Social Media: Its Impact on Youth Travelers and Formation of Sustainable Destination Image

Abstract

Social media is widely used, particularly in the travel industry. With the rapid changes in technology, there has been a substantial escalation in the usage of various social media networking sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. On these platforms, users are encouraged to make blog entries, upload images of their adventures, and exchange information about their activities and hobbies with other users. Various researchers have examined how social media has the potential to influence the trip-planning process significantly, and it has been concluded that social media has a noteworthy influence on travel decisions. The current study aims to investigate the influence of social media on the travel decisions that are being taken up by the young generation. The present research aims to investigate the influence of social media in the generation of images of various destinations in the minds of prospective travelers. To fathom the influence of social media in the minds of the young generation while they are making travel decisions, a conceptual framework has been developed in the current study with the help of the Technology Acceptance Model. To achieve the objective of inspecting the influence of social media in generating sustainable destination images in travelers’ minds, a sample size of 420 has been taken. Perceived Costs, Perceived Ease of Use, and Perceived Enjoyment have been used to evolve the conceptual model. The findings of the study will play a vital role for online travel marketers as it will provide them insights regarding the way the young generation makes use of social networking sites and how these sites are helpful in the creation of destination images in the minds of these travelers and allow them to modify their online marketing tactics accordingly.