Leveraging social media to optimize tourism in Cox´s Bazar : qualitative insights from accommodation businesses

Abstract

There has been a great revolution in the tourism industry, especially in destination promotion and tourist engagement, as a result of the use of social media in recent times. Cox’s Bazar, the world’s longest sea beach, has seen significant growth in its accommodation facilities. The objective of this research was to examine how accommodation businesses in Cox’s Bazar were using social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for the promotion of their services and building relationships with tourists.

The research focused on various aspects of digital engagement, including content types like images, videos, reviews, posting frequencies, dedicated marketing teams, as well as performance metrics. The research was qualitative-based and the data was collected using a survey from the managers of ten selected accommodation businesses. Furthermore, benchmarking research was carried out using their social media content to identify challenges and best practices among them.

The results of the study revealed that the examined hotels utilized a number of social media strategies, including posting frequency, immediate response to customer queries, and user-generated content. However, managers found the approach helpful for increasing their brand visibility and developing customer relationships on social media.

Based on qualitative data, the study provided some early recommendations on how social media strategies can be improved by accommodation providers in Cox’s Bazar. These enhancements may help digital engagement more efficiently and assist further processes regarding sustainable tourism development in the region.