The impact of travel content in social media on customers’ tourism decisions in Russia

Abstract

The growing presence of social media (SM) is increasingly modulating consumer behaviour in the travel industry. Social media is acknowledged as an important information source that influences tourists’ travel choices. Content is a vitally important topic in tourism marketing that is responsible for building and maintaining successful long-term relationships between organizations and consumers. However, qualitative studies that take an inductive approach to identify the roles of social media and its content by investigating how social media affect travel choices are limited. By interviewing 165 tourists who had recently taken trips, this thesis work is aimed to identify the roles of travel content in social media played in tourists’ choices of 3 travel components (destination, lodging, activities). Gathered and analysed data provide insights regarding the key performance indicators focusing on three primary social media channels (Instagram, YouTube, TikTok) and allow statements to be presented on how activities could be developed and what could be the reasons behind the positive or negative results.