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SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACT ON THE TOURISM INDUSTRY DURING PANDEMIC

COVID-19: MALAYSIA'S EXPERIENCED

Research Proposal · January 2022

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 SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACT ON THE TOURISM INDUSTRY DURING PANDEMIC

COVID-19: MALAYSIA'S EXPERIENCED

By

RAJA NOR DIANA BINTI RAJA NORIZAN

ABSTRACT

Tourism has grown in importance as a component of an economy, contributing to the growth

of society as well as the development of a country. A significant amount of tourism promotion
through social media is required for this aim. The impact that social media has had on the
tourism sector has been significant and long-lasting. Everything, including tourism, has gone
online in recent years, and this trend will continue. In recent years, social media has emerged
as a vital integrating component between tourists and locals. Governments are use social media
to promote tourism in their own areas, and this type of promotion has proven to be the most
effective. People use social networking sites to research for their vacations, create travel plans,
and discuss their personal experiences with certain hotels, restaurants, locations, modes of
transportation, and other amenities, among other things. The purpose of this paper is to
determine the significance of social media for tourism marketing, which contributes to the
overall development of the nation's economy, as part of a research project. It examines how
various social media platforms are reaching their ultimate objective of improved tourism
promotion, as well as how social media might be used to assist in an emergency. Various study
research publications, papers, and internet resources have been used to gather the appropriate
data for this data. It is the goal of this research to find out if tourism marketing is effective in
attracting customers after Covid-19, based on information gleaned from newspapers, and to
see if customers are still interested in visiting tourist destinations after Covid-19. A number of
safety precautions should be taken to get to the destination and to determine whether tourism
marketing reaches customers via social media, as well as to see if tourists are still interested in
visiting tourist destinations after Covid-19.
 TABLE OF CONTENT

TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1

1.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................................................. 2

1.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE.............................................................................................. 2

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................ 3

2.1 COVID-19 and Malaysian tourism ................................................................................. 3

2.2 Tourists' decision-making processes and their reliance on social media ........................ 5

2.3 Domestic travel preferences ............................................................................................ 7

3.0 METHODOLODY .......................................................................................................... 9

4.0 FINDING ...................................................................................................................... 10

5.0 DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION ................................................................................ 16

6.0 REFFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 19

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Social media, often known as online marketing, is becoming increasingly significant in the
tourist business. People may communicate with numerous tourism industries through social
media platforms. People all throughout the world were compelled to remain in their houses and
immediate areas as a result of the coronavirus (Carey, Breanna, 2021). We have never seen our
online world grow so big and so quickly as it has during this epidemic emergency. When it
comes to daily tasks, more than half of the population now relies only on social media. Social
media platforms are pushed to swiftly adjust to meet the requirements of its users. Many
businesses permitted their staff to work from home during this pandemic, and social media
played a significant role in this. All educational institutions are now closed as a result of the
pandemic, thus courses and discussions are being conducted via various online tools such as
Google Docs, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and WhatsApp (Pokhrel & Chhetri, 2021). Many
individuals were able to converse without interruption because to social media. People were
able to get real-time updates regarding the virus and other difficulties thanks to a variety of
social media sites.

Due of the pandemic crisis, social media allowed individuals to contact with those who were
separated by distance. A lot of individuals relied on the internet to keep themselves entertained
throughout the lockdown. The importance of social media in the tourist industry has increased
dramatically in recent years. It is significant in a variety of facets of travel and tourism,
including business travel and leisure travel (Nakaishi, 2021). People use social media to get
information and to make informed decisions regarding their travel arrangements, which helps
them save time and money. It also allows users to share their travel-related experiences with
one another. They might talk about a positive or negative experience they had at a hotel, airline,
restaurant, or other establishment. It is hard to ignore social media since it functions similarly
to a customer care channel (Kang & A.Schuett, 2013). While travelling, people utilise social
media to share their own experiences with others, whether they are positive or negative, during,
after, or before their trip. It has also become fashionable to share such personal experiences
with others. People use social media to share their photos, update their location status, and
publish their own photos to be seen by others. It has become an integral part of our daily lives

1
The use of social media in the marketing of tourism is quite significant. The tourist sector
benefits from social media since it allows them to receive feedback from their clients. The use
of social media can assist in the promotion of tourism products. Many travel groups are created
with the assistance of social media, and they exchange their knowledge of the destination. In
addition, social media brings together a large number of travel enthusiasts. Suddenly, a large
number of individuals became aware of the local landmarks, which were previously only
known to the people who lived in those locations. These days, the majority of tourists choose
their locations and travel plans based on reviews and experiences shared on social media
platforms (Tas, 2021)

Understanding and forecasting travel habits are essential for maintaining a goal and ensuring
successful digital communication. This allows you to engage with each tourist in a unique way,
taking into account his or her travel health concerns and feelings. Taking into consideration
this new scenario, in which tourist behaviour is like an unopened present box that must be
carefully examined from many perspectives in order to guarantee that digital communication
is relevant and successful. The following is the study's primary goal:

RQ1: How does social media usage have an influence on travellers’ intentions to travel and
plan their vacation?
RQ2: How does the using of social media in a place has an impact on traveller intentions and
worries to travel after Covid-19?

RO1: To examine media usage have an influence on travellers' intentions to travel and plan
their vacation.
RO2: To assess the using of social media in a place has an impact on traveller intentions and
worries to travel after Covid-19.

2
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 COVID-19 and Malaysian tourism

Travel and tourism are key sectors in Malaysia, having a strong connectivity to many other
sections of the country and a significant economic impact, both directly and indirectly. The
tourism business in Malaysia is the third greatest contributor to the country's economy,
according to the World Tourism Organization. Tourism business achieved a positive visitor
arrivals rise of 4.8 percent for the period January to May 2019, with 10,954,014 tourist arrivals
recorded compared to 10,454,447 tourist arrivals recorded during the same period. Malaysia
announced its first imported COVID-19 case from Wuhan, China, on January 23, 2020, which
was also the country's first positive case of the virus. A Malaysian who tested positive for
COVID-19 on February 3, 2020, claimed to have recently returned from a business trip to a
neighboring country, where they had also interacted with a delegation from China. (Hashim,
Adman, Hashim, Firdaus, & Kwan, 2021). Traveling throughout the world has gotten
increasingly difficult in recent years. It is especially noteworthy since it occurred immediately
after the Malaysian government's crackdown on hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs, which
occurred on March 18, 2020. The spread of the Covid-19 virus has resulted in a more than 50%
reduction in tourist expenditure in the first half of the year. Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, Minister
of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, said that the figures had decreased by 68.2 and 69.8 percent,
respectively, from the same time the previous year. The spread of the Covid-19 virus resulted
in a loss of RM45 billion in tourist expenditure in the first half of the year. Curfews and total
lockdown tactics in many places have made working in the hotel and tourist business a
dangerous venture for those who are involved in it (Hamid, Hanisah, Azren, & Marmaya, 2021)

The Malaysia Integrated Plan 2018–2020 (Tourism Malaysia 2018) was established by the
Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia in order to promote Malaysia's broad tourism
offering even further and increase visitor arrivals and receipts in the country. As a result of
Covid-19, Malaysia registered 4.3 million international arrivals in 2020, an 83 percent decline
from the previous year's total. Prior to the Covid-19 Pandemic, European nations accounted for
the majority of foreign tourist visitors with 60 percent. A quarter of all visitors to the Middle
East come from Germany, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom, while landings from Saudi
Arabia and Jordan, as well as African nations, account for more than seven percent of all
entries. In addition to international tourism, domestic tourism contributes to the industry's

3
vitality by promoting Malaysia's distinctiveness and capabilities via focused promotional
operations. (Hamid, Hanisah, Azren, & Marmaya, 2021). As a result, Malaysia's tourist
industry is changing to even more knowledge-intensive regions, and as a matter of fact, the
country's tourism sector is offering more high-income employment and transitioning from a
high-volume to a high-yield business model.

4
2.2 Tourists' decision-making processes and their reliance on social media

People's daily routines and decision-making processes are being reshaped by the widespread
use of social media and the Internet in general. Many people now get their information from a
variety of internet sources, including social media, such as blogs. Consumers and corporations
alike commonly make use of social media channels to communicate information, connect with
a global audience, and exert influence. In the tourist industry, social media is a frequent source
of information. Some believe that social media habits and abilities have 'spilled over' into the
tourist industry (Tamsang, Kim, Lily, & Idris, 2020). The increasing usage of smartphones and
access to mobile Internet has a significant impact on travellers' information search and
decision-making, which plays a crucial role throughout the whole trip experience. Because of
the ad hoc availability of information provided by connected technologies, many decisions that
travellers would have made prior to departure have been deferred until after they arrive on the
ground (Ogbi, 2019). Having access to a variety of information through social media sites may
have a big influence on both trip preparation and final decisions. The widespread usage of
social media may have both positive and negative consequences for the travel and hospitality
industry as a whole, depending on how it is employed.

A growing body of study into the impact of social media on travel decision-making has aroused
scholars' curiosity throughout the world. The majority of social media research, according to a
recent assessment of the literature, has focused on the effect of social media on behavioural
intention, with just a small number of studies concentrating on actual action (Akar &
Mardikyan, 2015). Generally speaking, current technological advancements on the Internet in
general, and the widespread use of social media in particular, are transforming the lives and
habits of the general public, including the manner in which individuals make decisions. Social
media channels enable individuals and companies to communicate information as well as reach
and influence a large number of people, and as a result, they are widely used by consumers and
organisations. Tourism-related social media platforms are among the most widely utilised
information sources, particularly in the U.S. Some have stated that the regular use of social
media by individuals to discuss habits and talents has 'spilled over' into the travel sector, which
is not true. (Liu, Mehraliyev, Liu, & Schuckert, 2019). Additionally, the increasing usage of
smartphones and ubiquitous access to the mobile Internet have a considerable impact on
tourists' information search and decision-making, and the mobile Internet plays a vital role
throughout the whole trip experience. The on-demand availability of information made

5
available by modern technology has increased the likelihood of travellers delaying many
decisions they would have made before to departure till the on-site portion of their travel
experience. As a result of the vast amount of information shared on social media platforms, not
only does trip planning become more efficient, but it also has an influence on final decisions
when making travel plans (Rahman, Gazi, Bhuiyan, & Rahaman, 2021). Furthermore, the
extensive use of social media may have an influence on not only the positive but also the
negative elements of travel and hospitality companies, as well as the broader industry as a
whole, as previously said. It is vital to identify when and how visitors utilise social media
channels at various stages of their travel decision-making processes in order to better
understand when and how people use social media platforms during their travel decisions.
Recent research indicates that 'flash packers' heavily rely on social media for their trip
preparations, while on their journey, and after they have returned home (Tiago, et al., 2021)

6
2.3 Domestic travel preferences

Knowing travel behaviour pattern for marketing and creating demand for travel services and
products. It is anticipated that travel behaviour will alter between now and the time of the
COVID-19 pandemic outbreak (Rasoolimanesh, Seyfi, Rastegar, & Hall, 2021). Apart from
that, many nations have enacted differing degrees of limitations in order to prevent and control
the spread of the disease. These factors can have an impact on people's way of life, social
relationships, and economic circumstances. Travel-related and outdoor activities, in particular,
might be considerably hampered by this condition. During the epidemic, the Malaysian
government proposed a number of programmes aimed at increasing domestic travel and
rebuilding trust in the country's tourist industry. Marketing and promotion, product
development, collaborations with other businesses in order to have a better understanding of
the market as well as training and capacity building are all examples of financial incentives.
However, a more comprehensive and scientific approach to appraising the potential of domestic
tourism is required, including information on tourists' behaviour and preferences, as well as the
extent to which domestic tourism may help to resuscitate the sector. Previous research has
indicated that factors impacting travel behaviour during the pandemic include fear of infection
and perceived risk, priority given to safety and security at a destination, cleanliness, infection
concerns, social distance, congestion, online pre-paid systems and door-to-door services
(Rasoolimanesh, Seyfi, Rastegar, & Hall, 2021). Nonetheless, the implementation of travel
restrictions, movement control orders, quarantine processes, and standards of operating
procedures in various nations may have a considerable impact on the motives and choices of
travellers. All of these variables will have an impact on domestic travel demand and the
resurgence of tourism during the pandemic.

The results of a Tourism Malaysia survey on domestic tourism conducted between September
and October 2020 revealed that 75.2 percent of people would prefer to travel domestically in
the near future using their own arrangements; furthermore, they have no preference regarding
the days on which they would like to travel. Sabah was ranked second-last in terms of domestic
leisure travel, after Sarawak, according to the survey's domestic tourism statistics data as of
September 2020 (Chan, 2021). This was due to limited air connectivity and logistical issues
associated with being located on an island; the survey's international tourism statistics data
revealed that Pahang, Melaka, and Kuala Lumpur were the top three states for international
arrivals. In general, a wide range of factors, including disposable income, cost, competition,

7
marketing and promotion, pricing, government restrictions, and tax policy, have a significant
impact on domestic tourism (Chan, 2021). Consequently, industry players and operators must
guarantee that their operations and marketing activities are nimble and centred on the needs of
their customers. Additionally, the outbreak of COVID-19 has triggered the emergence of a
"new normal" in terms of tourist company operations and the economic environment, which
includes significant changes in both consumer behaviour and corporate operations. The
development of a new business model is critical in supporting tourism providers in modifying
their competitiveness in response to consumer demands and wants, as well as leveraging
applicable tactics and entrepreneurship techniques in an effort to revitalise the tourist sector in
this setting.

8
3.0 METHODOLOGY

This study employed an online cross-sectional survey approach (Lavrakas, 2008). Because the
survey was done during a pandemic Covid-19, an online questionnaire was constructed.
Participants were invited to share the link to the online survey with their networks. Using a link
provided as a local travellers, individuals volunteered to participate in the survey. This study
employed content analysis to analyse data. Data were examined using SPSS software.
Secondary data is used to gain essential information and knowledge for this investigation. The
armchair approach is also used to search the various online databases for the most recent papers
and investigations. The bulk of publications and research works are about mass communication
in general. This study acknowledges the value of quantitative secondary data and examines it
to address the research questions and objectives.

Researchers utilise quantitative methodologies to acquire data from their target audience, and
then analyse that data to draw conclusions about their study's outcomes. One of the most
popular methods for gathering quantitative data is the use of questionnaires. For the purpose of
gathering facts and data, surveys often employ the questionnaire format. Researchers will
collect all of their data using an online questionnaire utilising Survey Monkey or Google Form
in this project. This online questionnaire was chosen by the researchers because of its
versatility, low cost, speedy response from respondents, and convenience of data input at the
end of the process.

The study adopted quantitative data collection, which was carried out in one phases. The first
phase, comprising online survey questionnaires, was used to collect data from local travellers
on January 2022. A five-point Likert scale was used for the measurement of the data: 1 =
strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = agree, and 5 = totally agree. The data were analysed using
descriptive statistics of the percentages and mean scores. A mean score of between 1 and 2 was
rated ‘low’ and between 3–4, ‘high’.

9
4.0 FINDING

This chapter will discuss the finding of the social media usage influence traveler intention and
the media impact on traveler intention and worries after Covid-19.

4.1 Demographic

Variable Classes Number Percentage

Male 21 55%
Gender Female 17 45%
Mean 19
18 - 25 1 3%
26 - 35 19 50%
Age 36 - 45 12 32%
46 - 60 6 16%
Mean 9.5
Malay 32 84%
Chinese 3 8%
Ethnicity Indian 0 0%
Others 3 8%
Mean 9.5
SPM 2 5%
Diploma 5 13%
Bachelor Degree 18 47%
Education Level
Master / PHD 13 34%
Others 0 0%
Mean 7.6
Government sector 27 71%
Private sector 8 21%
Occupation Student 0 0%
Unemployment 3 8%
Mean 9.5

Table 1: Demographics

According to Table 1, the majority of respondents in the survey were male, with 21
respondents, for a total of 55 percent of the total number of respondents. Meanwhile, female
respondents account for 45 percent of all respondents, with a mean gender of 19.0.

Next is, age groups with the highest number of responses with 19 respondents, and 50 percent
are those between 26-35 years old, while those between 36-45 years old receive 12 responses,
with 32 percent. And lastly, the age groups 46-60 have the lowest number of respondents which
is 16 percent, followed by 18–25, which has just one respondent with 3 percent. There is a
mean for this age group of 9.5.

10
Following that, according to Table 1, the Malay race has the highest percentage of respondents
in this research, with 32 respondents and a percentage of 84 percent, followed by the Chinese
and others races, which has three respondent and a rate of 8 percent for each of them. The
average ethnicity is 9.5.

Furthermore, when it comes to the education level is a degree holder, with 18 respondents and
a 47 percent response rate, followed by those with a master's degree, with 13 respondents and
a 34 percent response rate. The Diploma levels had the fewest responses with 5 respondents
with 13 percent and the lowest is SPM level, with only two responses with 5 percent. The
educational level is 7.6.

Finally, the highest respondent for occupation variable, the working group has 27 respondents
with 71 percent of the total, followed by the private sector working group, which has 8
respondents with 21 percent of the total. The fewest responses are unemployment which carry
3 respondents with 8 percent and zero for the student group. is The mean for the profession
group level is 9.5.

11
 4.2 Social Media Usage Influence Traveler Intention
Totally Totally
Disagree Agree
Variable 1 2 3 4
Media travel advertisements have the ability to influence 0 2 11 25
travel decisions.
It raises your probability of travelling if you see photo or 0 1 11 26
video from vacation posted on media pages.
I relied on social media reviews of tourist destinations 0 6 15 17
before plan my vacation.
I will be excited if any travel firm or agency offers 2 3 10 23
discount promos on their social media platforms.
Posting a few old vacation photos from my past on social 1 4 13 20
media may affecting my desire to travel.
Mean 0.6 3.2 12 22.2
Table 2: Social Media Usage Influence Traveler Intention

Media Usage Influence Traveler Intention

80%
66% 68%
61%
60% 53%
45%
39%
40% 34%
29% 29% 26%
16%
20%
5% 3% 5% 3% 8% 11%
0% 0% 0%
0%
Totally Disagree Disagree Agree Totally Agree

Media travel advertisements have the ability to influence travel decisions.

It raises your probability of travelling if you see photo or video from vacation posted on media pages.
I relied on media reviews of tourist destinations before plan my vacation.
I will be excited if any travel firm or agency offers discount promos on their social media platforms.
Posting a few old vacation photos from my past on social media may affecting my desire to travel.

Graph 1: The Social Media Usage Influence Traveler Intention

Table 2 and graph 1 show the results of the researcher's examination on the use of media
influencing the intentions of travelers in the study on media impact on the tourism industry
during pandemic Covid-19 in Malaysia's experience. The researchers presented five questions,
which were as follows: Media travel advertisements have the ability to influence travel
decisions, It raises your probability of travelling if you see photo or video from vacation posted

12
on media pages, I relied on social media reviews of tourist destinations before plan my
vacation, I will be excited if any travel firm or agency offers discount promos on their social
media platforms, and Posting a few old vacation photos from my past on social media may
affecting my desire to travel. The characteristics listed above account for a significant portion
of the medium employed.

According to the survey results, 66% of the 25 people who totally agreeing in the statement
that ‘media travel advertisements have the ability to influence travel decisions.’ Next, the 68%
of respondents who believe that ‘when they see a traveling photo, it raises your probability of
travelling if you see photo or video from vacation posted on media pages’ with a total of 26
people per group.

After that, a statement stating ‘I relied on social media reviews of tourist destinations before
plan my vacation’ garnered the support of 17 respondents with a 45 percent agreement rate.
Followed by the statement ‘I will be excited if any travel firm or agency offers discount promos
on their social media platforms’ show the result of 61 percent totally agree with the 23
respondents.
Finally, the results showing that ‘Posting some old holiday photos from my past on social
media may affect my desire to travel’ got totally agree as much as 20 respondents with 53
percent of them. Finally, according to the collected data, respondents decided to totally agree'
with all of the preceding claims, with an average score of 22.2.

13
 4.3 Social Media Impact on Traveler Intention and Worries After Covid-19

Totally Disagree Totally Agree

Variable 1 2 3 4
During the Covid-19 pandemic, 2 7 14 15
the impact of the social media on
the tourism sector influenced my
decision to travel.
I will conduct some social media 0 2 10 26
research before I plan my vacation
after Covid-19.
I believe the media's role in 0 1 13 24
disseminating information about
Covid-19 was important to my
decision to travel.
I have more information related to 0 1 14 23
COVID-19 by using social media
platform before decide to travel.
News on social media helped me 0 2 7 29
discover possible Covid-19 infected
locations.
Mean 0.4 2.6 11.6 23.4
Table 3: The Social Media Impact on Traveler Intention and Worries After Covid-19

Media Impact on Traveler Intention and Worries After Covid-19

90%

80% 76%

68%
70%
63%
61%
60%

50%
39%
40% 37% 37%
34%

30% 26%

18% 18%
20%

10% 5% 5% 5%
3% 3%
0% 0% 0% 0%
0%
Totally Disagree Disagree Agree Totally Agree
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the impact of the media on the tourism sector influenced my decision to travel.
I will conduct some media research before I plan my vacation after Covid-19.
I believe the media's role in disseminating information about Covid-19 was important to my decision to travel.
I have more information related to COVID-19 by using media platform before decide to travel.
News on media helped me discover possible Covid-19 infected locations.

Graph 2: The Social Media Impact on Traveler Intention and Worries After Covid-19

14
Table 3 and graph 2 show the results of the researcher's examination on the social media impact
on traveler intention and worries after Covid-19 in the study on social media impact on the
tourism industry during pandemic Covid-19 in Malaysia's experience. For this section. the
researchers presented same total number of questions which 5 questions, which were as
follows: During the Covid-19 pandemic, the impact of the social media on the tourism sector
influenced my decision to travel, I will conduct some media research before I plan my vacation
after Covid-19, I believe the media's role in disseminating information about Covid-19 was
important to my decision to travel, I have more information related to COVID-19 by using
media platform before decide to travel, and news on media helped me discover possible Covid-
19 infected locations. The characteristics listed above account for a significant portion of the
medium employed.

According to the survey results, 39% of the 15 people who totally agreeing in the statement
that ‘During the Covid-19 pandemic, the impact of the social media on the tourism sector
influenced my decision to travel’. Next, the 68% of respondents who stated that ‘I will conduct
some social media research before I plan my vacation after Covid-19’ with a total of 26 people
per group.

After that, a statement stating ‘I believe the media's role in disseminating information about
Covid-19 was important to my decision to travel’ garnered the support of 24 respondents with
a 63 percent agreement rate. Followed by the statement ‘I have more information related to
COVID-19 by using media platform before decide to travel’ show the result of 61 percent
totally agree with the 23 respondents.

Finally, the results showing that ‘News on social media helped me discover possible Covid-19
infected locations’ got totally agree as much as 29 respondents with 76 percent of them. Finally,
according to the collected data, respondents decided to totally agree' with all of the preceding
claims, with a mean score of 23.4

15
5.0 DISCUSSION AND CONLUSION

This discussion is based on objectives 1 and 2 of this research, which is to study the media
usage influence traveler intention and the social media impact on traveler intention and worries
after Covid-19. The finding indicates Schindler and Bickart's (2005) discovery that consumers
periodically browse for information without any genuine intention of making a purchase only
for enjoyment, which they made in their previous study. Alternately, as the authors point out,
even an apparently innocuous method to information discovery might have an influence on
future purchase choices. Why such an influence occurs may be explained by the roles of need
generator and supporter, respectively. A study conducted by Fotis et al. (2011) found that
media, such as social media, can have an influence on the decision on where to vacation. For
their part, Papathanassis and Knolle (2011) advocated that social media should only play a
secondary, or as they put it, supplemental role in such a selection process. They were not the
only ones who thought this way. It is possible that the current research findings may verify the
latter, and they also point out two unique indirect functions that social media can play in the
decision-making process when choosing a holiday location. As a result of the findings, the
existing literature has been expanded to demonstrate that the functions of social media begin
before the information search stage of visitors' decision-making. (Liu, Mehraliyev, Liu, &
Schuckert, 2019)

Social media, on the other hand, has a direct influence on travel decisions inside a particular
destination. These two functions of social media are referred to as "guide" and "approver."
Users purposefully utilize social media to explore and gather knowledge before or during a
journey, and as a result, social media is assigned the function of guide in this situation. It has
been proposed that new and mobile information technologies are replacing conventional
guidebooks, and that social media is playing a key role in this transitional period. While
conventional guidelines are still useful, social media is far more advanced, including web 2.0
aspects such as location-based ideas and services, among other things. (Samantha, 2017).
Furthermore, it was observed that social media served as a last approver in the process. With
the advancement of new information technologies, the approver role has been established,
although conventional information sources do not and are unable to participate in visitors'
decision-making based on the timeliness, on-demand accessibility, and accuracy of the
information provided. Specifically, the rating components of social networking platforms have

16
given rise to the approver role in the workplace. Before a judgement is reached, the approver's
function must be performed as soon as possible.

The question then arises whether such discrepancies are due to differences in research settings
or differences in the time period in which they were performed. Both, it may be argued, could
have an impact on the results. Social media platforms are continually growing and adding more
difficult and useful features, which travelers are keen to take advantage of as a result of their
ongoing evolution. Think of location-based services (LBS), such as those provided by
TripAdvisor, Yelp, Yapp and other such firms, as an instance of this. As seen by the post-trip
replies in this study, LBS gives passengers with greater freedom when it comes to researching
and recognizing not just good but also nearby eateries and/or attractions. As technology
progresses, according to some experts, tourists are likely to increase their use of social media
applications throughout their holiday, as the programs become more user-friendly and more
consumer-centric for them. Another thing to consider is the ever-increasing availability and
accessibility of mobile Internet, which may play a key role in this situation. As a consequence
of the increasing popularity of smart tourism apps, an increasing number of venues and
businesses are providing free and fast Internet access to tourists (Lang, 2010)

On the practical side, this research provides significant insights for a variety of tourism
industries by allowing them to better understand decision-making in terms of visitors' choice
processes, as well as the roles played by social media in those processes. This research is
important because it allows tourism industries to better understand decision-making in terms
of visitors' choice processes, as well as the roles played by social media in those processes. For
this reason, practitioners in the hospitality and restaurant industries should actively participate
in social media platforms as well as urge current visitors to write extensive evaluations on
social media platforms in order to attract new clients to their facilities. This goal could be
achieved by providing free vouchers or discounts to the authors of the most popular reviews,
bloggers, or other key opinion leaders, among other things. What this entails for destination
management organizations and government bodies responsible for tourism strategy and
planning are also examined. Visitors may use social media as a source of inspiration or
assistance in their decision-making process when picking a vacation spot. It is also important
to establish strategies that allow people to share photographs and videos of beautiful landscapes
and places of interest, which may entice future tourists and urge them to visit. Even if it's not
available throughout the entire destination, free and fast Wi-Fi should be available in strategic

17
locations so that visitors can post and share information about the location or a business,
increasing the number of people who consider visiting the location or who are reminded of the
location as one they have previously considered visiting. It is recommended that as many
people as possible have access to a free and fast Internet connection, given the importance of
Internet connectivity for travelers.

18
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