Prepared by:
Mahmuda Jerin
ID: 71724042
Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management
Faculty of Business Studies
University of Dhaka
Introduction: Role of Social Media in Tourism Marketing
Tourism has become a very important and dynamic sector both in the world economy and particular in the developing countries. Its growth affects not only the activities directly linked to tourism but also other sectors. Tourism is already an important sector in some developing countries and will become so for others. Developing countries have been fast growing in tourism industry terms in the world over the last decade. Tourism is one of the most important sectors in a large number of developing countries. Increases in economic growth, disposable income and leisure time, political stability, and aggressive tourism campaigns, among others factors, have fuelled the significant growth of tourism. Developing countries have some common characteristics, such as extreme poverty and widespread conflict (including civil war and ethnic clashes), extensive political corruption, lack of political and social stability, human resource weakness (human assets index, nutrition, health, education and adult literacy), and economic vulnerability. Bangladesh is a developing country in Asia, holding high potentiality for tourism. Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) plays an important role for the development of tourism. For a long time, Bangladesh has been an attractive destination for tourists. Today our topic is Role of Social Media in Tourism Marketing.Objectives of the Study
• To know the influence of social media on tourism
• To understand the decision of marketing activity on the tourism industry
• To understand the survey of various journals and researcher toward the tourism
Media: Importance of social media in tourism industry
The media is one of the most important aspects of the tourism business. There are two primary ways in which people get to know about where to travel; word of mouth and media. Today, tourism is the fastest growing industry in the world. There is no doubt that tourism is an effective development tool and the tourism sector of Bangladesh is pleading for attention. Bangladesh is the country which has the largest mangrove forest in the world in the Sundarbans, the beautiful hills in Rangamati, the exotic tea gardens in Sylhet, the longest natural beach in the world in Cox’s Bazar and this is just to name a few attractions. Bangladesh has tremendous potential for becoming an international tourist hotspot but, in reality, that is not exactly the case.Media plays a vital and important role in promoting tourism not only in the SAARC region but also throughout the world. Destinations are made known to tourists before they set off and known destinations are popularized among tourists mostly by the media. We know that globalization, media convergence and technological determinism are shaping the nature of media policies all over the world.
Different Types of Media
• Media include Communication channels through which news, entertainment, education, data or promotional messages are disseminated.
• Media include every broadcasting medium such as newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, billboards, direct mail, telephone, fax, and internet.
• The growing popularity of the internet and social sites such as Facebook and Twitter, social media is now an important channel that allows messages to be spread to the public.
Relationship between Media and Tourism
Both media and tourism belong to the Service industry. Both of them work together hand in glove. Media contribute to 80% of tourism revenue and tourism contributes to 25% of media's revenue. The role of tourism in media industry such as journalism is ever growing. In most of the universities offering journalism as a course students have to do compulsorily project on tourism and its allied areas for their respective degrees. The media have a crucial role to play in putting emerging destinations. The relationship between tourism and media is vital and complex. Tourism is highly dependent on media reporting because the vast majority of travel decisions are made by people who have never seen the destination first hand for themselves. When there is bad news or a crisis the impact on tourism can be devastating. Tourists are scared away from destinations caught in the glare of round-the-clock disaster coverage, causing communities dependent on tourism to lose their source of livelihood.Role of media in Bangladeshi Tourism
The role that the media are playing in the various aspects of life is becoming increasingly greater day by day, especially in spheres like social interaction, and cultural and educational aspects of our life. The media contribute greatly in activating tourist attractions. Media are playing an important role in the growth, development and promotion by creating a better awareness and understanding to cater to the needs and requirements of domestic and international tourist as one knows is every traveler is a ‘potential’ tourist, It depends upon the campaign of professionals (media professionals and tourism experts) of the industry to tap this potential and convert the ‘potential’ into the ’actual’ clients (tourist). In this world of constant technological evolution, consumers especially tourists are changing their behavior patterns looking for more “tourist-friendly” sources of information.
Effectiveness of media and technologies : Promoting tourism through social media
In today’s world, communication network has become more efficient and informative with the use of the internet. Media can promote tourism by projecting a destination properly and media also can destroy a destination through negative publicity. It is only a matter of understanding of the detail activities, local situations and setting up an effective media program. It is therefore, modern mass media linked up with all new technologies to market the products of tourism in different potential markets.Media communication technologies are imperative for frontline investments for sustainable globalized tourism development indicators. The powerful effects of media communications can bring sweeping changes of attitudes and behavior among the key actors in local, national and global tourism for peace, security and sustainable development. The social, cultural, economic, political and environmental benefits of tourism would usher in monumental and historic changes in the country.
Social media: Effects of social media in hospitality and tourism industry
The term social media is generally understood as Internet-based applications that contain consumer-generated content and facilitate a higher level of social interaction among travelers. From customer’s viewpoint, the value of using social media lies in its richness on personal experiences and trustworthiness as electronic word-of-mouth. The impact of user generated content by social media on a traveler’s decision making is well recognized in various market research reports. The effect of social media on travelers’ information search behavior suggested that travel reviews on social media sites help add fun to the planning process and increase confidence for travelers’ decision by reducing risk. Impact of social media on tourism pdfWhy social media is used in tourism : Impact of social media on tourism
• Social media is communication method which provide information to marketer• There are applications such as trip advisor, virtual tourist or social networking sites as Myspace, or Facebook.
• Word of mouth is powerful, social media have made even more powerful for tourism.
Advantages:
• Social media works in a real time situations
• Where the social media covers a wide range of possibility and audiences
• Social media in tourism is a creative way to allow the people to give ideas
• Social media had become a great extent alternative to word-of-mouth advertising.
Disadvantages
• Publishing obvious advertising copy is unacceptable in the social media world
• Every post on twitter is public and user has no control over what people say
• Bad news go viral as easily as good news and can do unethical business irreparable harm.
• Social media can be both an aid and a threat
Social media marketing :
Social media marketing is a powerful way for businesses of all sizes to reach prospects and customers. Social media marketing, or SMM, is a form of internet marketing that involves creating and sharing content on social media networks in order to achieve your marketing and branding goals. Social media marketing includes activities like posting text and image updates, videos, and other content that drives audience engagement.Best Social Media Platforms for Marketing
• Using Facebook for Social Media MarketingFacebook’s casual, friendly environment requires an active social media marketing strategy.
• Using Google+ for Social Media Marketing
Google+ entered the scene as a Facebook competitor, but it now serves a more niche audience. It won't work for everybody, but some communities are very active on Google+.
• Using Twitter for Social Media Marketing
Twitter is the social media marketing tool that lets you broadcast your updates across the web.
• Using YouTube for Social Media Marketing
YouTube is the number one place for creating and sharing video content, and it can also be an incredibly powerful social media marketing tool.
• Using Instagram for Social Media Marketing
Instagram is one of the fastest growing social media marketing trends. It allows businesses to showcase their product offerings through video, story and images.
• Using LinkedIn for Social Media Marketing
LinkedIn is one of the more professional social media marketing sites. LinkedIn Groups is a great venue for entering into a professional dialog with people in similar industries and provides a place to share content with like-minded individuals.
Impact of Media in Promoting Tourism Industry
Over the years media have contributed towards shaping tourism into a responsible industry by promoting the following good practices;
• It protects the environment and minimizes the negative social impact of tourism.
• It generates greater economic benefits for local people and enhances the well-being of host communities.
• It makes positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage and promotes the world’s diversity.
• It provides more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with local people.
• It helps to understand the local cultural, social and environmental issues.
A Simple Structure of Tourism Industry:
A Simple Structure of Travel Industry:
Use of Information Technology in promotional activities:
The recent change and progress in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has a revolutionary impact on the tourism industry. For promoting the tourism industry of any country, Internet can play the leading role through facilitating and exchanging information.Bangladesh tourism authority must consider the effective use of ICT for the promotion of this industry. It is worth mentioning here Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation has its own web page. It should be made well-designed and tourist-friendly and contain all the necessary information.
Allocation promotional funds: Bangladesh is not in a position to compete with the world’s top tourist generating countries, but it has the capability to compete with, at least, the member countries of SAARC or some other small countries in this region except for India. To compete with these countries, it needs to conduct research on tourism promotion. But the allocation of funds for this purpose is not sufficient. Bangladesh should increase the allocation of funds considerably for tourism development. In addition to that the authorities concerned should adopt a strategy to effective utilize the fund for tourism promotion and development.
Bangladesh tourism marketing products and tourist attractions
The world thinks of Bangladesh as poor, flood-ravaged, and more of a disaster zone than a travel destination. In some respects, the world is right but hiding behind these images is a country with a rich history, a strange beauty, and some interesting attractions but it is not, however, a destination for everyone (Roaming around Bangladesh, undated) (Hossain, 2006). Bangladesh is a country with rich traditions, natural beauty, beaches, forests, lakes, hills, wild lives, archaeological attractions, monuments, handicrafts, sanctuaries, religious festivals, cultural heritage, tribal culture and architecture, incredible greenery, mighty rivers and attractive river cruises, sunny beaches, colorful tribal life and attractive cultural functions that offer great tourist attractions (Haque, 2005; Hossain and Nazmin, 2006). Tourism involves travelling for pleasure, enjoy and education. It is also a business of attracting tourists and providing for their accommodation and entertainment. In many countries, tourism is an industry for earning revenue and foreign exchange (Hossain, 2007). The many businesses that grow concurrently with the development of tourism include airlines, shipping, hotels and restaurants, finance companies, tour operators, travel agents, car rental firms, caterers and retail establishments and together, they contribute significantly to the overall development of a country's economy and to its cultural diversification and adaptation (Islam, 2009).
The Moorish traveler Ibn Batuta who visited Bengal in the fourteenth century described Bengal as the wealthiest and cheapest land of the world and stated that it was known as ‘a hell full of bounties’ In the seventeenth century French traveler Francois Bernie observed and stated “Egypt has been represented in every age as the finest and most fruitful country in the world, and even our modern writers deny that there is any other land of peculiarly favored by nature; but the knowledge I have acquired of Bengal during two visits paid to that kingdom inclines me to believe that pre-eminence ascribed to Egypt is rather due to Bengal” (Ministry of Information, Govt. of Bangladesh as cited in Hossain, 1999: 85, unpublished thesis). Bangladesh has the world’s longest 120 km unbroken sea beach (Hossain, 2006) sloping here down to the blue water of the Bay of Bengal in Cox’s Bazar, Parki beach, and Kuakata. Such a long sea beach covering miles of golden sands, soaring cliffs, 9 surfing waves, all of these make Cox’s Bazar the tourist capital of Bangladesh. The tourists can enjoy the charming beauty of the sunset behind the waves of the sea (Hossain, 2006). Its appeal makes Cox’s Bazar one of the most attractive tourist spots in the world. In addition to that, there are other beaches like Inani beach in Ukhia, Cox’s Bazar, St. Martin Island, and Patengha beach which are also attractive to foreign as well as local tourists (MoCAT, 2006; Hossain, 2006). In Bangladesh, there are some attractive hilly regions which also are considered beautiful tourism spots and attract a large number of tourists. These hilly regions show significant differences from the rest of the country because the indigenous inhabitants belong to different ethnic minorities who have a distinctive lifestyle from the majority of the population
The image of the destination plays a vital role in attracting tourists to a particular destination. But, Bangladesh has been suffering from the image problem because of some international and local media. These media highlight Bangladesh negatively which create misconception among the potential tourists. As a result, many foreigners do not choose Bangladesh as a tourism destination because of either they don’t have enough idea about the country and its tourism attractions or what idea they have is negative. Once someone from a foreign country visits Bangladesh, his/her perceived image is changed positively. So, Bangladesh should emphasize first on its promotional measures for correcting the negative image through the help of media. But it is not only an issue to be solved by Bangladesh tourism authority only rather, it requires the government’s initiative as a whole and Bangladesh Missions abroad have a major role to play in this regard. The tourism sector of Bangladesh should emphasize on the printed materials first and distribute these to the potential tourists through different airlines, foreign tour operators and foreign missions abroad.
0 Comments