of the travel planning process due to
situational and social variables. As it was already mentioned this above presented model of
travel planning process, also by acknowledging its weaknesses, has been chosen as the overall
theoretical framework for this study, where the framework should not only be understood in its
rigid nature, but more as a framework that also gives space for adaptability according to the
circumstances.
Regarding the complex decisions and extended problem solving during the travel planning
process Pan & Fesenmaier discuss that that travellers tend to cover 10 key sub decisions related
to the trip, and search information according to that. Those sub decisions are: travel partners,
destinations, required expenses, activities, attractions, transportation, travel date, length of the
trip, accommodation and meals. They even categorize these sub decisions into core, secondary
and en-route decisions, where destination choice, travel partner, budget, date/length of the
trip are claimed to be the core decisions, while secondary decisions are flexible decisions
mainly concerning selection of activities or attractions to visits. By en route decisions they mean
those decisions which are made during the trip and can be considered as secondary decisions.
However, it has to be argued that all these decisions can be shaped by the travellers motivators
and determinants, therefore, giving higher importance to certain decisions.
Tourism information sources have been identified as a key factor influencing destination choice
thus; it is understandable why travel information is given a central role in the tourism decision-

making models. Some of the experts argue that the information searches happen in various
stages of the decision-making process where the reviewed information contributes to take
specific decisions and to develop destination images. In order to reduce the risk of making a
poor destination decision, travellers usually search and review several forms of information
early in the travel decision making. Some authors add that information search in the pre-
purchase phase strongly influences the overall decision, as it has a great impact on consumers
images and expectations. Moreover, travellers would use different types of information sources
depending on which phase of the travel planning process they are in. They point out in their
study that travellers mental model is constantly changing during the trip planning. The process
would keep on going until all aspects of the trip planning are satisfied or the traveller comes
across with obstacles as e.g. exhaustion or lack of relevant information.
As the above discussion shows, due to the complexity of the decisions involved in travel
planning, which can be related to the nature of tourism product and the social implications
involved to its purchase; information search during travel planning is an important,
determinative part of the travel planning process. Therefore, and due to the projects aim to
understand the Indians information search and the possible role social media can play in that,
it is necessary to further discuss the information search process during travel planning.


3.5 Tourist Information Search
Understanding how tourists seek and acquire information in todays dynamic consumption
environment is really important for marketers to design effective communication strategies and
service delivery. Experts argue that it is during the information search process when marketers
can influence travellers purchase decisions.
Moreover, from the travellers perspective information search is a really important part of their
travel planning process as well. Due to the service nature of the tourism product, as it cannot
be tested or tried beforehand the importance of searching information about the product in
order to be able to make purchase decisions is even greater than in other industry sectors.
It is commonly acknowledged in the academia that the decision-making and the information
search start with need recognition, such as recognizing various functional and hedonic needs,
however, several models were proposed with different stages of which this project will make
use of the proposed five-stage travel planning process. It has to be noted here that the
information search process obviously is an active, incorporated part of the travel planning
process. Given the vast amount of information available by multiple sources to aid trip
planning, consumers can often be overloaded and feel overwhelmed before finding the
information they have searched for. As marketers argue consumers will filter out using their
cognitive system the irrelevant or untargeted information and those will have only little impact
on them. Therefore, it has to be argued that for marketers or other information providers it is
extremely important to provide relevant information in order to reach the travellers and satisfy
their information need. But what information is relevant is a matter of discussion here.



3.5.1 Modelling Information Search
According to a research conducted by Fondness and Murray in 1999, there are three kinds of
information search strategies that a traveller may follow; they are spatial, temporal and
operational. It also reveals three forces that drive individuals to develop their unique
information search strategies, such as search contingences, individual (tourist) characteristics
and behavioural search outcomes.
Contingencies
Situational Influences Nature of decision making, composition of travelling party
Product Characteristics Purpose of the trip, Mode of travel
Information Search Strategies

1. Spatial Internal & External

2. Temporal Ongoing & Pre-purchase

3. Operational Contributory & Decisive

Tourist Characteristics
Individual Differences Family Life Cycle, Socio-Economic Status
Search Outcomes
Behavioural Length of stay, Number of destinations visited, Number of attractions visited,
travel related expenditures

information is originating from ones memory or experience, while the external refers to
information acquire from external sources. The internal information search can also refer to the
individuals accumulated knowledge that was previously acquired from external sources.

temporal dimension can be understood in two ways, as ongoing, where the individual is
building up knowledge for an undetermined future purchase decision, or as pre-purchase,
when the information search is taking place as a response to an actual purchase decision. Pre-
purchase type of information search is when the individual come across accidentally with
certain information that raises his interest highly and proceeds forward to purchasing.

operational dimension reveals the way of search and focuses on the particular sources
used and their usefulness for problem solving and decision making.







3.5.2 Factors Influencing the Tourist Information search
The major forces that drive the tourist information search method are follows:


1. Contingencies
situational influences are arising from factors that are relatively independent of consumer
and product characteristics, such as physical surroundings, social settings or time. The
travelling party, whether it is e.g. a family holiday or couples travelling without children
obviously influences the information search strategy.

Product characteristics can be understood as the purpose of the trip (such as leisure,
business or visiting friends and relatives) or the mode of the travel.

2. Tourist Characteristics - They suggest that family lifecycle and the socioeconomic status has
an influence on the choice of information strategy. Age as a demographic factor can play a
significant role in travel planning and information processing as well


3. Search Outcomes - more precisely the behavioural factors regarding the length of the stay,
the number of destinations or attractions visited and the travel related expenditures.


3.6 A shift from WOM to eWOM
3.6.1 One of the most influential Information Source: WOM
The importance and the high influence of interpersonal communications have long been
recognized in the tourism industry. Many researchers concluded that WOM, which can be
defined as informal communications between private parties regarding evaluation of goods and
services is one of the most influential sources of information during tourists travel planning
process. Moreover they argue that the influence of WOM is different in each step of the
consumer decision making process.
Travellers often rely on advice from friends and family, especially when the product is an
intangible travel experience to a destination; as it is difficult to evaluate prior to its
consumption. Some Authors discuss that due to the intangible and experiential nature of
service products, such as tourism products, WOM, as an information source tend to be used to
lower perceived risk and uncertainty due to its perceived higher credibility.
Though WOM recommendations lack commercial interests, as the information provider is not
interested in getting financial gain by sharing information or experience, consumers tend to
trust more on and influenced by this type of information than by more commercial sources.
WOM plays a pivotal role in overcoming the challenges of nowadays overwhelming information
which can lead to confusion, sub-optimum decisions or dissatisfaction of choices. Experts
argues that WOM can help sceptic consumers to find credible, trustworthy information among

the increased quantity of information available, of which much is generated by marketers, who
obviously stress the benefits of their products. The basic model of WOM is presented below.


The model suggests that the process of WOM starts with the key WOM player as the opinion
player, who is motivated to contribute, by interpreting the meaning of mass media or passing
on his consumption experience to the listener or by other words, to the information seeker.
Experts argue that many studies that research on WOM tended to focus on the WOM originated
from friends and relatives, while ignoring the influence of other travellers. According to a study
conducted in North Queensland, Australia, it was concluded that WOM is not homogenous and
there are clear differences between the suggested four groups of travellers (those who used
friends and relatives WOM, other travellers WOM, both WOM or no WOM) with respect to
demographic characteristics, other information sources used, accommodation and
transportation used, and the travel activities at the destination. Those respondents who used
friends and relatives WOM generally seemed to be representing travellers visiting friends and
relatives with higher income, and with repeating visits; thus, other travellers WOM was not
identified as information source. Those travellers who relied on WOM from other travellers
appeared to show similarities to backpackers, younger travellers with lower income preferring
backpacker accommodation and taking longer trips. Therefore, they argue that the different
WOM used in the pre-travel stage and during the travel is linked with the travel choices and the
tourist behavior at the destination.
Turning back to the suggested conceptual model of WOM, favourable WOM can result in
increasing e.g. the probability of purchase, product acceptance or loyalty towards the certain 27
product, while negative WOM has the contrary effect. To summing up, it is really important for
marketers to understand the role of WOM and acknowledge its importance and high influential
value as tourist information source. It is essential to realize that the WOM originator, gains the
WOM information from various sources, such as through the former experience with the
destination or with the certain product or even through the media, therefore, during this WOM
acquisition stage can the marketers or other tourism product or service providers influence his

interpretation and understanding of the experience or the information or with by other words,
influence the influencer, in order to nourish positive WOM.


3.6.2 Electronic WOM
With the improvement of internet technologies, more and more of travellers use the internet to
search for travel related information and to actually plan their trip online. Several researchers
pointed out the importance of web pages in all stages of the travel planning process,
particularly during the information research phase. According to the study of a travel industry
market research company, Plog Research approximately 95 % of internet browsers use the
internet to seek information online during their travel planning process. Furthermore, the
advancing internet features have enabled new forms of communication platforms to further
empower both providers and consumers to share information and opinion among each other.
Thus, due to these internet-based features the word-of-mouth as an informational source
could be facilitated in an electronic digitalized version, know as electronic WOM or eWOM.
Many researchers refer to social media as a new type of WOM or the eWOM. Consumer
generated media can be understood as a new form of WOM that happens beyond the traditional
social circles of consumers. Generally the social media information is produced by other
travellers and not especially by the friends and relatives of the travellers. The question here
remains whether, the other travellers personality plays a role in the WOM influence, as while
the consumer knows his friends and their preferences, therefore, he can judge whether their
WOM applies to him or not, which in the case of other travellers WOM is more it complicated.
WOM gathered from other travellers, influences the travellers behaviour in a different way than
the friends and relatives WOM. 28
eWOM has several different forms ranging from virtual opinion platforms to consumer portals,
which might influence the consumer in his purchase decision in different ways. A typology of
eWOM regarding the communication scope among the users and the level of interactivity is
presented below.




3.7 Social Media in Tourism
Due to the development of internet technology and to cater the changing needs of todays
consumer the online information search process is facilitated by several search engines. The
consumers instead of entering through a sites homepage and browsing it, use particular search
sites to have them transported directly to the required information. Furthermore, several
technological improvements, known as Web 2.0 applications further develop this changing
process of information search, by altering the origin of the information. The terms of Web 2.0
applications, UGC (user-generated content), CGM (consumer generated media) or social media
refer to the same new media, where the individual consumers are given the possibility to
submit, review and to respond an online content. However, marketers face challenges to
effectively measure the impact of social media on their marketing programs; evaluating its
impact on individual buying decision can be a first step towards understanding its influence on
the consumers. The research conducted by Compete (2006), a web analytics company, pointed
out that 50% of online travel purchasers visit a forum, a message board or an online community
in the process of buying a travel related product and moreover, one of three of these buyers
stated that social media helped in their decision. Indifferent from the statistics, it has to be
acknowledged that the popularity of social media sites are increasing, therefore, the way of
searching for travel related information and evaluating those is likely to be changing.



3.7.1 What is a Social Network?
The very concept of social networking as a tool or platform for engaging people and
communities over the internet is clearly not very new. People have been social networking since
the Stone Age through word of mouth and community gatherings. It was only after the rise of
internet during the 1990s and 2000s, people have got a chance to interact and share
emotions, feelings etc to their friends and family around the world. The only new thing about
the social networks is how the technology has influenced and facilitated the development of
virtual social platforms that increase the reach, potential and power of the community. The
social networks today focus on building online communities of people from across the globe
who share common interests and activities and also the ones who are interested in knowing
about the interest and activities that other people pursue. The social networks exploit the
human tendency or desire to look into and know the lives of other people. Most of the social
networks today are web based and they offer a variety of interesting ways for
subscribers/members to interact, like writing messages, emails, instant messaging services,
sharing videos, pictures etc.
The present day social networks harness the potential of the internet and web 2.0

-to-peer and collaborative fashion

participate in many activities








consume, choose and look out for relevant content

The information and IT revolution around the world has given rise to new economies built
around flows of data, knowledge and information. On the other hand, social networking
industry has grown stronger as a means of organization of human activity. Social networks can
be considered as the nodes of individuals, groups, organizations and related human systems
that bind together in one or more types of interdependencies. The interdependencies include
vision, shared beliefs and values, social contacts, mutual conflicts, exchanges- financial or
otherwise, trade etc; these are some of the many forms of human relationships that form the
basis of the social networking industry. Sometimes it is indeed apparent that networked
organizations out compete all other forms of organizations. When such firms succeed, the
social networks influence larger processes by connecting human, social, physical and financial
capital, as well as the knowledge and information resources backing these.

3.7.2 Social Media features
Web 2.0 sites can be described as applications that share common features such as











Furthermore, these sites influence how users create, share and use information. Moreover, due
to the search-engine friendliness, increased credibility, experiential properties and having no
commercial interest in promoting the product, consumer generated media is believed to have
great influence in tourism. It has to be mentioned that social media adds on the positive
features on the traditional WOM, by adding search engine friendliness and experiential feature.
The main difference between social media and other traditional forms of media lies in the
direction of communication, as the content is generated by the consumer rather than by the
marketer. Furthermore, not just the direction of communication changes but it becomes a two-

way communication as well as it allows interactivity, a peer-to-peer communication, rather than
only providing a uni-directional communication. Social media can take on several forms, such
as wikis, blogs, photo sharing sites, reviews and rating, blogs or broadcasts.
Categorization of the different social media sites according to its nature:





YouTube
al networks as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter


Usage of Social Media
What Influences the use of Social Media
Tourist characteristics influence the use of social media, of which a couple would be discussed
here in more details, such as age, gender, nationality. It was argued previously that the
Generation Y due to its unique characteristics behaves differently in a tourism context. As they
were born in The Information Age, they are technology confidents and information hungry;
moreover, they are strongly influenced by friends, adapt really quickly to the new travel
technologies, such as booking online, and they consult a wide range of information sources
during their travel planning process. Therefore, one can argue here that due to these
characteristics their behaviour towards the social media would be different and they would
consult Web 2.0 applications more often and in a different way during their travel planning
process then other generations.
When it comes to India, the internet and social media statistics are presented below:




Source: http://www.imediaconnection.in


Internet Scenario in India

Internet users





from rural areas and 59% access the Internet via their Mobile Devices

et user in India spends 26 minutes online each day

usage




-Commerce in India is estimated to be of USD $10 billion which is around USD $ 100 per
Internet User. 67% of the e-commerce comes from Mobile users in India

the total population of Brazil



Social Media Scenario in India





cial network with 38 million people followed by Orkut (28 million),
Twitter (13 million) & LinkedIn (13 million)

any social network in India

s the most popular activity in India especially on Facebook & Orkut

Facebook Users (38,045,000) in the world

This projects aim is to research among the younger generation of Indians, as it was suggested
that probably among the Gen Yers and even Xers there can be seen a more intense use towards
social media.



Why People use Social Media
According to a study conducted there are four fundamental benefits that drive the extent to
which consumers engage themselves in online travel communities:










Despite the fact that they suggest these benefits for online travel communities, one can argue
that these motivations partly or even all can drive the travellers to use social media in general
as well. Functional benefits are e.g. support for information search, ease of decision-making
process or exchange information from similar travellers, which can be argued also for reasons
for using social media. The social aspect and the hedonic aspect of social media was already
discussed, however, one can argue that while using the social media in certain phases of travel
planning e.g. information search the hedonic and the social benefits might can be secondary,
complementary drives after the functional benefits. The psychological benefits, described as a
sense of belonging, identity expression, would clearly have major role in online communities
than in other type of social media.



Challenges of social media
Despite of the clear importance of social media it has its challenges as well. Credibility and
reliability is among the most argued challenges of social media. Authors also argue that as the
contextual clues that help the interpretation of the information such as facial expressions are
missing from the social media, therefore, its interpretation is more difficult which might lead to
credibility issues. According to Compete (2006) more than half of their surveyed respondents
find the information generated by consumers credible, which is arguably not that high
percentage. In contrary with many researches, that social media sites are not viewed as credible
and trustworthy as more traditional information sources, such as official tourism websites or
airline sites. Moreover, there are different trust levels between different types of social media.
Furthermore, the clearly user generated content sites such as TripAdvisor is perceived more
credible than reviews posted on online travel agencies sites such as Expedia, due to the
perceived commercial interest of the latter sites, therefore, being perceived less objective.
Additionally, the possible fake content generated by travel operators as independent
travellers, might be a driving factor why consumers trust certain sites more than others. The
possible commercial interest relates to the credibility issue, as the majority of their respondents
claimed that it is better to use user-generated content during accommodation search then the
hotels description.



Possibilities of social media
The user-generated content can raise possibilities for marketers as well in an informational and
revenue generating perspective, where these possibilities can be linked to the post-trip and the
pre-trip phase of the travel planning. By the informational perspective they mean that
hospitality and destination marketers can use up the content created online (post-trip) to
improve visitor satisfaction through product development, increase the competitiveness of the
product/destination or to monitor the reputation or image. DMOs or travel marketers by

engaging travellers post-trip in posting their experiences or photos on the official website can
reconfirm tourists destination choice and can also build traveller loyalty.
Moreover, revenue generation strategies can be designed to spread positive WOM about the
destination, thus, helping potential visitors information search (pre-trip) by providing
supportive opinions. However, it can be argued here that the stimulated eWOM, enhancing
positive WOM might raise credibility concerns from the travellers side.
To sum up, according to the reviewed researches social media can play an important role in
several phases of the travel planning but is mainly used during the information search phase of
the travel planning process. Social media is one type of information source which is a
supplement to the existing types of travel info and a source which supports the consumer
decision making process.
































4. Research Methodology
This project applies an explorative approach, which is incorporated in the theoretical
considerations presented in the above chapters. Understanding the role of social media during
the travel planning process clearly requires an explorative approach. Moreover, the relationship
between travellers social media usage and its possibilities for official tourism promotion will be
identified through an exploratory approach as well. Therefore, in this project an exploratory
survey was used to understand how and which type of the social media is used in travel
planning, the use of it in the different planning phases and about its impact on the purchase
decision.
By choosing the sequential model of travel planning process as discussed in the earlier chapters
as the projects main theoretical framework, the researcher has adapted the ontological stand-
point which is the base of behaviourism (cognitive psychology) regarding peoples travel
planning as a rational act which follows five consecutive steps. However, it has to be criticized
that travel planning can happen randomly and also the purchase itself can be an impulsive
process.
Regarding the above discussion this project applied the proposed rigid framework of travel
planning by designing the quantitative questionnaires about social media usage according to
the sequential phases of the travel planning process.


4.1 Quantitative Empirical Data and Sampling
The projects quantitative data collection took place through online surveys conducted during
the months of Jan - Apr 2012. The aim to select young people/travellers aged between 18 to
40 and gain insights as to how they use internet and Social Media while planning their holidays
and travel.
Numerous probability indicators can have influence on how the survey questionnaires are
sampled. The questionnaires of this project were sampled based on some predetermined types
of probabilities that gave way to approach the aimed group of audience, which in this case were
mainly the younger age groups of Indians (18-40 years) who travel frequently. Though, it can
be argued the age of the respondents should not be seen as a strict requirement when selecting
the sample, as the behaviour patterns using social media will give the base for the analysis.
The targeted respondents were selected in no particular numerical order. In order to stick to the
projects research focus mainly younger travellers were approached in a random selection, and
some filter questions were fist asked like do you even use Internet and Social media at all. If the
respondents did not use social media then, they were asked to leave the survey. In all, 62
respondents filled the questionnaire over the online form. Respondents were from diverse
background like students, software engineers, businessmen etc.


4.2 Research Questions Instrumentation
Based on the research papers and theory studied the following research questions can be
formulated:

The social media has gained remarkable popularity in recent years; however, the question arises
whether the diverse social media pages are influencing the consumers in a tourism context as
well, more precisely in their travel planning process.

respondents so to analyse the results of the survey according to Age groups, gender and
occupation cohorts.

determines the awareness and usage trends of social media websites, blogs, photo sharing
sites etc. The question ask about what all social media platform the respondents use so that the
marketer can easily focus on particular social media sites to attract maximum number of
travellers.



o What is the role of social media in the travellers travel planning process?

o It will also be investigated how the social media is perceived in tourism context

o How do young travellers perceive the content presented in social media sites?

o How the travellers might react on official destination promotion initiatives placed in the social
media.
o How do young travellers react on the official destination promotion campaigns presented in
the social media?


4.3 Variability, reliability and generalization
Validity raises the question if the individual steps of the research process provide what was
intended to be researched. In order to produce a valid research, the theory was checked if it
was relevant for answering the research questions, while the methodological approach, using
mixed methods was thoroughly dealt with in order to approach the multifaceted problem area.
The choice of respondents and interviewees were thought through and even pre-check
questions were proposed referring to nationality or travel destination to obtain appropriate
data. Concerning the quantitative data, to retain construct validity adequate measure of
variables were chosen. Using adequate statistical analyzing methods for analyzing the data, in
this project mainly the Chi-Square test, aimed to accomplish statistical conclusion validity.
Reliability refers to the consistency of findings, whether the data collection and analysis is done
correctly e.g. respondents could understand the questions, the data is encoded correctly and
whether the results are reproducible. The consistency of the findings was pointed out above,

and moreover, by providing a quite transparent method description of this research one should
obtain similar results thus, an assessment of reliability.


4.4 Limitations
As above pointed out, the project is set in a specific context, concerning the Young Indians
social media usage in travel planning, thus, is only valid within this context. The sample size of
62 respondents can be claimed as a limitation towards the study as well. Conducting the survey
in January-March when not much people travel, the time limit to fill out the survey, and the
willingness of respondents can be linked to the obtained sample size causing limitations for the
project.
































5. Data Analysis and Findings
5.1 Profile of the Respondents
For this project a total of 62 respondents responded to the online survey which was conducted
during the months of Jan-Apr 2012. The composition and classification of the respondents is
illustrated below.
Age Structure: The target audience of this survey were mostly young people, Gen X and Gen Y
people as discussed in the previous chapters of this report. The main motive of choosing the
younger section of the society is because these are the people who use Online and Social media
platforms to discuss, review and use travel related matter. The respondents were divided into
various cohorts or groups for easier analysis and segregating them as working class or studying
class. Out of the total of 62 respondents 15 respondents (24%) were in the age range of 18-23
yrs. 42 of them (68%) were in the age range of 23-28 yrs, thus showing that people who
currently working or are shifting from their graduation to work are the people who are more
frequent travellers. Thus they are definitely the target group for this dissertation. Only 3 (5%)
and 2 (3%) respondents were in the age range of 28-33 yrs and more than 33 yrs respectively.

The age composition of all the respondents is depicted with the help of a pie chart below







22%
61%
10%
7%
Age Composition(Yrs)
18-23 23-28 28-33 >33

Gender Profile: Out of the 62 respondents to the online questionnaire 43 were Male and 19
were Females. In terms of percentage males respondents were 69 % and females comprised
only 39% of the total respondents. Gender plays a very important role here; many experts have
found that men use Social media more as compared to women in India. Thus in this response
majority are males.


Work/Occupation Profile:
The survey was distributed among students as well as working professionals on a random
basis. The students were undergraduates and post graduate level only. As far as the working
respondents are considered, they were from a very diverse working environment IT
professionals, Bankers, Businessmen etc. These respondents actually showcase the target group
of this project because these people use Social Media the most and they are also frequent
travellers. Students were approximately 71% and working professionals were around 29% in the
survey conducted.
69%
31%
Gender Composition
MALE FEMALE


The first three questions of the survey aimed at gaining these above demographic information
so as to understand who actually our target audience is.

5.2 Role of Social Media in the Travel Planning Process
To understand the scope and effectiveness of Online Media particularly Social Media in the
travel planning process of young individuals (Gen X and Gen Y), certain questions were
developed which gauged the usage, awareness level and affinity of the respondents towards
Social Media and particular use of social media in their travel planning process.
First of all a couple of filter questions were asked to all the 62 respondents. The first of the
filter questions asking the respondents that how many hours they spend online on the internet
per day. As the survey was an online one, all the respondents were completely aware and
educated about the use of internet and computers.
It was found as results of this question, that majority of the respondents were heavy internet
users and spent a lot of time surfing and working online. The responses to this question were
divided into cohorts/ranges so that the respondent can fill in his/her duration of internet usage
per day. The following statistics were obtained as a result.

hrs a day



Thus the opportunity for a travel marketer is huge as the Gen Xers and Gen Yers are spending a
lot of time online search for information and interacting with their peers.
71%
29%
Work Profile
Stedents Working Professionals

Time Spend/Day (Hrs) Number of Respondents %
>1 1 2%
1-3 20 32%
3-6 19 31%
>6 22 35%



The second filter question was designed to basically know whether the target group actually
uses social media or not. The response that was received was staggering, all the 62
respondents were very aware of the social media and were active users of one or more of the
social media platforms available.
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
<1 hr 1-3 hrs 3-6 hrs >6 hrs
Time spent online per day (hrs)





When the respondents were asked about which all social media sites they use and are active on.
The response was very good in terms of awareness about varying social media platforms
available. Respondents were given the choices of the following social media sites:

most popular social media platform available. Almost all the respondents were
users of Facebook. On facebook people share whats on their mind, what do they think about
the products & services they use? They also discuss about their recent trips and future travel
plans. They also share videos, photos etc. People share and like those media content which
people put on facebook. Thus facebook act an essential eWOM medium, thus lies a great
opportunity for travel marketers.

its about sharing short tweets/ messages about anything under the sun. Twitter
also has a huge user base.

its a niche kind of social media platform. Where people share videos and its
already quite popular among the marketers.

Again a niche kind of social media platform where people can share their pictures and
albums.

these days internet users are moving towards general and travel related blog to get
reviews and post their experiences about a trip, a product or a service.

0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
Active on Social Media Not Active
People on Social Media

The chart below shows the popularity and usage pattern of the various social media sites
among the 62 respondents. Facebook being the first choice of every respondent, then Youtube
being the second most preferred, followed by blogs (personal blogs and online forums related
to tech widgets, travel etc) and Twitter.


Other social media sites that were used by the respondent were of somewhat professional
nature like LinkedIn. Thus the scope of destination and travel promotion is not possible or its
very limited on those sites.
This section will focus on investigating the Indians use of different information sources during
travel planning. The most used information sources will be presented, where the claimed
importance of WOM will be analyzed in the Danes information source usage.
The following result was obtained regarding the preferred information source among the 62
respondents.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
Blogs
Flicker
Others
Popularity of Social Media Sites


Word of Mouth from friends and relatives A large number of respondents, nearly 77%,
believed that the most trusted source for travel information is the WOM from friends and
relatives. They can easily trust the experiences that their friends have had in the past and they
can follow that. There is an emotional aspect related to this thought. Most people believe that if
their friends are satisfied with the use of a product or service then they also cant go wrong.

Official Tourism Websites a whopping 85% of the respondents believed that visiting the
official pages and websites of the tourism departments, tour operators, hotels etc is essential
because of the credible information is available on these sites.
Moreover there are other facilities like bookings, virtual tour etc which further prompt the
respondents to trust these official websites.

Social Media - The response towards social media was not that bad as it was expected. India is
still in the phase of adopting social media. (48%) said they would visit and explore a social
media page to get information about a travel plan or a hotel.

Print Media this information source also emerged as a good option for some of the
respondents. Nearly 1 out of 6 respondents said they prefer to look at travel and holiday ads in
a print media platform like newspaper, magazine etc.


0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Others
Print Media
Social media
Official Tourism Websites
Friends and Relatives
Preference of Information Source forTravel
Series 1



The response can be seen in the above pie chart. A majority 44% of the people said they
sometimes refer to social media for future travel planning. This shows people do refer to user
generated content on social media sites when it comes to travelling.
People generally believe that UGC user generated content is credible because there is no
monetary motive associated with it.


















10%
20%
31%
24%
15%
Social Media to Get Inspiration for Next
Travel Option
Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never

Next people were asked whether they use social media for destination or accommodation
reviews. The results can be seen in the following chart.


A majority 35% of the people said they often use social media for reading reviews and travellers
experiences. 31 % said they always look for destination reviews and ask friends on social media
before planning a trip. Only 5% said they never search for travel information on a social media
website.
















13%
15%
33%
21%
18%
Social Media For Destination Reviews
Always often Sometimes Seldom Never

.When respondents were asked about whether they share their travel related photos, videos,
comments etc on social media sites like facebook, twitter etc. The following results were
obtained.






















16%
13%
34%
14%
23%
Social Media For Sharing Travel Experience
Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never

When asked whether you participate in travel related contest and quizzes on official social
media pages of travel operators or DMOs, the responses were of the following nature.
Respondents usually do not find it enticing to participate in such stuff on social media
platforms.





















10%
16%
39%
15%
20%
Travel Contests and Quizzes on Social Media
Pages
Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never

.Respondents reported the following responses when they were inquired about the use of social
media for online travel itinerary planning services.



Here the responses were of a mixed nature, almost equally divided among the options. Majority
(33%) said they sometimes use social media for travel itinerary planning.


















13%
15%
33%
17%
22%
Social Media for Intinerary Planning
Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never

As far as the unbiased nature of travel and holiday information available on the social media
sites is concerned, what respondents felt about it is depicted in the chart below. The travel
information which is referred here is the information which is available on the official social
media pages of the DMOs, on the travel blogs like BCMTouring.com, IndiaMike.com etc.

Again the level of disagreement is not much. Just 18% people disagreed to the statement about
the unbiased information on social media. The reason what led people to believe that the
information id unbiased is the non monetary motive behind the user generated content. People
just want to share their experiences and help out people in planning their itineraries.















42%
38%
12%
7%
2%
Travel info on social media is Unbiased
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

When the respondents were asked whether they could get quick and easy replies to their
fundamental travel queries on social media sites, they responded in a fashion which is depicted
by the following pie chart.

40% of the people agreed, 13% strongly agreed, 29% were neutral, 15% disagreed and 3%
strongly disagreed to the fact that ones travel related queries can be solved and heard on a
social media platform.


















40%
36%
13%
9%
2%
Are Your Queries heard on Social Media
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

ravel related experiences
on their pages, on communities and on the official pages on travel sites like MakeMyTrip, Yatra
etc. These sharing of experiences lead to generation of credibility in the content available and
makes it very easy for the new user to look at the videos and photos, then decide whether to
head towards a particular destination or not.

Thus when the respondents were asked whether this UGC help them to plan and decide a good
travel or holiday, here is what they have to say.

o 44% agreed

o 30% strongly agreed

o 13% were neutral

o 11% disagreed

o 2% strongly disagreed




The respondents were also asked whether the user generated reviews and experiences
regarding a particular destination or a accommodation option like a resort, hotel, camp etc. the
responses to this statement can be seen below.
44%
30%
13%
11%
2%
Audio Vedio impressions on travel
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

Majority 42% of the people strongly agreed that these reviews help a lot in planning the travel
activities. 39% agreed, 11% were neutral to the statement and only 8% disagreed. Thus
respondents firmly trust the opinions of the fellow travellers on the social media platform,
where they can freely express their voice.

Finally, analysis the last question of the survey which aims to find out what is there in store for
the future travel marketers. This question basically asked the respondents what should they
want to see in a travel related social media interface be it a Facebook page, A youtube Video or
a mobile application. What is that the travel marketers should focus on while designing their
future social media strategies? This is where the travel industry can leverage the two way
interaction on the social media platforms between the traveller and the travel service provider
or a DMO. Thus through the activities and interactive services on Social Media the travel
marketers can always be in touch with the target audience and get feedbacks and responses
from them.
The options which were available for the respondents are:
o Ability to share your customized travel plans and Itinerary with your friends on Facebook,
twitter etc
o Loyalty programs and Promotional campaigns on official social media pages of travel services
providers

o Contests, games and quizzes to get discounts on travel packages, win trips etc

o Travel Blogs and Forums where people can share experiences, give/take travel advice etc

o Mobile apps for travel bookings, destination search, hotel reviews etc

o Other

The responses that were generated are shown below the table.
Statement
No. of
Respondents

% of
total

Ability to share your customized travel plans and Itinerary with
your friends on Facebook, twitter etc
38 61%

Loyalty programs and Promotional campaigns on official social
media pages of travel services providers
37 60%

Contests, games and quizzes to get discounts on travel
packages, win trips etc.
23 37%




Travel Blogs and Forums where people can share experiences,
give/take travel advice etc
39 63%

Mobile apps for travel bookings, destination search, hotel
reviews
21 50%

Other
3 5%
































6. Conclusion and Recommendations
Pre Trip Phase
In the pre trip phase, social media sites, mainly the travel reviews clearly play an important role
during the phases of information search and evaluation of alternatives. The consumer-
generated content due to its informativity and credibility is of great importance, as it supports
the information search e.g. for crosschecking the information, can help to narrow down the
choices and can even induce purchase decisions. Therefore, it can be pointed out that social
media is used to reduce the risk involved with the tourism product purchase and to obtain value
for money.
During the Trip
Social media do not have much of a role while a person is on the trip. Most of the times people
just want to enjoy their trip and not to get into all the complexities and information overload.
Moreover, travellers on the trips usually dont like to access Internet or Social Media.
Post trip Phase
In the post trip phase; social media is used among a minority of travellers during the post-trip
phase to share experiences, comments or photos, where mainly the extreme experiences
motivate the traveller to spread the WOM on social media sites. Sharing the experiences on
social media sites normally encompasses hotel ratings and other travel related information such
as route maps etc (TripAdvisor, hotels.com, BCMTouring.com, IndiaMike.com etc) however;
certain highly involved travellers motivated by hedonic benefits might engage themselves in a
more extended evaluation process, by not just rating but posting reviews, blogs and photos.

Summing up the role of social media in the travel planning process
In the previous sections it was pointed out that WOM recommendations play the greatest role as
an information source during the Danes travel planning, followed with the independent travel
reviews. The reviews are used in every phase of the travel planning process, due to their
credibility and informativity for a certain extent and with different purposes. The social 53
networking sites are not really taken into account during travel. The independent travel reviews
were found really useful in the information search phase, also for evaluating the alternatives,
therefore, to narrow down the choices, which could even result in purchase decision.
Social media is used for idea generation, by gathering inspiration in the pre-trip phase as well,
which is argued also mainly takes place on those social media sites that incorporates other
travellers reviews. However, pictures of friends posted on the social networking sites might
influence and induce further information searches. Social media is significantly less used onsite
and also in the post-trip phase to share the travel experiences either through pictures or
reviews and blogs. Social medias post-trip usage is not just influenced by the different
behavioural characteristics but also by the intensity of experience while being onsite, either
positive or negative.
It can be pointed out in consistence that generally social media is not used as a sole, decisive
source during the different phases of travel planning, but is used more in combination with
other sources; therefore, it can be seen more as a contributory source.

However, again its role as an information source whether it is seen as contributory or decisive
can depend on the individual behaviour characteristic. In addition, the extent of its contribution
can depend on the travel planning phase, as clearly in the information search stage of the travel
planning, by e.g. using it for cross-checking, its contribution to the information derived from
other sources is even greater.
Among the different variables the purpose of the trip clearly influence the reviews usage where
the leisure travellers reported a greater use of it, then the travellers who visit friends and
relatives, and with reported no importance for the business travellers.
Word-of-mouth recommendations play a high influential role in travellers decision-making
process, which undoubtedly gives a significant potential to its electronic version, to the
eWOM as well. The social media sites allowing eWOM are considered as really important
information sources during the travel planning process, owing to particular qualities such as
informativity and credibility. The findings open up new opportunities for destination marketers,
indicating to further exploit social media in their promotional activities. However, 54
in order to take advantage of beneficial features of social media, it is crucial to acknowledge its
role in travellers decision making process and the characteristics influencing its usage.
This projects case study focused on the young Indian travellers information search process in
general as, in order to draw conclusions about the role of social media in their travel planning
and thus, suggest potential ways of using social media in the Indian Travel services providers
or DMOs marketing and promotional activities. It has been pointed out that social media is
used among a large number of travellers (48%) and is even consulted in the first places among
all information sources. Still, clear differences were seen among the different types of social
media sites, where the independent travel reviews are considered of much greater importance
as information sources than the social networking sites, which can be linked to the perception
of the latter.
Regarding the influencing factors towards social medias usage in travel planning a hierarchical
structure of the influencing variables was observed. Survey findings indicate that the act and
extent of social media usage during travel planning depends on the purpose of the trip alone
and not on any demographic variables, such as the age as pre-assumed. Leisure tourists
reported the greatest use of it, following with the VFR tourists while for business tourists it
does not play any role as an information source.
However, there was found to be some variation in the way various age groups used social media
during travel planning. The younger age group reported greater benefits from the personal
recommendations of others and from its audio-visual features than elder group. While in
general, travellers use social media for its fast communication abilities, thus, for its low entry
barriers and for reviewing others experiences. Therefore, reaching other travellers
recommendations and comments in a cost effective way are clearly considered important for all
travellers, where those informativity and credibility aspect can be claimed.
Moreover, social media is mainly used in the pre-trip phase for information search and to
narrow down the choices, though it might serve as an inspirational source as well. While during
the trip social media is not considered as an adequate information source and is yet underused
due to its computer and internet based features. However, its adequacy might be changing with

the increasing popularity of mobile devices, e.g. Smartphone applications. In the Post-trip
phase Indians share their experiences online (i.e. beyond their traditional social 55
circle) only if the experience was extraordinary, either in a positive or negative way. The young
travellers are not adverse to the official promotions placed in social media; they even perceive it
as modern and proactive approach, though the content of the promotion still plays a significant
role. Moreover, allowing features, both on social media and DMO sites that supplements the
information conveyed by the official body with subjective travel reviews is seen favourable
among the travellers.
All these above stated give an indication to the DMOs and travel marketers to around which
type of social media they should mainly centre their promotional or revenue generating
strategies which target group of tourists they should consider and at which travel planning
phase they should focus on when exploiting social media. Either using the travel reviews sites
as promotional channel or allowing traveller reviews on their official homepage, which increase
the informativity of the site are possible ways to benefiting from social media. However, other
types of social media sites, networking sites or photo/video sharing sites should not be
underestimated either as those can be of inspiration for possible future travels.
Concerning the target group, clearly the leisure tourists and their needs and motivations should
be in focus when designing the destination promotion to be presented in social media or the
social media features on the official page. To reach all segments of tourists others personal
experiences should be emphasized, while designing certain tools that facilitate to reach this
information in a time and cost effective way. Audio-visual features can even further enhance
the information search of the younger segment of travellers.


Bibliography
Beckendorff, P., Moscardo, G. & Pendergast, D. (2010) Tourism and generation Y. Oxfordshire:
Cabi.
Compete (2006) Embracing consumer buzz creates measurement challenges for marketers.
http://media.competeinc.com/med/uploads/files/Compete_Spark_12_06_Embracing_Consume
r_Buzz_Creates_Measurement_Challenges.pdf
Tourism Queensland (2010)
http://www.tq.com.au/news-room/best-job-in-the-world-media-centre/best-job-in-the-
worldmedia-centre_home.cfm
Christy M.K. Cheung, D. R. (2010). The Effectiveness of Electronic Word-of-Mouth. 23rd Bled
eConference: Implications for the Individual, Enterprises and Society. Bled, Slovania.
Rohan Gawande and Sudhir Dethe, Branding Indian Tourism: Entering Second Phase
Social Media use in Tourism and Hospitality,
http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/38047-Social-Media-implementation-in-
tourism-and-hospitality
Social Media and travel Industry: A general Perspective
http://www.digitalvisitor.com/latestnewsandresources/social-media-blog/social-media-and-
travel-industry.html
How travel brands are using Social Media, http://socialmediatoday.com/achintya-
gupta/334171/how-are-travel-brands-using-social-media-marketing
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http://www.ibef.org/industry/tourismhospitality.aspx


Appendix
A. Survey Questionnaire
Q1. Age?
Q2. Gender?
Q3. Occupation?
Q4. How much time do you spend on the internet per day?
a. <1 hr
b. 1-3 hrs
c. 3-6 hrs
d. More than 6 hrs
Q.5 Are you a active on any online Social Media websites?
a. Yes
b. No
Q.6 If Yes, please specify the Social Media websites you use? (Multiple Choice)
a. Facebook
b. Twitter
c. Youtube
d. Blogs
e. Flickr
f. Others
Q7. Which of the following information sources do you use when you plan for a holiday or
travel?
a. My Friends and Relatives
b. b. Websites of Tourism departments/ Travel Agencies/Tour Opeators
c. c. Social Networking sites like facebook, Travel Blogs etc
d. d. Print Media (Newspapers, Magazines etc)
e. e. Others
Q8. How do you use Internet or social media websites in relation to holiday or travel planning?

Please rate the following 6 statements on a 5 point Likert scale given below.

Statement


Never

Seldom

Sometimes
Often Always


1. To get
an
inspiration
for my
next travel


destination


2. To look for
reviews of
destinations,
hotels etc





3. To share
my
experiences,
photos,
videos,
comments
with others




4. To look for
holiday/travel
packages,
deals,
discounts etc







5. To search
for contest
and quizzes
on Internet
or Social
Media pages
of travel
service
providers
like
MakeMyTrip,
Yatra.com
etc


6. To look
for online
Itinerary
Planning
services


Q.9 while planning for a holiday or travel I use Internet or social media because?

Please rate the following 6 statements on a 5 point Likert scale given below

Statement

Strongly
Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree Strongly
disagee

1. It is
reliable


2. it is
unbiased



3. I can get
quick
replies on
my
requests

4. it
provides
comments,
audio-
visual
impressions
(Photos,
videos) of
other
travellers


5. I can
read about
the
experiences
and reviews
of other
travellers


Q10. Please tick one or more of the options, if you would be interested in following
activities/services on Social Media platforms by travel service providers.
a. Ability to share your customized travel plans and Itinerary with your friends on Facebook,
Twitter etc
b. Loyalty programs and Promotional campaigns on official social media pages of travel services
providers
c. Contests, games and quizzes to get discounts on travel packages, win trips etc
d. Travel Blogs and Forums where people can share experiences, give/take travel advice etc
e. Mobile apps for travel bookings, destination search, hotel reviews etc
f. Others