Impacts of social media on tourism industry in usa

Social media has also made massive impacts on the tourism and hospitality industry. Potential customers use social networking platforms to research trips to make appropriate decisions concerning their travels. Consumers also use social media to share experiences concerning a specific restaurant hotel or airline. Several platforms, for example, TripAdvisor has greatly affected the hospitality industry. Many people use the site to check details of their possible destinations. The fact that more people are likely to be affected is an indication that more studies should be done to help investors in the hospitality industry become more aware of such changes. This research paper will determine the impact and relevance of social media on the hospitality industry. It will also conduct analysis on various variables that affects consumer’s decision making due to social media.

Also, the study will assess how social media use can impact travelers’ decision. The research will employ both quantitative and qualitative techniques to explain several patterns that will result from the study. It will also be beneficial to private and public tourism authorities, advertisers, travel agencies, and organizations in the hospitality industry. Federal and state governments in the USA and beyond can use the findings here to formulate strategies and policies for the growth of the hospitality industry.   Literature Review The impacts of social media on tourism are wide and great. Travelers or consumers use these platforms so they can discuss what attractions they can see, where they are going, and the restaurants they should be visiting. Commonly, travelers do their research on attractions and venues before booking.

He conducted a study and discovered that the hospitality industry is affected by social media both positively and negatively. His bottom line was that the young generation makes travel decisions depending on what they see or hear on social media. Operators in the hospitality industry can reap heavily when they undertake appropriate promotional strategies by increasing their investments for this purpose. Such industries should be ready to employ creative individuals who understand the growth trends of social media and how they can capitalize on that. Rahman (2016) states that it is essential for organizations in the tourism industry to adjust to technology-based clients. Facebook also has a large number of users, with more than 800million people sharing images and posting updates concerning the travel industry.

According to Carnoy (2017), social media has significantly changed the manner in which several organizations communicate the market and communicate with their target audience. In the case of hospitality, marketing strategies have been altered by the increase in the use of social media. Pixlee, in his article, has outlined five ways marketing has been transformed into the hospitality industry. This includes, social media has enhanced customer service, it has transformed travel research, attracted travel agencies, has increased social sharing, and changed loyalty programs. Another study found that more than 74% of travelers share their experiences online by writing reviews. 98% of users mentioned that the information they get from Trip Advisor is helpful and also accurate. Online advertising is trustable by over 70% of users.

   Bennett (2012) claimed that tourism and travel depended heavily on word of mouth to spread recommendations and opinions. Social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook enable people to easily share trip suggestions and experiences that are likely to be important. Sampling enables a researcher to get a picture of the actual situation for a given population (Etikan, 2017). The survey is expected to reach 2000 participants from all over the country. The respondents will include business people, students, teachers, and other employees. Non probability sampling will be used. The respondents will be provided with enough information that would help them make the right responses. Also, the questionnaire includes the devices the individuals use for social media and the telecommunication providers.  The questions will short, precise, and easy to understand.

The results of the questionnaires will be recorded into a SPSS analysis software to identify various elements such as mean, mode, variance, and standard deviation. Information from the SPSS will be represented in tables and followed by explanations to make them more understandable. The advantage of SPSS is that it can analyze large volume of data thus making it easy to understand and analyze. Ethical Considerations Ethical considerations are a critical component in the process of conducting research (Sermsri, 2014). The researchers will take into consideration government policies and other regal requirements. The researchers will only use adults for the study. Participants will be informed of the requirements of the research and the reasons why they should contribute. However, individuals will be free to decide if they will participate or not, and it will be possible for an individual to withdraw from the study if he or she wishes.