Impact of social media technology on tourism destination selection : a case of UAE

Abstract

Social media technologies are an important platform that offers interactive communication in the contemporary world. In the context of the tourism industry, social media technologies are used for information search, sharing photos and videos, and communicating among its users. The major social media tools are Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Instagram, and technology includes online booking and guiding maps. Social media tool provides information about the destination, and this influences the extent of decision-making processes. Reviews about a destination are critical in influencing decision-making because visitors are able to share experiences, photos, and videos through social media. As such, the study has found that information from reviews and guiding maps positively influence the choice of a destination. In this study, the impact of social media has been shown to influence destination decision-making by providing information for planning, reduces language barriers and costs. The aim of the study was to identify the impact of social media technology on destination decision-making. Data obtained from 81 respondents using a stratified sampling technique was collected through online questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were analyzed using measures of dispersion like averages, means, and percentages. The data obtained was analyzed quantitatively using component analysis, where the demographic variable was tested. The impact of social media technologies on the choice is a tourist destination was achieved through regression analysis. The study has concluded that social media technologies positively influence the choice of a tourist destination.