The roles of social media in tourists’ choices of travel components

Xuerui Liu, Fuad Mehraliyev, Chun Liu, Markus Schuckert

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

128 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Social media are acknowledged as an important information source that influences tourists’ travel choices. However, qualitative studies that take an inductive approach to identify the roles of social media by investigating how social media affect travel choices are limited. By interviewing 21 tourists who had recently taken trips, this article aimed to identify the roles that social media played in the tourists’ choices of six travel components (destination, transportation, accommodation, food and dining activities, attractions, as well as shopping and leisure activities). Four roles have been identified: Need Generator, Supporter, Guider and Approver. Theoretical and practical implications along with future research suggestions are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)27-48
Number of pages22
JournalTourist Studies
Volume20
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2020

Keywords

  • China
  • choice of travel
  • social media
  • tourism marketing
  • travel decision-making

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management

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