Northwestern University

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION

Laoag City, Ilocos Norte 2900

THE EFFECTS OF
SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE
TOURISM INDUSTRY OF ILOCOS NORTE

A Research Study

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Subject
______________________________
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

Submitted by:
Norraine Gayle Almarez
Jayriz Andrea Dumlao
Benchel Pagaling
Jennifer Tuliao
 Northwestern University
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION
Laoag City, Ilocos Norte 2900

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Rationale

Statement of the Problem

This research study aimed to assess the effects of Social Media to the tourism industry of

Ilocos Norte.

Specifically, it sought to asnwer the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the respondents as to:

1.1. age;

1.2. gender;

2. What is/are the preferred social media platforms by tourists in deciding their travel

plans to Ilocos Norte?

3. How does social media information affect travel decisions of tourists?

Theoretical Framework

Scope and Limitation of the Study

 Northwestern University
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION
Laoag City, Ilocos Norte 2900

This research is confined on the assessment of the effects of social media on the tourism

industry of Ilocos Norte.

The study was conducted in Ilocos Norte and participated by the tourists in Ilocos Norte

within the period beginning ________ to 2020. A total of 100 respondents, selected through

random sampling, were asked to answer the survey questionnaire.

Significance of the Study

Once this study will be completed, its success will not only be advantageous to the researchers

but will also be of great benefit to the following:

BSBA Students. The results of the study will help the BSBA student assess their

capacity, intellect, and skills which may be suited for work related to BPO. Furthermore, the

study will provide a great leverage for students to have the required skills for basic positions in

the outsourcing sector, even for future employment opportunities in the IT-BPO industry.

BSBA Professors. When the educators on the field of business know the perception of

students as to the BPO industries, they will be able to guide their students who are interested in

applying in BPO companies. Moreover, as educators, they will to design and enforce a

curriculum that will hone the skills and competence of students enrolled in business

administration.
 Northwestern University
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION
Laoag City, Ilocos Norte 2900

BPO Companies. The study will become a foundation and benchmark for the BPO

companies in formulating their marketing strategies in promoting their companies as well as on

their hiring methods and styles. The students’ perceptions will help them determine their

strengths and weaknesses in the field.

Future Researchers. To those who are attempting to widen the scope of this study, this

will serve a basis for them.

Definition of Terms

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). A subset of outsourcing that involves contracting

the operations and responsibilities for a particular business process to a third-party service

provider.

Business Administration. The process of organizing the business’s personnel and

resources to meet business goals and objectives. The term also refers to the management of a

business, i.e., management in all aspects. This includes finance, marketing, human resources, and

accounting. It also includes business operations.

Economy. A system of organizations and institutions that either facilitate or play a role

in the production and distribution of goods and services in a society. Economies determine how

resources are distributed among members of a society; they determine the value of goods or

services; and they even determine what sorts of things can be traded or bartered for those

services and goods.

 Northwestern University
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION
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Employment. A relationship between two parties, usually based on a contract where work

is paid for, where one party, which may be a corporation, for profit, not-for-profit organization,

co-operative or other entity is the employer and the other is the employee.

Labor Force. The number of people who are employed plus the unemployed who are

looking for work.

Perception. The ability to capture, process, and actively make sense of the information

that our senses receive. It is the cognitive process that makes it possible to interpret our

surroundings with the stimuli that we receive throughout sensory organs.

CHAPTER II
 Northwestern University
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION
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REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter presents the local and foreign studies and literature which are in

consonance with our study. These studies are proofs and evidence that the research we will

be conducting is viable.

Related Local Studies

An Analysis of the Philippine Business

Process Outsourcing Industry

Nedelyn Magtibay-Ramos, Gemma Estrada, and Jesus Felipe (2007)

For the past 25 years, the Philippines has witnessed high unemployment amidst low

to moderate growth. Unemployment stood at 4.5% in the 1970s, but increased significantly

after the economic crisis of the early 1980s, and peaked during the mid-1980s (see Felipe

and Lanzona 2006). While economic recovery in the latter half of the 1980s led to a decline

in unemployment, the economy’s poor performance in the early 1990s once again pushed

the country toward double-digit unemployment rates. Since 1980, the unemployment rate

has hovered between 8% and 11%. The Philippines’s weak capacity to create enough

jobs for its growing labor force, despite some periods of moderate growth, has led to the

lingering unemployment problem. Over the past two decades, much of the increase in the

labor force has been absorbed by an expanding services sector. The share in employment of
 Northwestern University
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION
Laoag City, Ilocos Norte 2900

the services sector increased from 38.9% in 1990 to 48.1% in 2005. In contrast, industry’s

share in employment remained virtually unchanged, at around 15–16% during the same

period. Analysts have pinpointed the blame on past economic policies that were carried out

to pursue industrialization and growth. For several decades, the industrial sector was

accorded heavy protection that inhibited backward integration, export expansion, and

labor absorption (Balisacan and Hill 2003, Bautista 1983).

In the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP 2004–2010), the

Philippine government has openly acknowledged the need to address the country’s

unemployment problem and, thus, has set a target of creating about 1.5 million jobs a year

between 2004 and 2010, or a total of 10 million jobs by 2010. Early indications, however,

point to the government’s lack of success in achieving this goal.

In 2004, about 977,000 new jobs were created, but since there were 1,289,000 new

entrants, an additional 312,000 were added to the already large pool of unemployed (Felipe

and Lanzona 2006). Further, in 2005 only about 455,000 additional jobs were created.

Although this led to a drop in the unemployed by 100,000, still total unemployment rate

remained high at 11.4%.1 Such inability to create enough jobs implies that the

government’s policy appeared to lack a cohesive strategy of addressing the unemployment

issue. Recently, however, the government has ushered its support for sectors it considers as

important for employment generation.

 Northwestern University
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In the 2006 Workforce Development Summit, the government identified nine key

employment generating sectors to enable the matching of the country’s skilled human

resources with emerging industries in the local and global markets. These are cyber

services, aviation, agribusiness, health services, mining, creative industries, hotels and

restaurants, medical tourism, and overseas employment (Catiang 2006).

By identifying jobs and competencies that are currently in demand, the government

hopes to set up a system that would work with schools and training institutions to provide

the type of education that is suited for today’s workplace.

While this appears to be a step the unemployment rate is based on the old definition,

which states that the total unemployed are “those who did not work and were reported

wanting and looking for work during the reference week.” A new definition was introduced

in April 2005, which defined the unemployed as those who possess all three criteria: (i)

without work; (ii) currently available for work; and (iii) seeking work, or not seeking work

due to being discouraged for lack of available work, awaiting results of job application,

temporary illness/disability, etc. direction, its success in substantially bringing down

unemployment depends not only on the specific mechanisms that the government

implements to support each of the nine sectors, but also on the capacity of each sector to

generate employment for future labor entrants. One of the key employment-generating

sectors identified is “cyber services”, a term that covers teleservices, e-services, information

technology (IT) outsourcing, and IT- and information communications and technology

(ICT)-enabled services, all of which are linked to business process outsourcing (BPO). The
 Northwestern University
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Philippine BPO industry measures its overall output in terms of total revenues, which

consists entirely of exports. The BPO sector is estimated to account for only 0.075% of the

economy’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2000 but this increased to 2.4% in 2005. It has

been hailed by the government as having huge potential for generating employment in the

next five years. As of end-2005, the BPO sector employed 163,000 workers.

The government and the Business Processing Association Philippines (BPA/P) have

jointly forecast employment in this sector to rise by 38% annually between 2005 and 2010,

employing one million workers by 2010. This forecast implies that around 27% of all new

jobs in the country in 2010 would be generated by the BPO industry, which is not quite

plausible for a single activity to achieve.

While the Philippines is already part of a large global outsourcing industry (where

worldwide revenues amounted to $67 billion in 2005), the country’s capacity to benefit

from this huge and expanding sector will depend on several key factors, including the

quality of the existing and potential workforce, infrastructure support, and policy

environment. These factors will also determine how well the country can compete against

India, the leading BPO provider, and some emerging BPO providers such as People’s

Republic of China, Malaysia, Mexico, and Russia. It is worth noting that nearly 70% of the

BPO workers in the Philippines are in the contact center subsector. Since the minimum

qualifications for employment in the contact center are a college degree, good English

proficiency, and computer literacy, any college graduate can apply regardless of

educational background. As a result, the contact center industry may have attracted a
 Northwestern University
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION
Laoag City, Ilocos Norte 2900

number of college graduates whose training is directed toward other highly skilled

professions, thus creating an employment–education mismatch.

This paper aims to explore the status and trends in the BPO industry in the

Philippines, as well as to examine how the country fares vis-à-vis India and other leading

BPO providers. It performs a quantitative analysis of the potential impact of the BPO

industry on compensation, employment, and output using the input–output (I-O)

framework.

The rest of the paper is structured as follows. Section II briefly discusses the profile

of the Philippine BPO sector, including the types of services, revenues, employment,

investments, and government support to the sector. Section III provides an overview of the

Indian BPO sector, to provide a benchmark for the Philippines and other countries aiming

to acquire a substantial share in the rapidly expanding global BPO market. This is followed

by cross-country comparisons on some key elements affecting BPO growth potential in

Section IV. Section V investigates the prospects of the BPO sector by performing an I-O

analysis on the sector’s intersectoral linkages, and an impact analysis on compensation and

employment given the sector’s expected revenue growth based on government and industry

projections. Section VI explores the employment dynamics in the BPO sector with

reference to the attrition rate and training requirements in order to examine if there will be

a sufficient number of people to occupy the predicted number of BPO jobs.

 Northwestern University
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Finally, Section VII offers some conclusions. The technical appendix provides a

brief summary of I-O analysis. The analysis leads to the following main conclusions: (i) by

its very low intersectoral linkages, the Philippine BPO sector has very little interaction with

the rest of the economy; (ii) with a large increase in revenues, the total wage bill of the

sector as well as that of the other sectors will grow significantly; and (iii) in 2010, with a

workforce of around 500,000 to 600,000, the sector will provide around 11% of the jobs for

new labor force entrants.

Introduction to the BPO Industry in the Philippines

Nix Eniego (2016)

Business Process Outsourcing is currently the largest industry in the Philippines

and it is continuously growing, with more and more BPO companies being set up in various

parts of the country year after year. Here are some quick facts showing just how big BPO

is in the country:

• In 2010, the Philippines was named the BPO capital of the world, with the highest

number of individuals employed in the industry compared to other countries.

• This year, there are more than 1 million Filipinos employed full time in BPO

companies. There is an estimated number of 124,000 additional jobs created by the BPO

industry every year, and this number is expected to remain until 2016.
 Northwestern University
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• By 2020, World Bank projects the BPO industry to generate 11% of the Philippine

GDP.

Ever since the first call center was set up in the Philippines back in 1992, the BPO

industry has played a key role in providing jobs to thousands of Filipinos and in reviving

the Philippine economy. This industry has brought the Philippines to the map and shown

the Filipinos to be globally competitive in terms of work aptitude and skills, emerging as

the preferred employees of many Western entrepreneurs.

The BPO companies operating in the Philippines are engaged in a wide range of

businesses. The call center sector makes up around 80% of this industry. Medical

transcription, IT and software development, finance and accounting, and other sectors

make up the remaining 20%.

At present, the existing BPO companies in the Philippines range from start-up

enterprises to large global businesses looking to expand in Asia and in the country. All of

these companies are trying to adjust to the dynamics of the Philippine market and to meet

the specific needs of its Filipino employees, all while dealing with challenges trying to create

growth in the middle of many other BPO companies in the same industry and with a

similar target market.

Despite the challenges facing new BPO companies trying to establish their business

in the Philippines, the country holds the promise of continuously producing a globally

competitive workforce. Operational cost remain competitive compared to other locations.

 Northwestern University
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And, the Philippines is also emerging to be a promising country in terms of technological

development.

New innovations are being developed to address the unique needs faced by

Philippine businesses. The use of HR and payroll software in the Philippines is gaining

momentum. BPO managers are realizing the need to simplify processes in order to

maximize resources and improve operation. With such developments in the Philippines, the

BPO industry is expected to continue to flourish in the coming years.

The BPO Challenge: Leveraging Capabilities,

Creating Opportunities

Fatima Lourdes E. Del Prado (2015)

Tourism has been a determining factor in the economic growth of Hungary recently

and it will continue to have a significant role in the future development of the country.

Although Hungary has great potentials in tourism sector, it is concentrated only on a few

places of the country at present, especially in the capital, Budapest. While tourism has

about 10% share in the national GDP production, most of it is generated in the capital. In

addition, to the center of the country, there are only a few places that are really known by

foreign tourists and thus are able to attract crowds. Such places are Lake Balaton, the
 Northwestern University
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION
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largest lake in Europe; and the city of Debrecen, the second largest city in the country, with

its surroundings and several thermal baths. The aim of our paper is to analyze the

tendencies of Hungarian tourism, focusing on the festivals, and to follow the changes of the

tourism strategies, as well as the direct and indirect effects of the development of the

tourism industry on the economic growth of the country. In order to prepare our study, we

have collected information on tourism from the Central Statistical Office, from the

organizers of the different festivals throughout the country and from the National Tourism

Office. Based on our research, we intend to draw consequences on the sector and define

recommendations for further developments, because we believe that festivals can be the

solution for the sustainable economic and social development of several rural areas,

providing income for a huge part of population in the countryside.

Related Foreign Studies

Business Process Outsourcing:

An Exploratory Study

David R. Johnson (2005)

Outsourcing to low-cost labor markets has recently become a controversial political

and business topic. While advanced industrialized nations have been outsourcing
 Northwestern University
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manufacturing to the developing world for decades, the practice in the service sector

presents a threat to higher skilled jobs previously considered insulated from global

competition. Offshore outsourcing of white collar service sector work has traditionally been

limited to low-value added tasks such as processing credit card payments or call center

work. Recent headlines, however, suggest that higher skilled service occupations such as

accounting and computer programming are going offshore in large numbers. One evolving

area of the outsourcing market that suggests a greater number of professional occupations

are now at risk is business process outsourcing (BPO). BPO allows businesses the

opportunity to have a wide array of common corporate functions previously performed

and internally executed by third party service providers, including human resources,

finance and accounting, and supply-chain management. While discrete tasks within each of

these areas (e.g. payroll processing) have been outsourced in the past, the continued

integration of business processes and information technologies has fundamentally

transformed the extent to which parts of the production process can be divided and

relocated.

The suggestion that outsourcing will eliminate these jobs seems to have extended

public skepticism of free trade policy beyond lower and middle class workers to more

affluent professionals. A February 2004 University of Maryland poll corroborates this

sentiment, finding that support of free trade among Americans earning more than

$100,000 a year has dropped from 57 percent in 1999 to 28 percent in 2004 (Despeignes 2

2004). Outsourcing became the topic of considerable political debate during the 2004
 Northwestern University
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presidential election, reflecting national concern over the loss of both low and high skilled

jobs. John Kerry wanted to “repeal the tax loopholes and benefits that reward Benedict

Arnold CEOs and companies for shipping American jobs overseas" (Weisman 2004), while

chief economist Gregory Mankiw brushed off outsourcing as “just a new way of doing

international trade” (Stokes 2004). State-level political backlash in New Jersey,

Connecticut, Missouri, Maryland, and Wisconsin among 33 other states considering

restrictive legislation has also focused a great deal of attention on outsourcing. However,

the majority of attention outsourcing has received comes from business literature, news

media, and the internet. One study found that during the five months between January and

May 2004, 2,634 U.S. newspaper articles addressed outsourcing and job loss fear (Amiti

and Wei 2004). According to a study by Deloitte consulting, negative media sentiment

outpaced positive coverage by 30 percent during 2004 in survey of articles in Business

Week, Fortune, Washington Post, The Economist, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal

(Landis 2005).

While there exists a great deal of provocative literature on outsourcing, treatment of

the topic tends to be concerned with domestic job loss resulting from foreign competition.

A June 2003 Business Week article entitled “American Legislators Are Accusing India of

Stealing US Jobs”, illustrates a popular emphasis along these lines. Nonetheless, analysis of

outsourcing evidently centers on proving or disproving the notion that free trade is a win-

win situation. In fact, the first scholarly reaction to the new round of outsourcing surfaced

in The Journal of Economic Perspectives and addressed whether or not this contention
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holds true in the current context of global capitalism. The 3 salience of the debate is

demonstrated by the fact that economist Paul Samuelson, whose work in international

trade theory earned him the Nobel Prize in 1970, reversed his position arguing that U.S.

national income would be negatively affected if a country such as China or India achieved

higher productivity in common exports.

Yet, economists have generally argued that during the first wave of outsourcing

displaced blue collar job would be offset by creation of higher value added service jobs and

cheaper goods. Underlying this logic is Joseph Schumpeter’s idea that the continuous

application of knowledge by entrepreneurs results in “creative destruction” whereby new

markets, products, and therefore, jobs are created at the expense of one another.

Specifically for the U.S., Daniel Bell (1973) emphasized the central importance of

knowledge as a source of innovation when describing the shift from a labor intensive

industrial economy to one based on information-driven services. Bell forecasted that a new

dominant class would form the core of the post-industrial occupational structure, made up

of professional, managerial, and technical workers (i.e. scientists and engineers).

Critics, however, have argued that this characterization misrepresents the new

occupational structure. They argue that alongside the rise of well-paid knowledge workers,

there is a proliferation of low-wage, unskilled, white collar and service occupations. Thus

an increasingly polarized social structure may more accurately represent the occupational

transformation Bell forecast (Bluestone and Harrison 1984; Sayer and Walker 1992).
 Northwestern University
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Clearly, the lack of consensus and limited scholarship on the current wave of

outsourcing calls for more research that thoroughly addresses these substantive issues, 4

especially questions concerning whether or not high skilled jobs are indeed moving

overseas and whether this is good or bad for the U.S. economy.

While the focus on offshoring is a critical aspect of this thesis, this study also will

explore whether or not the blue collar vs. white collar distinction is relevant to the type of

work that is being outsourced offshore. That is, it may be the specific attributes of

commodities or services that are important to determining what jobs get outsourced,

rather than the blue collar vs. white collar distinction.

In particular, I will focus on whether the division between the conception and

execution of a production process or service is a key feature of BPO. To this end, I will use

Harry Braverman’s theoretical framework in his seminal work, Labor and Monopoly

Capital (1979) to examine this hypothesis. Braverman was one of the first analysts of the

similarities between the process of deskilling of both blue collar and white collar work. He

argued that management appropriates control from workers by deepening the division of

labor, specifically the division between conception and execution. Braverman demonstrated

this idea by showing how the application of Taylorist scientific management principles to

both manual and white collar work impacted the autonomy and skill of craftworkers.

Braverman viewed the labor process and worker exploitation as the core of Marxist

theory, and thus sought to extend Marx’s analysis of manual labor to white-collar and
 Northwestern University
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION
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service occupations. Using the example of clerical workers, Braverman argued that white-

collar occupations are subjected to the same processes of control as manual workers. Thus,

the outcome of applying the logic of scientific management to the office 5 results in

managers, engineers, and technicians performing the mental aspects of work, while clerical

workers are responsible for manual tasks such as keypunching.

However, Braverman penned his thesis before the intense period of globalization

and technological change. Hence, this thesis will explore whether his deskilling argument

maintains its relevancy today, particularly in regard to outsourcing. In turn, by exploring

the contemporary relevance of Braverman’s thesis to offshore outsourcing, this study will

also provide a more sociological focus to current research on outsourcing. Beyond a small

handful of panel discussions and conference roundtables, the outsourcing of white collar

and service jobs has yet to provoke a substantial response in sociology. An editorial in

Contemporary Sociology argues that “outsourcing is only one cause of job loss for U.S.

workers” and “one of the latest innovations in corporate profit making” (Miller and

Perucci 2004). Although sociologists have analyzed many of the conditions which have

facilitated the emergence of outsourcing services, such as economic restructuring,

globalization, and flexible production, they rarely have specifically addressed offshore

outsourcing itself. Indeed the lack of sociological research on this topic is rather surprising,

considering the impact outsourcing manufacturing has had on blue-collar manufacturing,

as well as the implications the increased outsourcing of white collar office processes

suggests for the organization of work in a global and information based society.
 Northwestern University
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Because limited sociological research has been conducted on business process

outsourcing, and because the trend in increased outsourcing shows little sign of

diminishing, the objective of this study is to explore the impact of technology on the

division of labor as exhibited by BPO. Drawing upon existing literature, informant 6

interviews, and data compiled from recent outsourcing studies, this paper addresses three

basis research questions: (1) What is BPO? (2) Why and where is it happening? and (3)

what are its consequences?

The study begins with a closer examination of BPO that draws upon the existing

sociological literature on globalization and economic restructuring. BPO is compared to

outsourcing manufacturing in light of the larger issue of the relationship between

technology and the spatial location and division of labor. Next, theory is introduced as a

framework for directing attention to the predominant features of the relationship between

technology and labor control. This, in turn, may serve as basis for understanding more

about the types of work processes being outsourced and why they may be more amenable

to outsourcing. Following this section, methods are presented with a discussion of their

advantages and disadvantages. This study employs an exploratory method that utilizes

informant interviews, focus group, and secondary data to investigate the types of jobs

outsourced and the effects of BPO on the division of labor. Following the presentation of

methods, my analysis begins that examines what drives BPO, where it occurs, and its

consequences. The study concludes with a discussion of the main findings and suggestions

for policy and research.

 Northwestern University
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CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter describes the methodology of research study, supervision of the data

gathering instrument, and data analysis techniques, including collection of data, study

design, sampling frame and procedure of respondent’s selection. In this study

methodologies have been used to determine the Perception of Bachelor of Science in

Business Administration Students of Northwestern University on the Business Process

Outsourcing in Ilocos Norte.

Research Design

The descriptive research method will be used in gathering the needed information

for this study. This method enables the researchers to interpret the meaning and

interpretations of the findings.

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Descriptive research design is used to explore and explain an individual, group or a

situation. This aims at obtaining complete and accurate information for the study and the

method adopted must be carefully planned. Since it is the fastest way to turn information

into knowledge and to describe things and events, this is suitable for our study entitled

Perception of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Students of Northwestern

University on the Business Process Outsourcing in Ilocos Norte.

Research Locale

The study will be conducted in Northwestern University since the respondents will

be the BSBA students of the said school. Northwestern University Laoag City (NWU) is a

private higher educational institution in Laoag City, Philippines.

The data gathering will be facilitated in the respondents’ room or in any place

where the respondents will choose to comfortably answer the survey questionnaire. The

study will be conducted in the Second Semester of the Academic Year 2018-2019. The

university is selected as the locale of the study because its proximity makes it convenient

and effective for the researcher to gather accurate data.

Population and Sampling

The target population for this study is the majority of the total population of the

BSBA enrollees in Northwestern University. The researchers shall request an enrollee’s

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data sheet from the registrar office to determine the majority of the BSBA students.

Majority will be the greater number or specifically, in the legal sense, it will be 50% of the

population plus one.

Convenience sampling will be applied in this study. It is a method of collecting

samples by taking samples that are conveniently located around a location. The researchers

used availability (or convenience sampling), where the participants are all BSBA students

of Northwestern University.

Data Gathering Instrument

The researchers will be utilizing a questionnaire as the data collection instruments.

The objectives of the study as well as the research questions have been used to guide the

formulation of items in the instruments. A questionnaire is suitable because the

respondents are literate and conversant with the issues addressed in this study. The

questionnaire will be divided into four parts.

The first part of the questionnaire will be composed of questions related to the

demographic profile of the respondents. The second up to the fourth parts will include

items related to BPO’s economic impact, employment impact and

advantages/disadvantages, respectively.

Data Gathering Procedure

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To determine the total number of respondent population, the researchers will obtain

a data sheet from the university’s Registrar’s Office indicating the overall number of

BSBA students. Once they get a copy, they will be able to get the majority number of

respondents needed in this study.

The researchers will addressed a letter to Northwestern University to allow the

researchers to carry out research in their institution. After which, they will draft a request

letter asking for the consent of the respondents in participating in the data collection

process. The purpose of the study and the significance of the data collection exercise will be

carefully explained to the target samples.

Once the consent is obtained, questionnaires will be distributed and respondents

will answer with the guidance of the researchers. After answering, these will be collected

for data analysis and interpretation.

Statistical Treatment

The set of questionnaire was structured using the Likert format with a five-point

response scale. A Likert Scale is a rating scale that requires the subject to indicate his or

her degree of agreement or disagreement to a statement. In this type of questionnaire, the

respondents were given five response choices.

The following numerical scale, range of values and descriptive interpretations will

be used to facilitate the interpretation of the computed mean and arrive at an accurate

findings:
 Northwestern University
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Numerical Scale Range of Values Descriptive Interpretation

4 3.51-4.00 Strongly Agree

3 2.51-3.50 Agree

2 1.51-2.50 Disagree

1 1.00-1.50 Strongly Disagree

The data gathered will be analyzed using frequency and percentage. Results of the

survey will be presented in tables. The weighted average mean will be employed to analyze

the perception of BSBA students on BPO. Once the results are obtained, relevant

literatures will also be included and discussed in correlation with the findings.
 Northwestern University
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Bibliography

Dear Respondents,

Greetings!

We, the Bachelor of Science – Tourism students of Northwestern University, are

presently conducting a study entitled, “THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE

TOURISM INDUSTRY OF ILOCOS NORTE”.

In this regard, may we request for your participation by answering the attached

questionnaire. All information will remain confidential. Participation is strictly voluntary.

 Northwestern University
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Laoag City, Ilocos Norte 2900

Your contribution will be sincerely appreciated. The data gathered will provide useful

information in assessing the effects of social media in the tourism industry of Ilocos Norte.

Respectfully yours,

Norraine Gayle Almarez

Jayriz Andrea Dumlao

Benchel Pagaling

Jennifer Tuliao

QUESTIONNAIRE

PART I: Respondent characteristics

Please check () one response for each question below.

Name (Optional):
Gender
ð Male
ð Female
Age

ð below 18
 Northwestern University
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION
Laoag City, Ilocos Norte 2900

ð 18-25
ð 26-35
ð 36 and above

PART II: Ilocos Experience

a. How many times have you toured around Ilocos Norte? ______ time/s

b. Who were your travel companions to Ilocos Norte?

 None

 Friends

 Family

 Work colleagues

 Romantic partner

 Others: _________________________________________________________

c. What famous tourist destinations in Ilocos Norte have you visited? You may choose more

than one answer, if applicable.

 Bangui Windmills
 Batac Museum
 Batac Riverside Empanadahan
 Cape Bojeador Lighthouse
 Kabigan Falls
 Kapurpurawan Rock Formation
 Lapaz Sand Dunes
 Malacañang of the North
 Pagudpud beaches
 Paoay Church (San Agustin Church)
 Paoay Lake
 Patapat Viaduct
 Northwestern University
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION
Laoag City, Ilocos Norte 2900

 Sinking Bell Tower

 Solsona-Apayao Road
 Suba Sand Dunes
 Others: _________________________________________________________

d. How did you learn about the above-selected tourist destinations?

 via magazine
 via newspaper
 via radio
 via social media
 via television
 via word-of-mouth from family/relatives/friends
 via other medium
If so, please specify: ____________________________________________

PART III: Social Media Preference

a. What social media application/site/forum do you refer to in planning your travels? You

may choose more than one answer, if applicable.

 Agoda
 AirBNB
 Booking.com
 Display Advertisements
 E-mail Advertisements
 Facebook
 Instagram
 Traveler’s Personal Blogs
 Traveloka
 TripAdvisor
 Twitter
 YouTube
 Others: ___________________________________________________________
 Northwestern University
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION
Laoag City, Ilocos Norte 2900

b. What social media information do you find relevant in making travel decisions? You may

choose more than one answer, if applicable.

 Availability of estimated travel cost

 Availability of list of to-do activities at the tourist destination
 Availability of step-by-step guide on how to get to the tourist destination
 Destination Photos and Videos
 Travel Influencers’ Recommendations
 Travelers’ Personal Feedback
 Travelers’ Ratings
 Others: ___________________________________________________________

PART IV: Effects of Social Media to Tourism Industry in Ilocos Norte

The following are statements related in assessing the effects of Social Media to tourism

industry in Ilocos Norte. Kindly check () the best response applicable for each statement while

referring to the scale below:

5 - Strongly Agree
4 - Agree
3 - Neutral
2 - Disagree
1 - Strongly Disagree
1
2 5
Strongly 3 4
Statements Disagre Strongly
Disagre Neutral Agree
e Agree
e
I always refer to social media in
making my travel destinations.
I find travel information on social
media more reliable and trustworthy
as against other mediums of
information (e.g. television, radio,
magazines)
 Northwestern University
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION
Laoag City, Ilocos Norte 2900

I prefer to use social media in

researching for travel information
because of its accessibility and
convenience.
I am able to save more money
because of information shared on
social media.
I feel safer and more confident in
traveling to a tourist destination
because of the information shared on
social media.
I am able to cover more activities
during my actual travel because of the
information shared on social media.
My travel expectations based on the
information shared on social media
are met during my actual travel
experience.
I am most likely to visit a tourist
destination based on a positive
feedback I read about it on social
media.
I am most likely to share my actual
travel experience/feedback with
others on social media.
I prefer to raise my travel
concerns/problems on social media
than actually talking to the
management/ authorities concerned.