Social Media as an Effective Tool for Advertising Tourist and Hotel Services

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to analyse the main advantages of social media in the advertising of tourist and hotel services with the emphasis on the results of network communication. Research methodology. Since the research topic is interdisciplinary, its coverage involves an inclusive combination of a number of methods and approaches integrated from various fields of scientific knowledge – social communications, management, information activities, medieval studies, and others. The establishment of close scientific and integration ties between them made it possible to formulate a systematic understanding of social media as an effective communication tool for the promotion of services in the tourism and hotel spheres. General scientific methods are also used: analysis, synthesis, analogy, comparison, generalisation of results, and more. The scientific novelty of the research consists in drawing attention to the communication possibilities of social media in advertising and attracting new customers. Conclusions. Social media is becoming an important marketing tool in the travel industry, most crucial in advertising, attracting customers and selling services for the hotel and tourism business due to the experiential nature of hospitality products. The significant reduction of the technological barrier to the possibility of searching for information on the Internet for ordinary travellers plays a significant role in this. Mobile devices play the most important role in this today. Therefore, most companies include social media in their strategic plan for advertising and positioning in the market, in particular to monitor customer feedback, respond to comments and communicate more actively with potential and regular customers. Because any information posted on social media instantly becomes publicly available and significantly affects the trust and reputation of the company. Those companies that pay attention to the need for specialised social media management with the introduction of a corresponding position will not only retain customers and attract new ones, but will also improve their business practices and revenue levels. Keywords: social media, tourist services, hotel services, communication, media marketing, advertising, customer reviews.