The Influence of Social Media on Tourism Destination Choice, Tourist Satisfaction, and Behaviour: Empirical Evidence from Heritage and Religious Destinations in Rajasthan, India

While social media receive considerable scholarly attention, studies reveal mixed outcomes in relation to its influence on tourists’ destination choices. There is nonetheless a persistent perception that social media has a fundamental influence on destination choice. However, those studies that do find a social media influence are in contexts where tourists are predisposed to be influenced (the contexts were selected due to social media presence or influence). These studies also have limitations in terms of social media types, tourists and destinations. This research responds to the challenges and explores social media influence across diverse destination choice contexts. Through face-to-face interviews conducted with 39 Australian tourist decision-makers, the findings reveal that social media influence is only apparent when specific context-conditions are co-present. Instead, most destination choice contexts are likely to result in low levels of social media influence. The findings advance theory by identifying three contextual dimensions for social media influence: level of social media engagement; destination novelty or familiarity; and complexity of the planning decision. This research importantly demonstrates the need to illuminate context when conceptualising social media influence on tourists’ destination choices. Practically, destinations should utilise social media to demonstrate ease of visit planning.

Digital marketing thru the use of social media has been proven to be an effective tool to reach out to a wider audience. This study was conducted to determine the same effectiveness of social media as a medium for marketing a multi-faceted and highly diverse line of products in the tourism industry by identifying the power of social media usage over the travelers’ choice of tourist destinations.
 With the descriptive correlational research design applied in the study, the profile of the 397 local and foreign travelers and their social media usage were identified thru a survey questionnaire distributed and retrieved from Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) and surrounding areas in Clark.
 Data gathered was processed using SPSS and was able to determine the association among variables using the Chi-square test; that social media usage indeed influence the traveler’s choice of tourist destinations and that their prior thoughts change as they read comments and review post. It has been identified that the monthly income and occupation of respondents have an association with their social media usage concerning travel and that the social media platform they utilize has an association with their social media usage about traveling.

Social media is playing an increasingly important role in many aspects of tourism. While planning a trip, tourists look for information on social media, consider the comments of users who have already visited the destination, and share their experiences about the destination during and after the holiday. Therefore, social media has been proven as an excellent channel for promotion and communication with tourists, as well as an effective complaint management system. This topic has been the subject of many studies that explored the role of social media in promoting, building the image and brand of a tourist destination, while few studies have explored the impact of social media on tourist destination choice. Therefore, the subject of this paper is to analyze the influence of social media on choosing the tourist destination. The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of the availability of information related to the destination and user-generated content through social media on the tourist destination choice. Data were collected using the online survey technique, and research hypotheses were tested by regression analysis. The study results indicated the importance of the availability of information about the destination and a word-of-mouth propaganda on social media while choosing a destination. The theoretical contribution is reflected in new information regarding the role of social media in tourism, which is limited in the domestic scientific literature. As a practical contribution, the study provides information that may be useful to tourism service providers in creating a promotional campaign on the Internet.

Purpose: The purpose of this article was to investigate the influence of social media marketing on tourist destination choice among international visitors in Kenya. Materials and Methods: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: The study found that social media marketing significantly influences the destination choices of international visitors travelling to Kenya, with platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok serving as primary sources of travel inspiration. Visual content especially high-quality images and short travel videos was shown to strongly shape visitors’ perceptions of Kenya’s natural attractions, cultural experiences, and overall safety. The findings revealed that user-generated content, including reviews, travel stories, and influencer posts, was perceived as more authentic and trustworthy than official tourism promotions. International tourists indicated that social media greatly increased their awareness and understanding of various Kenyan destinations, helping them compare alternatives more effectively. The study also established that audience engagement metrics, such as likes and comments, positively influenced perceptions of destination popularity and credibility. Additionally, destinations with active, consistent, and interactive social media presence reported higher levels of interest and intention to visit among international tourists. Overall, the findings confirm that social media marketing is a key driver of travel decision-making for visitors choosing Kenya as a destination. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) theory, Theory of planned behavior and The information adoption model may be used to anchor future studies on influence of social media marketing on tourist destination choice among international visitors in Kenya. To manage the authenticity paradox, marketers should develop and promote Transparency-First content pillars, such as "Behind the Safari" video series showing conservation work, or real-time weather and wildlife updates, which build credibility. At the national policy level, the government must transition from viewing social media as a promotional channel to treating it as Critical Digital Infrastructure for National Economic Interest.

In order to gain a clear understanding of factors that affect destination choice, this paper sought to explore the influence of social media on Omani outbound pleasure travellers' destination choices. The main data collection method involved 35 in-depth interviews with actual Omani outbound travellers. The analysis process led to the development of five themes regarding the influence of social media on their destination choice. These themes have been labelled as the credibility of social media information; the influence of age on the use of social media; the advancement of technology has a huge impact on using social media; the effectiveness of social media as a marketing tool and social media and traditional media complement each other. Hence, based on these themes, it could be concluded that the majority of participants interviewed believe that social media has an effect on their destination choice. Finally, the contribution of the current study would result from aiding the tourism and marketing industries to understand the use and influence of social media on destination choice of Omani travellers (as representing Arab and Muslim tourists).

Consumptive behavior is characterized by an individual's tendency to spend money on shopping, both offline and online, without considering the priority scale. In this case, financial literacy has a role to play in avoiding consumer behavior and encouraging wiser use of social media. The objectives of this research: 1) The influence of financial literacy on adolescent consumer behavior in Kubu Village, Kubu Raya Regency. 2) The Influence of Social Media on Teenage Consumer Behavior in Kubu Village, Kubu Raya Regency. 3) The Simultaneous Influence of Financial Literacy and Social Media on Teenage Consumptive Behavior in Kubu Village, Kubu Raya Regency. The research method is quantitative. The sample consisted of 200 teenagers. Data collection techniques used questionnaires. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression. The research results show: 1) The influence of financial literacy on adolescent consumer behavior in Kubu Village, Kubu Raya Regency with a sig value of 0.000 < 0.05. 2) The influence of social media on adolescent consumer behavior in Kubu Village, Kubu Raya Regency with a sig value of 0.000 < 0.05. 3) Simultaneous Influence of Financial Literacy and Social Media on Adolescent Consumptive Behavior in Kubu Village, Kubu Raya Regency with a sig value of 0.000 < 0.05.

Purpose – This paper aims to: (1) examine the effect of social media advertisement and influencers on Compulsive buying, (2) investigate the role of materialism as a mediator and narcissism as a moderator on the relationship between social media advertisement and influencers on Compulsive Buying. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on 300 responses. Data of the responses was used for statistical analysis and hypothesis testing. The study uses Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to test all hypotheses. Findings – The study revealed insignificant relationships between social media advertisements and influencers, and compulsive buying. The findings provided evidence that materialism mediates the relationship between social media advertisements and compulsive buying. In contrast, materialism does not mediate the relationship between social media influencers and compulsive buying. The study failed to reveal a moderating role of narcissism on the relationship between materialism and compulsive buying. Research implications – Recommendations for marketing managers, scholars, and policymakers have been given adopting the marketing orientation that puts the consumers’ satisfaction of needs and wants first, based on the researchers’ faith that compulsive buying is not a virtue for consumers by all means. Originality/value – This paper investigates one of the most pressing issues regarding consumer behaviour in social media, consumer traits, and compulsive buying.

The article explores the processes of digital transformation in the tourism industry under the combined influence of artificial intelligence and social media, emphasizing their role in shaping contemporary tourist behavior. The study substantiates that the rapid development of digital technologies fundamentally changes approaches to destination management, tourism service delivery, and consumer decision-making. Artificial intelligence tools are analyzed as key drivers of personalization, automation, and predictive analytics in tourism, enabling more efficient management of tourist flows, improved service quality, and the creation of customized travel experiences based on individual preferences, budgets, and behavioral patterns. Particular attention is paid to the role of social media as a dominant information environment that influences tourist perceptions, destination choice, and demand dynamics. User-generated content, influencer marketing, visual storytelling, and algorithm-driven content distribution significantly affect travel motivation, stimulate interest in specific destinations, and contribute to the rapid spread of tourism trends. The article highlights generational differences in platform usage and their implications for tourism marketing strategies. The research also identifies both positive and negative consequences of the growing reliance on digital platforms. While artificial intelligence and social media enhance accessibility, engagement, and operational efficiency, they simultaneously generate new challenges, including reputational risks, data privacy concerns, information distortion, and the risk of overtourism in popular destinations. The study emphasizes the importance of balancing technological innovation with ethical data use, cybersecurity, and sustainable tourism principles. Based on a PEST analysis, the article demonstrates that artificial intelligence primarily transforms operational and analytical processes, whereas social media reshapes the informational and behavioral landscape of tourism consumption. The findings confirm that the competitiveness of tourism enterprises increasingly depends on their ability to integrate digital technologies into strategic management, marketing communications, and service design. The article concludes that future development of the tourism sector requires adaptive digital strategies focused on sustainable growth, responsible innovation, and the preservation of the human-centered nature of travel experiences.

Aim: To investigate the relationship between social media marketing (SMM) and commercial performance (CP) of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the beauty sector of Cameroon. Study Design: A cross-sectional descriptive and analytical design, adopting quantitative and hypothetico-deductive approaches were used. Place and Duration: Beauty salons in four major towns of Cameroon (Yaounde, Douala, Bafoussam and Limbe) from May to June 2025. Methodology: A convenience sampling method was used to select beauty SMEs, who responded to a self-administered questionnaire, designed to collect data on their use of social media platforms and influencers for marketing, and commercial performance of their businesses. Results: Some 185 beauty business owners including 140(75.7%) female and 45(24.5%) males participated in the study. About 63% and 19.5% of participants agreed or strongly agreed to using social media platforms, meanwhile 58.4% and 12.4% agreed or strongly agreed with engaging social influencers for marketing. There were significant associations between commercial performance and the usage of social media platforms (mean scores = 4.05±0.57; t = 97.07; P = 0.000), and engagement with social media influencers (mean score = 3.80±0.66; t = 78.84; P = 0.000) respectively. Social media platforms predictors of improved commercial performance were found to be daily promotional posting which alone explained 22.4% of variance in CP (F=89.29; P<0.001). When associated with competitive advantage, customer community building, and social media analytics, the variance increased to 30.70 (F=36.695; P < 0.001). Equally, social media influencers predictors were found to be: influencer-driven community building accounting alone for 18.43% of variance in CP (F=67.56; P<0.001), and together with website traffic growth, explained 19.88% of variance in CP (F = 37.336; P < 0.001). Conclusion: Both social media platform use and social media influencer engagement are significant and complementary drivers of commercial success. We therefore recommend to the beauty sector SMEs to develop a comprehensive social media marketing strategy, including daily posting of promotional information, and building customer communities with the support of social media influencers, to boost their commercial performances.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore “how social media influence the way consumers search, evaluate and select a hotel within the ‘evaluation stage’ of the wider hotel decision-making process”.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory qualitative research has been carried out, conducting 12 individual face-to-face, semi-structured, in-depth interviews with social media users, followed by a qualitative thematic analysis.FindingsSocial media transform the consumers’ hotel decision journey by influencing the way consumers search, decide and book hotels. The findings reveal the determinants shaping this process, by shedding light on the perceived value of using social media, consumers’ information search behaviour “then and now”, the advantages and disadvantages of social media use for decision-making, their trustworthiness and the factors that influence the consumers’ hotel decision-journey. The findings are conceptualised in an integrated theoretical model, entitled “hotel consumer decision-journey through social media”.Research limitations/implicationsThe study’s scope for qualitative in-depth insights into the “hotel consumer decision-journey through social media” asked for a compromise on a larger sample size and in turn the transferability of the theoretical model beyond service, hospitality and tourism consumer decision-making contexts.Practical implicationsThis paper provides strategic implications for hospitality marketing and management for a better understanding of the influence of social media on the hotel customer decision journey. The study shows that a variety of social media with associated content sources and levels add to the complexity of hotel-related information search and decision behaviour. The developed framework not only helps hotel professionals understand consumers’ different levels (e.g. type of content, content source, content level) through which social media might influence decision-making. Various real-life scenarios presented also help practitioners understand the fine nuances of how consumers are influenced by social media and how this causes them to iteratively change their minds and make a final decision towards the rejection or selection of a hotel.Originality/valueConsumers use social media for a wide spectrum of scenarios in tourism and hospitality, while the influence of social media on the consumers’ hotel decision-making process remains little understood. This study makes a theoretical contribution in that it addresses these existing gaps and bridges consumer behaviour and social media literature in the hotel context to shed light on the “hotel consumer decision journey through social media”. The core contribution is an integrated theoretical model and real-life scenarios that depict the impact of social media on the hotel decision-making.

Social media and its applications are a part of daily life in Turkey and the rest of the world. In 2022, about 80.7 % of Turkey's population (69.9 million people) spent an average of 8 h daily using the Internet, providing a significant opportunity to encourage and influence tourists' purchase intentions through social media. This study aims to determine the effects of digital marketing and social media on tourist behaviours in Turkey. This study proposes a comprehensive model for the antecedents of tourists' behavioural intentions in their destination selection that can be found in the tourist destination online content (TDOC). The quality and user-friendly accessibility of the online information provides essential clues that influence tourists' behavioural intentions (intention to visit the destination and eWOM). Tourists' level of satisfaction with their first destination visits and the digital marketing interaction channels through which they share their experiences may positively affect their repeat visits/other tourists' behavioural intentions. Therefore, this study investigates the mediator effect of satisfaction and digital marketing interactions on the behavioural intentions of tourists of Eastern origin during their destination selection. Data was collected from 264 structured questionnaires and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation (PLS-SEM) modelling. Findings show that tourists' TDOC perceptions directly affect their behavioural intentions and that tourist satisfaction has a mediator role in the relationship between tourists' TDOC perceptions and behavioural intentions. Also, the results show that satisfaction and digital marketing interactions are important determinants of the intention to visit a tourist destination and eWOM intentions. Understanding tourists' perspectives on destination choice is crucial for policy makers, businesses and marketers as it will help formulate appropriate strategies to increase destination visits. In this respect, it is recommended to develop strategies to encourage tourists to share their experiences and satisfaction levels through digital marketing channels by improving the quality of products and services. Finally, the population of this study is limited to Turkey, and future research can extend this study to countries with different cultures and make new contributions to the related literature.

This exploratory study aimed to discern and comprehend the social media usage patterns and their perceived impact on mental health among Generation Z students at a Colombian university. Employing a mixed methods approach, data were collected from 361 Colombian Gen Z individuals. A focus group guide and a self-reported questionnaire, informed by focus group results, were utilized to evaluate diverse constructs. Qualitative data underwent iterative categorization (IC), while quantitative data underwent statistical analysis using SPSS software. Participants predominantly utilized social media for communication and entertainment, with indications of a link between social media use and anxiety. However, participants did not perceive social media as significantly influential in their decision-making processes or relationships. Notably, female participants reported higher anxiety levels. This study of Colombian Gen Z freshmen unveiled social media's notable influence on body image, mental health, and social rewards. It underscores the necessity for tailored interventions to foster positive online experiences, address gender-specific challenges, and reassess brand engagement strategies within this demographic. Additionally, it highlights the need for further research within the Colombian university context. Though the employed instrument exhibited acceptable validity and reliability levels, future research could benefit from enhancements. This paper represents the initial endeavor to analyze social media consumption among Generation Z in Colombia through a mixed methods approach. Examining social media consumption patterns and their impact on mental health contributes to academic discourse on this relationship, informing the design of appropriate pedagogic strategies while considering reported gender differences. This study contributes valuable insights into the intricate interplay between social media use and mental health among Colombian Gen Z students. Addressing these dynamics is pivotal in formulating targeted interventions and strategies to support the mental well-being of this demographic within university settings. Future investigations should focus on refining measurement tools and delving deeper into nuanced aspects of social media's influence on mental health within educational environments.

Social media has emerged as a powerful tool influencing consumer behaviour in online environments. While existing studies examine general consumer patterns, limited research has focused on specific professional groups such as IT professionals, who are digitally literate and highly active online. This conceptual study explores the influence of social media on the online buying behaviour of IT professionals. Integrating the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S-O-R) model, Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), and Consumer Online Brand-Related Activities (COBRA), the study identifies key variables including social media engagement, electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM), influencer credibility, digital literacy, and trust. The conceptual framework proposes that social media engagement, influencer credibility, and e-WOM positively influence online purchase intention, with trust acting as a mediator and digital literacy as a moderator. The study provides theoretical insights into how IT professionals process online information and make purchasing decisions. The findings have practical implications for marketers aiming to design credible, informative, and targeted social media campaigns to enhance purchase intention among this tech-savvy segment.

Over the past ten years, various tourist locations have undergone noteworthy transformations because of globalization, due to different influences from both national and international sources.The present study was conducted on the social media influence on tourist destination choices; to examine the effects of exogenous variables on endogenous variables through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach.The study consists of 392 students pursuing higher education in Nagaland, India.Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), items' total correlation, and Cronbach's alpha methods were used for the validity and reliability of the scale.The results of EFA generated three significant dimensions of "Social Media Stimuli (SMS)," "Comfort, Timing and Security Concerns (CTSC)," and "Destination Appetite (DA)."The study data was collected with the confirmed scale.The detailed data were analyzed with path analysis of SEM.

This systematic literature review examines the impact of social media on public opinion and its implications for policy-making. Utilising the PRISMA framework, the study analysed 19 articles from Scopus and Web of Science databases published between 2013-2023. The review identified five main categories of social media platforms discussed; Twitter/X, Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), YouTube, Chinese apps (Sina Weibo, WeChat, QQ), and several unspecified platforms. Key themes emerged across these categories, including the role of social media in knowledge dissemination, creation of filter bubbles and echo chambers, amplification of diverse voices, and spread of misinformation. The findings highlighted social media potential for real-time public opinion monitoring, facilitating engagement between policymakers and citizens, and early identification of emerging issues. However, challenges such as information credibility and algorithmic curation of content were also noted. The review suggests that strategic use of social media can raise awareness and mobilise support for global initiatives like the Sustainable Development Goals. It emphasises the need for policymakers to understand and leverage social media's influence on public sentiment while addressing associated risks. The study contributes to a nuanced understanding of how different social media platforms shape public discourse and influence policy decisions in the digital age. Future research directions are proposed to further explore the complex dynamics between social media, public opinion, and governance in an evolving technological landscape. Keywords: Social media impact, public opinion formation, digital policymaking, online political discourse, civic engagement.