Strategic impact of Social Media in tourism- Research paper

Strategic Impact of Social Media
inTourism
By:
Ambuj Saxena, MBA- MICA, Co-founder BnBNation www.bnbnation.com
Dr Sajeevan Rao, Professor (Marketing), BharatiVidyapeeth Univ, Delhi
Dr GG Saxena, IAS Retd, Secy- Delhi Heritage Foundation

What is Social Media
• Social Media can be defined as the online collection of communication
channels dedicated to community-based input, interaction, content-sharing
and collaboration.
• These include forums, social networking, microblogging, social
bookmarking, social curation and wikis

Facebook screenshots
Source: www.facebook.com/Bnbnation.hospitality

Twitter screenshots
Source: www.twitter.com/bnb_nation

Blog screenshots
Source: www.bnbnation.com/blog

How does a customer spend 1 hour online?
Social
26%
Entertainment
15%
Shopping
8%
Business
5%
Email
5%
Lifestyle
4%
Adult
3%
News
3%
Travel
3%
Others
28%
Minute-wise breakup of customer's 60 minute online activity

Types of Social Media channels
• Facebook: Most popular free social networking website that allows registered users to create profiles, upload photos and
video, send messages and keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues.
• Twitter: Free microblogging service that allows registered members to broadcast short posts called tweets. Twitter
members can broadcast tweets and follow other users' tweets by using multiple platforms and devices.
• Google+: Designed to replicate the way people interact offline more closely than is the case in other social networking
services.
• Wikipedia: Free, open content online encyclopedia created through the collaborative effort of a community of users
known as Wikipedians. Anyone registered on the site can create an article for publication; registration is not required to
edit articles.
• LinkedIn: Designed specifically for the business community. The goal of the site is to allow registered members to
establish and document networks of people they know and trust professionally.
• Pinterest: Social curation website for sharing and categorizing images found online. Pinterest requires brief descriptions
but the main focus of the site is visual.

Who uses Social Media channels?
Age18-29, 86%
Age 30-49, 72%
Age 50-64, 50%
Age 65+, 34%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Age18-29 Age 30-49 Age 50-64 Age 65+
Age-wise breakup of Social Networking site use

Customer Acquisition through Social Media
Facebook, 52%
LinkedIn, 43% Company Blog, 43%
Twitter, 36%
Google+, 15%
Pinterest, 9%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Facebook LinkedIn Company Blog Twitter Google+ Pinterest
Probability of Customer acquisition through various Social Media
Customer acquisition through Social Media

Utility of Social Media
• Gather information
• Customer acquisition: Reach out to the customer in the most efficient and cost-effective manner without compromising on quality
• Market products & generate traffic to your website
• Promote brands
• Connect to current users
• Foster new business
• Crowd source innovative ideas from the audience to better existing services or create new services
• Social listening and Conversing with the audience and gauge their mood
• Even if there is a bad review by a customer, business can respond to the query in real-time
• If the customer review is positive, social media helps spread the word

Types of Social Media users
Type of User Characteristic of user %age of such users
Creator Users who post original
photos and videos online
46%
Curator Users who find photos and
videos online and repost
them to share with their
community
41%
Creator and Curator Users who create and
curate photos and videos
online
32%

Introduction
• With the advancement of Web 2.0 and all the more particularly of online
networking, client created content has developed enormously in the
previous years (Riegner, 2007). Online networking incorporates the
imparting of insights through blogging, microblogging, informal
organizations, photograph and video sharing sites, evaluations locales, et
cetera (Mayfield, 2008). With these instruments clients can inquiry, share
and add to a gigantic assortment of substance in a collective way and can
thusly impact the other web clients, consequently, one of the destinations
of this thesis is to induce if this impact has any effect in tourism.

• Considering all the over, the general topic of this exposition is "Web-based social
networking in Tourism" and the examination question of this work is the
accompanying: "Does Social Media have an effect in Tourism?" However, to decide
how tourism can utilize web-based social networking the accompanying sub
inquiries are inquired:
• What are the functionalities of Social Media that travelers' consider more critical?
• What are the travelers' apparent advantages of utilizing online networking when taking
excursions?
• How do visitors see Social Media locales when arranging/taking excursions?

Review of Literature
• In view of the system of online travel groups individuals' advantages (Wang and Fesenmaier 2004a) and the
model of part motivating forces for dynamic commitment in travel groups (Wang and Fesenmaier 2004b),
Parra-López et al., (2011) made a model for the goals to utilize Social Media when arranging taking outings
and the advantages of utilizing Social Media in that circumstance. Parra-López et al., (2011) recommend
that the goals to utilize Social Media when the travelers' are affected by the apparent advantages of
utilizing them and by the costs required in their utilization. This model additionally recommends that there
are a few factors, for example, confide in, philanthropy, access to the innovation et cetera, that persuade
and advance the utilization of Social Media when arranging and taking outings. Web clients advance from
gathering data without having any social cooperation, to expanding social exercises as their association in
online groups extends (Walther, 1996). Online travel groups likewise offer basic mental advantages to its
clients by making the group some portion of their lives. These advantages incorporate a feeling of having a
place with a specific group, a feeling of association and the connections between individuals from the group
(Wang and Fesenmaier, 2004b) and can be accomplished accordingly of progressing correspondence in a
shared situation (Parra-López et al., 2011).

Hypotheses
• Hypothesis 1: When planning and taking trips, tourists consider the
functionalities of Social Media important.
• Hypothesis 2: Tourists consider the functional, social, psychological and
hedonic benefits important when planning and taking trips.
• Hypothesis 3: Tourists perceive Social Media sites as reliable, informative,
interesting, helpful, accurate, easy to find, entertaining and valuable.

Research Methodology
• Given the way that this review is about Social Media, the overview is disseminated predominantly through
Facebook and email. Given the accessible assets, this strategy is viewed as the best to lead this review since
it is more helpful and private. It lessens the inclination of overviews that are directed up close and personal,
where individuals can be more impervious to give fair answers and it makes it workable for individuals to
spare the connection and answer the appropriate response at whatever point is more advantageous.
Sharing the study on Facebook additionally makes it feasible for the overview to have a bigger reach since
somebody who answers the review can without much of a stretch impart the study to his or her Facebook
companions. Subsequent to gathering the appropriate responses the information is sent out to SPSS
Statistics 21 for examination. Firstly, some straightforward illustrative measurements, for example,
Frequencies and Descriptives are directed in SPSS to characterize the specimen and to figure out what
qualities are most compelling for the respondents and what the most imperative functionalities are and
saw benefits and thus test the speculations. Besides, two element investigations are performed to lessen
two vast arrangements of factors – the functionalities and saw benefits - into a more controllable number
of components.

Descriptive Analysis
• An aggregate of 236 respondents addressed the overview, 119 females and 117 guys. The
lion's share of respondents are from NCR (87%) and between the ages of 18 and 29 years
(around 59%), trailed by around 15% of the respondents between the ages of 30 and 40
years, roughly 14% in the vicinity of 41 and 50 years, 10% in the 51 to 60 age amass, lastly
around 2% that are more established 60 years. At the point when gotten some information
about their Social Media use, most respondents claim they spend in the vicinity of one and
three hours utilizing Social Media (33.5%), trailed by 21.6% that state they utilize Social
Media short of what one hour a day. Roughly 17% of the example utilizes Social Media over
five hours a day, 14% utilizations Social Media in the vicinity of three and five hours
consistently and around 14% are light clients, utilizing online networking six times each
week or less

Factor Analysis
• Fifteen things of the functionalities scale are subjected to a main segments
examination (PCA) in SPSS, however firstly, the appropriateness of
information for variable investigation is assessed. The examination of the
connection grid uncovers the nearness of different coefficients of 0.5 or
more. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin esteem is 0.914, which surpasses the
prescribed estimation of 0.6 and the Bartlett's trial of sphericity achieves
measurable essentialness supporting the factorability of the connection
framework

• PCA uncovers the nearness of two parts with eigenvalues surpassing 1, clarifying 46% and
16% of the change individually. An examination of the scree plot uncovers an unmistakable
break after the second part, so it is chosen to hold two segments for further examination.
To help the elucidation of the two segments, varimax pivot is performed.
• The pivoted arrangement uncovers the nearness of a basic structure with both parts
demonstrating various solid loadings, and all factors, stacking considerably in one of the
segments. The tables utilized as a part of the examination and elucidation of this variable
investigation can be counselled. By contrasting the turned segments framework and the
mean significance evaluations that the respondents credited to the usefulness
proclamations in the descriptive table, obviously the example of this review does not
separate functionalities.

Factor derived• Despite the fact that Component 1 unmistakably incorporates
Conversations, Presence and Relationships, and Component 2 plainly
incorporate the Reputation usefulness; both parts incorporate a few
components of the Identity, Groups and Sharing functionalities. While
respondents don't separate functionalities, it is obvious that respondents
consider segment 2 more essential than segment 1. Respondents
unmistakably consider Reputation the most vital Social Media usefulness;
the two proclamations used to test the significance of this usefulness are a
piece of segment 2 and have the most noteworthy mean significance:
dependable substance has a mean significance of 3.91 out of 5 and
believing the Social Media site has a mean significance of 3.81 out of 5.
Alternate components that have the most noteworthy mean significance
for the example is: perusing substance and audits shared by different
travelers (3.69 out of 5), which is identified with the Sharing usefulness,
having data isolated in classes (3.59 out of 5), which is related to the
Groups usefulness and the likelihood of altering security settings (3.02 out
of 5), which is a piece of the Identity usefulness.

HypothesisTesting
• It can be concluded that tourists will consider functionalities important
when planning and taking trips, which means that hypothesis 1 (When
planning and taking trips, tourists consider the functionalities of Social
Media important.) is accepted. Reputation is the most important
functionality for tourists and certain elements of the Sharing, Identity and
Groups functionalities, listed above, are also quite important

Second set of Factor Analysis• Thirteen things of the advantages scale are subjected to an
important parts examination (PCA) in SPSS, yet firstly, the
reasonableness of information for component investigation is
assessed, much the same as it is accomplished for the
functionalities. The examination of the relationship framework
uncovers the nearness of different coefficients of 0.3 or more. The
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin esteem is 0.878, which surpasses the suggested
estimation of 0.6 and the Bartlett's trial of sphericity achieves
factual noteworthiness supporting the factorability of the
connection lattice. PCA uncovers the nearness of three segments
with eigenvalues surpassing 1, clarifying 47%, 15% and 8% of the
difference separately. In any case, an examination of the scree plot
uncovers an unmistakable break after the second part, so it is
chosen to hold just two segments for further examination. To help
the understanding of the two segments, varimax revolution is
performed. The turned arrangement uncovers the nearness of a
basic structure with both parts demonstrating various solid
loadings, and all factor, stacking significantly in one of the
segment.

• Part 1 incorporates a blend of the different components of three sorts of
advantages, the social, mental and hedonic advantages and 26 segment 2
incorporates every one of the components of the utilitarian advantage:
data, proficiency and accommodation, and one of the components of the
social advantages: trust. The most vital saw advantages of utilizing Social
Media when arranging and taking outings are the useful advantages;

HypothesisTesting
• It can be reasoned that voyagers, consider the useful advantages and trust
(social advantage) imperative when utilizing Social Media for arranging and
taking excursions critical. The various social, mental and hedonic
advantages are not viewed as essential.
• Thus, hypothesis 2 (Tourists consider the functional, social, psychological
and hedonic benefits important when planning and taking trips) is rejected.

Discussions
• With the investigation over, the most critical functionalities of Social Media for explorers are
resolved and their most vital saw advantage is additionally found. The most imperative advantage
that voyagers need to see satisfied is the utilitarian advantage, which needs to do with the get-
together of data and with the productivity and accommodation of utilizing Social Media for the
get-together of that data. Notwithstanding, trust is viewed as the most critical quality for utilizing
Social Media when arranging trips, which is a piece of the social advantages. Accordingly, despite
the fact that voyagers don't consider most of the social advantages imperative when utilizing
Social Media, they just consider the data from Social Media locales identified with travel and
tourism essential and significant, on the off chance that they confide in the site and organization.
Along these lines, the notoriety of the organization is the most essential variable when utilizing
Social Media while arranging trips, which implies that as a matter of first importance, tourism
organizations in the Social Media need to win the trust of the explorers. While investigating the
most critical functionalities of Social Media for explorers, it is by and by obvious that the notoriety
of the site/organization is the most imperative. The respondents considered solid substance and
believing the Social Media site the most imperative variables when utilizing Social Media when
arranging trips, individually. A positive notoriety alone might be a wellspring of practical upper
hand, since it can be significant, uncommon, matchless and non substitutable. Plainly a positive
notoriety is profitable for explorers just by examining the significance given to it, both when gotten
some information about the functionalities and the advantages.

• With the end goal of the examination of the vital effect of Social Media in tourism, it is additionally
pertinent that as indicated by this review, "audits of individuals like me" and "surveys about settlement" are
the absolute most persuasive components for voyagers when arranging trips
• The impact that these two components have in the respondents is affirmed when they select Booking.com,
which consolidates these two components, as the Social Media site that they utilize the most when
arranging and taking excursions. Therefore, Social Media is a key open door for the accommodation
business. The way in which travellers esteem perusing remarks and audits shared by others, having data
isolated into classes, the likelihood of altering protection settings and the way that they are very impacted
by surveys of individuals like them, shows that they esteem a focused on and customized travel-arranging
knowledge.
•

• Despite the fact that most Social Media travel-related destinations utilize a portion of the above assets, if a tourism firm
spotlights on the greater part of the above assets while furnishing explorers with a one of a kind and customized
encounter then this heap of assets can be viewed as uncommon. On the off chance that a tourism firm offers every one of
the functionalities that voyagers esteem the most, while offering customized content and a vast system, (for example,
Tripadvisor or Booking.com), it is incomparable and non substitutable due to the high system impact and personalization,
which will thusly expand exchanging costs. Subsequent to directing this investigation, it can be presumed that a positive
notoriety and the one of a kind heap of Social Media assets, depicted above, are vital assets and can be a wellspring of
reasonable upper hand, since they are profitable, uncommon, supreme and non substitutable. In this way, tourism firms
can make an effective esteem making system, and thusly increment exchanging costs, on the off chance that they
concentrate on the personalization of their administrations. With a constructive notoriety and by offering a Social Media
stage that incorporates the sharing of encounters of individuals like the client in a sorted out way, and giving the
likelihood of clients to customize their security settings and the substance they need to share and read, tourism firms will
make an incentive for the visitor by giving them a customized benefit.

Conclusions
• Travellers don't separate most Social Media functionalities, in any case, they plainly consider
Reputation the most critical usefulness, by rating the two ascribes that are identified with this
usefulness with the two most elevated mean significance scores. The most essential advantage for
the respondents is the useful advantage, which needs to do with the get-together of data, and with
the productivity and comfort of utilizing Social Media for the get-together of that data. However,
despite the fact that voyagers don't consider most of the social advantages imperative when
utilizing Social Media, they just consider the data from Social Media destinations identified with
travel and tourism critical, in the event that they put stock in the site and organization (trust was
viewed as the most vital property for utilizing Social Media when arranging trips). There is
dependably a positive relationship between's the frequencies of utilization of the diverse Social
Media destinations and saw unwavering quality of those same locales, which implies that they
consider the locales that they utilize all the more, more solid. Be that as it may, there is a more
grounded connection for specific destinations like Facebook and Lonely Planet. The most
persuasive variable for the specimen when arranging and taking outings are loved ones' proposals,
however the accompanying components that impact the respondents the most are identified with
Social Media. Surveys about settlement are the second most compelling variable for the
respondents, trailed by Negative audits in Social Media and Positive audits in Social Media. Despite
the fact that there is little distinction between the impact negative and positive surveys in Social
Media have on the example, the specimen has a slight pessimism inclination.

• At long last, the example sees Social Media destinations when arranging and taking outings as Helpful,
Informative, Interesting, Easy to discover, Reliable and Valuable. Subsequent to breaking down the key
effect of Social Media in tourism, it can be reasoned that a positive notoriety and the one of a kind the heap
of Social Media assets, considered the most essential for explorers, are vital assets and can be a wellspring
of economical upper hand since they are profitable, uncommon, supreme and non substitutable. Tourism
firms can make a fruitful esteem making methodology, and therefore increment exchanging costs, in the
event that they concentrate on the personalization of their administrations. With a constructive notoriety
and by offering a Social Media stage that incorporates the sharing of encounters of individuals like the
client in a sorted out way, and giving the likelihood of clients to customize their security settings and the
substance they need to share and read, tourism firms will make an incentive for the visitor by giving them a
customized benefit. Because of all the above, it is inferred that Social Media does undoubtedly have an
effect in tourism, and can even be utilized as a wellspring of reasonable upper hand.

Screenshots of Quora- Online community

About the Speaker, Ambuj Saxena
• Co-Founder, BnBNation Hospitality Pvt Ltd (www.bnbnation.com)
Academic Experience:
• MBA from MICA
• B.Tech (computers) from Jamia Millia Islamia
Professional Experience:
• Account Manager, Span communications (2014-2016)
• Communication Consultant in Govt of Gujarat (2013-14)
• Former Communication Consultant for Gujarat Tourism (2013-14)
• Assistant System Engineer in TCS (2008-11)
• Represented India in Regional Finals of Hult Case Challenge in Dubai (2013) and Shanghai (2012)

Strategic impact of Social Media in tourism- Research paper

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