Strategic impact of social media in tourism

Abstract

The main objectives of this dissertation are to find out if Social Media has any impact in Tourism, to determine what tourists’ perceived benefits of using social media when taking trips are, and to ascertain if there is any strategic opportunity for value creation for the tourist. A Social Media value-creation model is created in order to find out if any of the functionalities applied to tourism and any of the perceived benefits of using Social Media in tourism contribute in any way to the tourist’s value-creation or if it has an influence on tourists when planning and taking trips. Through a survey answered by 236 respondents, the most influential attributes of the usage of Social Media in tourism are ascertained, the travellers’ perception of social media is analyzed, the important functionalities and benefits are determined and an analysis of the strategic impact of Social Media in tourism is conducted. After analyzing the strategic impact of Social Media in tourism and applying the RBV model, it is concluded that Social Media does indeed have an impact in tourism. It can even be used as a source of sustainable competitive advantage if tourism firms develop a positive reputation and focus on the personalization of their services as the key element for their value-creating strategy.

Date of Award	28 Feb 2013
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Paulo Amaral (Supervisor)