search query: @indexterm INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY / total: 1908
reference: 17 / 1908
| Author: | Xiang, Z. Gretzel, U. |
| Title: | Role of social media in online travel information search |
| Journal: | Tourism Management
2010 : APR, VOL. 31:2, p. 179-188 |
| Index terms: | travel internet marketing information retrieval information technology tourism |
| Freeterms: | social media |
| Language: | eng |
| Abstract: | Social media have an increasingly important role as sources of information for travelers. This study aims to examine the extent to which social media appear in search engine results in travel-related searches. A research design of simulating a traveler's search engine use for travel planning was applied by using a set of pre-defined keywords combined with nine U.S. tourist destination names. The study of the search results revealed that social media form a substantial part of the search results, implying that search engines likely steer travelers to social media sites. The hypothesis of the growing importance of social media in the online tourism domain is thus confirmed. Evidence for challenges traditional providers of travel-related information face are also provided and implications for tourism marketers considering online marketing strategies are discussed. |
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