How Social Media Affects the Travel Industry

Social media has made its way into arguably every aspect of our lives. People nowadays check social media before they sleep, and as soon as they wake up so your business needs to have a social media presence. It is not surprising that even when it comes to taking a vacation, social media plays a large role. With an increasing number of travel vloggers and reviews of tourist destinations on social media, it is difficult to stay offline.

Everyone Wants to Be a Travel YouTuber

Owing to the success of many others, people all over the world are trying their luck at travel vlogging. All they need is a smartphone, an internet connection, and a boost of social media growth from SocialGreg. Although this does not guarantee success, most people who begin travel vlogging will say they had nothing to lose. They were on vacation anyway – so they took a few more photos and videos, and later edited them for posting.

Social Media Travel and Tour Agents

Many organizations and individuals are able to market their services as travel agents/tour guides entirely online, solely on social media. There is no longer the need to create a website for their organizations (even if it is preferable). Companies and individuals can rely on their social media accounts for marketing, promoting, and selling their products and services. This makes for a cost-effective system that can greatly benefit the organization/individual. Social media platforms are the perfect line of communication between the consumer (tourists) and tourism service providers.

A Multitude of Opinions

There are numerous sites available online that allow users to review services and products, but social media is particularly effective. This is because social media reviews are perceived to be more authentic, written by real people. Given the enormous number of users that use social media on a daily basis, there is a multitude of opinions being expressed at any given moment on any topic, including travel and tourism-related topics. Users have become accustomed to searching for reviews online prior to purchase, or in this case, prior to using a service or visiting a tourist attraction/destination.

Transparency and Better Quality Service

Travel industry suppliers find that they need to be more transparent as they are constantly in the public eye, always risking exposure via any of the millions of smartphones passing through their facilities. Additionally, there is more competition for higher quality service due to the increasing number of reviews from random users. Organizations, like people, feel they are being watched by the unforgiving eyes of social media and adjust their services to ensure they do not get a bad review.

Oversharing

Users on social media are increasingly sharing media related to their travels. In the days before the internet and Facebook, people waited until they came back from their vacations to print their photos and show them off to their friends in photo albums. In recent years, scrolling through Facebook or Instagram can feel like joining people on their vacations. Such is the extent of media sharing during vacations – where people tend to post more.

A Final Note to the Travel Industry

Social media is not going anywhere soon, as new apps are coming up seemingly every year. The travel industry, like all others in business, needs to pay close attention to the effects social media has on its target segment of the market. These platforms can help with research on consumer insights and behavior, as well as marketing and brand development. Travel service providers can use social media as a tool for their own purposes easily. However, they should note that it can be a double-edged sword, and do them more harm than good if they aren’t careful.


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