IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING ON TOURISM DEVELOPMENT
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IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING ON TOURISM DEVELOPMENT
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Tourism is primarily a service business designed to meet the needs of tourists who travel inside or across national borders.
The authors of Hunziker and Krapt (1941) described “the sum of the phenomena and relationship arising from the travel and stay of non-residents, in so far as they do not lead to permanent residence and not connected with any earning” .
The Tourism Society of England (1976) described tourism as the temporary short-term movement of people to destinations other than where they ordinarily live and work, as well as their activities while at each destination, which includes all types of travel.
According to Hon Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, Ghana’s Minister of Tourism, tourism is the world’s fastest growing industry today; no one can deny the power of tourism in terms of economic growth, employment, poverty alleviation, particularly in urban areas, and environmental preservation.
Tourism in Nigeria dates back to the pre-colonial era. The country covers a wide expanse of 923,768 km2 and has a diversified population of approximately 120 million kind and welcoming people.
Tourism and its development have accelerated following years of neglect. This development has been made feasible by the private sector’s well-known interest in injecting much-needed capital into the profitable but underexplored area of the Nigerian economy. Obadan (1982).
Tourism is a geographically diverse and fragmented industry; it involves a passive network of business and personal relationships between firms and organisations such as national and regional destination marketing organisations, tourism offices, hotel attractions, transportation, tour travel agents, and restaurants.
Social networking can be defined as the use of a dedicated web site to communicate informally with other site users through the publishing of messages, images, and other content. Akehurst (2009).
Social networking sites have elevated the tourist and travel booking experience to unprecedented levels. For example, social networking sites have enabled tourism to engage with not only the tourism operator, but also tourists who have recently used the operator’s services and are considering scheduling a trip with them.
This has given tourists the opportunity to obtain first-hand information. Tourism has always used a variety of middlemen to supply tourism products, beginning with the travel agency. Akehurst (2009).
Werthner & Rocci (2004) Tourism is ranked as an industry that is at the forefront of internet and social communication in order to give an experience and make sales. The usage of websites has been proven to be beneficial since consumers can access them 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all over the world.
Social media has had a significant impact on almost every major industry around the world, and the travel and hotel industry has reaped the benefits possibly more than any other commercial venture. Boyd, (2007).
Travel and tourism rely largely on word-of-mouth to communicate thoughts and suggestions, as well as social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
Buhalis (1998) found that 92 percent of customers trust earned media, which includes recommendations from friends and family members, more than any other type of advertisement.
Furthermore, a recent survey found that more than half (52 percent) of respondents changed their vacation plans after studying their destination on social media.
82 percent of travellers use their smartphones when overseas, and 52 percent of Facebook users said that their friends’ vacation images influenced their vacation decision. Abreu,(2010).
Social media has a significant positive impact on the travel and tourism business. Friends and family have made exquisite destinations renowned, resulting in additional consumers for tourism businesses due to free advertising of these untapped destinations.
Nigeria is equipped with a number of tourist-based and cultural tourism destinations, which are distinguished by interesting beautiful landscapes, capes, and a diverse range of wildlife in their natural environments.
However, many tourists are unaware of these identified tourism attractions due to a lack of effective information systems for publicising scenery, wildlife, and cultural attractions to visitors or tourists, which is why this research was conducted.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The use of power also limits people’s access to social media; many people in rural areas lack access to good electricity, which allows them to visit various tourist attractions and book travel. In most situations, erroneous information is provided on the profile, thus marketing efforts are not directed at the appropriate audience or tourism.
The network problem has posed a significant challenge to the usage of social networking. Today’s network is more complicated than ever before, and the impact of the multiplicity of devices, apps, and performance can be shocking, resulting in increased congestion, delayed application response time, and the inability of tourists to make timely decisions.
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The primary goal of this study is to examine the impact of social networking on tourism development.
The precise objectives include:
i. Identify several social network functions and their applications in the hotel and tourism industries.
ii. Determine the social and economic impact of social networking applications in hospitality and tourism businesses.
iii. Identify the barriers to social-network discovery in tourism and hospitality business growth.
iii. Determine the most effective strategy for social networking applications in the hotel and tourism industries.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
i. What are the various social networking platforms used in the tourism industry?
ii. What is the influence of social networking applications on the hospitality industry?
iii. What are the challenges of using social networking applications in the hotel and tourism industries?
iv. What is the best strategy for social networking applications in the hotel and tourism industries?
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