Role of Social Media for the tourism sector

Tourism is known to be one of the most dynamic and fastest-growing sectors in the world. The main sectors of tourism, that function to serve the needs of tourists, include transportation, food and beverage, accommodation and entertainment. The rise of the digital age has had a massive impact on tourism, and social media plays a role in helping companies that operate under this sector to progress even further.

Promotional tool

Social media is a major promotional tool for businesses under the tourism sector to help build their brand image and identity. In the digital age, the tourism sector can no longer rely solely on ‘word of mouth’ or traditional marketing to promote their services to potential customers. Social media allows businesses under the tourism sector to spread their brand message on a global scale through strategies like influencer marketing, social media campaigns and visual content creation. These strategies all work to build attention towards your brand and would not have the same impact without the use of social media.

Travel Research

Many consumers use social media as a platform to document their personal experience of using services before, during and after they travel, and a large part of the tourism sector relies on these consumer’s opinions. Nowadays, social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram have changed the way consumers manage their travel research and decision making before committing to a service. Consumers want reliable information from sources that they deem as trustworthy, and are using social media as a search engine to access user-generated content such as reviews, images and videos, that showcase another consumer’s first-hand experiences of using a particular service.

Customer Service & Feedback Platform

Businesses that operate under the tourism sector are selling a service to customers, some examples being restaurants, hotel accommodations and tour operators. This means that it’s crucial for these businesses to have a good customer service platform in place. Social media has changed the way the tourism sector provides customer service, as businesses can now use their social media platforms to monitor and respond to customer’s feedback and reviews on their services, which also helps to improve your brand’s reputation and build a good relationship with your customers.