How visit organizations use social media to promote destinations
Sharma, Yogesh (2026)
2026
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202602122786
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202602122786
Tiivistelmä
Modern-day destination marketing relies heavily on social media and affects how travelers perceive and visit destinations. Therefore, it is not surprising that many Destination Marketing Organizations (DMO’s) utilize social media platforms to create images of their destinations, engage with potential visitors, and ultimately influence visitor travel decisions.
This dissertation explores the reasons behind DMO's increasing utilization of social media to market destinations and how they utilize social media to promote destinations.
Qualitative desk-based literature reviews were conducted in order to explore social media and destination marketing. Three types of data were analyzed in the research: academic books, peer-reviewed journal articles, and official reports published by tourism organizations. Reliable sources of data were obtained from a variety of academic databases and then analyzed through thematic analysis of the data based upon the research questions. This method allowed the researcher to identify common themes related to social media strategy, types of content, types of functionalities within social media platforms, and promoting destinations.
Visual Promotion, Storytelling, and Engagement were identified as the three primary uses of social media by DMOs. Visual elements, specifically images and video, have been shown to greatly affect the perception of the destination image, and create a sense of connection with potential travelers. Storytelling and User-Generated Content have been identified as means to increase authenticity and credibility for DMOs. Also, different social media platforms are utilized for various purposes including inspiration, providing information about destinations, and real-time communication. It appears to be beneficial for DMOs to utilize multiple social media platforms.
In summary, this research indicates that DMOs should consider social media an effective means of conducting their overall strategic communications with consumers, rather than simply using it to support other marketing initiatives. The limitations of this study are that it used secondary research data; therefore, its information is based on what DMOs have chosen to provide about their use of social media. In addition, because social media is constantly changing, to continue to study how DMOs use social media for strategic communications, researchers could incorporate primary research methods (i.e., interviews or case studies) into future research to explore the actual practices of DMOs when using social media.
This dissertation explores the reasons behind DMO's increasing utilization of social media to market destinations and how they utilize social media to promote destinations.
Qualitative desk-based literature reviews were conducted in order to explore social media and destination marketing. Three types of data were analyzed in the research: academic books, peer-reviewed journal articles, and official reports published by tourism organizations. Reliable sources of data were obtained from a variety of academic databases and then analyzed through thematic analysis of the data based upon the research questions. This method allowed the researcher to identify common themes related to social media strategy, types of content, types of functionalities within social media platforms, and promoting destinations.
Visual Promotion, Storytelling, and Engagement were identified as the three primary uses of social media by DMOs. Visual elements, specifically images and video, have been shown to greatly affect the perception of the destination image, and create a sense of connection with potential travelers. Storytelling and User-Generated Content have been identified as means to increase authenticity and credibility for DMOs. Also, different social media platforms are utilized for various purposes including inspiration, providing information about destinations, and real-time communication. It appears to be beneficial for DMOs to utilize multiple social media platforms.
In summary, this research indicates that DMOs should consider social media an effective means of conducting their overall strategic communications with consumers, rather than simply using it to support other marketing initiatives. The limitations of this study are that it used secondary research data; therefore, its information is based on what DMOs have chosen to provide about their use of social media. In addition, because social media is constantly changing, to continue to study how DMOs use social media for strategic communications, researchers could incorporate primary research methods (i.e., interviews or case studies) into future research to explore the actual practices of DMOs when using social media.