Influence of New Media on Travel Decision Making

Abstract

Tourism, one of the largest industries in the world, has recorded consistent growth since the end of Second World War. Travel is a key factor in the process of tourism, where the tourist is the main player as well as the ultimate consumer of the products and services offered to him/her. A tourist‟s decision to travel is by itself a complex process because there are many factors that influence the decision. The New media, which has emerged in the wake of tremendous advancements in information and communication technologies is also influencing the decision making process in modern times. Here, an attempt has been done to examine the influence of new media in the various stages of decision making process and the role played by it. A questionnaire based survey was undertaken to conduct the study and the analysis reveals various kinds of influences of new media.