Social media and empowerment in hospitality and tourism decision-making: A study among UK Muslim women

Abstract

Research that explores Muslim women’s hospitality and tourism decision-making is limited. This paper attempts to bring a new perspective to the literature on social media and consumption decisions in the hospitality and tourism sector by focusing on Muslim women as a consumer segment. Based on a survey of 791 Muslim women in the UK, it finds that autonomous self-expression, self-disclosure, and reciprocity to self-disclosure on Facebook were positively related to bonding and bridging social capital, which in turn related positively to their empowerment in hospitality and tourism decision-making. Employment status moderated some of these relations. The paper breaks new ground by bringing together two disparate research strands in the tourism literature: one that focuses on women but ignores religion, and the other that studies Islamic tourism but overlooks the role of women. The findings offer insights into hospitality and tourism marketing strategies aimed at Muslim women. • We combine hospitality/tourism literature with gender, religion and social media. • Social media can empower Muslim women in hospitality/tourism decision-making. • The mechanism of empowerment differed between employed vs. unemployed Muslim women. • Strength of weak ties matters in empowering unemployed women for holiday planning. • The paper offers insights into hospitality/tourism marketing aimed at Muslim women.