TOURISMOS: AN INTERNATIONAL MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF

TOURISM
Volume 12, Number 3, pp. 48-74
UDC: 338.48+640(050)

THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON TRAVELERS

2.0

Emmanouil Stiakakis©
University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece

Maro Vlachopoulou©
University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece

Social Media (SM) are one of the latest and most typical examples of Information
and Communication Technologies (ICTs), which have been widely adopted in the
tourism industry at all stages of a trip. The objective of this paper is to investigate
the impact of SM on travelers 2.0, as well as their views concerning relevant issues.
A survey was conducted to analyze the behavior of travelers 2.0, using a sample of
250 individuals from October to November 2013. The research findings revealed
that the reasons for which travelers 2.0 use SM depend on each stage of the trip.
Travelers 2.0 are influenced by the different elements / services provided through
SM, but to a different extent; as this influence increases, it is more likely that
holiday plans will be altered accordingly. Despite the influence of SM on travelers
2.0, they still have not gained their confidence and trust.

Keywords: social media, social networking sites, e-tourism, tourism

services, travelers 2.0

©
University of the Aegean. Print ISSN: 1790-8418, Online ISSN: 1792-6521

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INRODUCTION

Tourism is one of the major industries that have been closely

related to Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
developments. The influence of ICTs and particularly the Internet
upon tourism is strong and multifaceted. The use of Internet services
is a key factor for the increase of efficiency and promotion of tourist
products worldwide at a low cost (Drosopoulou, 2012).
The growth of social media (SM) has caused significant changes
leading to a different way of managing tourism businesses (Kavoura
& Stavrianea, 2014). A lot of research has been focused on the impact
of SM on users’ lives and companies’ performance, since the vast
majority of tourism organizations showed a growing interest in the
opportunities created by the mass and rapid spread of SM (Leung et
al., 2013). SM are defined by Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) as “a group
of Internet-based applications built on the ideological and
technological foundations of Web 2.0, and which allow the creation
and exchange of User Generated Content (UGC)”. This definition is
accepted in the context of this paper. Furthermore, Cohen (2011)
summarized thirty SM definitions regarding different perspectives, as
SM continue to evolve and their uses change and expand. In the
tourism sector, Web 2.0, also referred to as “Travel 2.0”, changes the
online travel industry, since travel planning and booking on the Web
are among the most popular online activities and online travel sales
are growing at an explosive rate (Yoo & Gretzel, 2012). Travel 2.0
includes different applications, such as media and content syndication
(RSSfeeds), mashups, tagging, wikis, Web forums, travel
communities, customer rating and evaluation systems, podcasting,
blogs, microblogging, photo sharing, and video sharing. The effective
penetration of SM technology in the tourism sector has enabled
users/travelers 2.0 to interact with businesses (Ye et al., 2011).
This paper aims to investigate the impact of SM on travelers 2.0,
focusing on particular aspects, such as the use of SM types, the use of
SM at all stages of traveling, the views of travelers-users about the

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information provided through SM, as well as their views about the

trustworthiness of this information. The rest of the paper is structured
as follows: the next section provides a summary of previous studies
and researches in this field. Following that, there is a section that
presents our research hypotheses and the methodology adopted,
which is built upon an online survey. The findings of the research are
presented in a following section; conclusions and future research
directions are summarized in the final two sections.

LITERATURE REVIEW

It is a fact that ICTs have transformed the tourism industry,

changing radically the way that businesses operate (Dodd & Johnson,
2011). A recent comprehensive literature review about SM in tourism
and hospitality (Leung et al., 2013), from both the consumers’ and
suppliers’ perspective, revealed that although extant research
generally paid more attention to suppliers’ application of SM, the
successful practice of SM still remains largely unknown to scholars
and practitioners. Furthermore, regarding the specific stage of the
traveling process, the use and impact of SM on the research travel
planning process, particularly the information search in the “pre-trip”
phase, was overemphasized among customer-centric studies. Before
and during trips, tourists use SM to gain information about the means
and conditions of the trip, share their experiences, and compare
destinations and services related to traveling (Parra-López et al.,
2011). According to the latest findings of a review study of Zeng and
Gerritsen (2014), SM research in tourism is still in its infancy,
although it has been increasingly broadening and deepening its
interests. Therefore, they identify gaps in the current research
literature, in particular with regard to “the impact of SM on travel
behaviors during the trip, the local community’s social and cultural
aspects, and the different impacts of SM between SM users and non-
users”.

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This section deals with assessing and discussing previous but

recent (after 2010) primary research investigations, related to the
impact of SM on tourists, focusing on particular issues, such as: the
SM type used, the tourists’ profile, their use at all stages of traveling,
their specific application areas, the views of users about the content
that tourism companies share in these pages, and finally the
trustworthiness and the level of user satisfaction.
Table 1 lists selected articles related to the impact of SM on
tourists, based on the above mentioned research objectives and their
research focus. Each article was carefully read through by the two
authors of this paper in order to analyze and classify its content. As
several studies included SM research on a lot of issues, a study could
be assigned to more than one research objectives.

Table 1. Previous empirical investigations regarding the impact

of social media on tourists/travelers

Research area Research focus References

Search engines and social
Xiang & Gretzel (2010)
networking sites
Travel blogs Volo (2010)
Online reviews Sparks & Browning (2011)
Facebook; The effects of
online social media on
Social media tourism websites Milano, Baggio & Piattelli
types (Facebook and Twitter); (2011); Yoo & Gretzel (2012)
Types of social media
used
Primary online social
networks used for travel Nusair, Erdem, Okumus &
purposes & users’ Bilgihan (2012)
perceived experience

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Virtual communities & Buhalis & Foerste (2014);

mobile platforms Lange-Faria & Elliot (2012); Xiang,
Wang, O’Leary & Fesenmaier
(2015)
Twitter Sotiriadis & Zyl (2013)
Tussyadiah, Park & Fesenmaier
Consumer narratives
(2011)
Influence of personality,
patterns of use, impacts
on trip planning,
Yoo & Gretzel (2011, 2012)
characteristics of travel-
related social media users
and creators
Statistical measures
about the use of social Santos -Stikky-media.com
media in tourism by (2012)
World Travel Market
Tourists’ profile How the use of social
& tourists’ networks affects the way Lab42.com ( 2012)
behaviour people travel
Implications of user- Wilson, Murphy & Cambra
generated content Fierro (2012)
The use of SM
throughout a trip among
Fotis, Buhalis & Rossides
travelers-residents of the
(2012)
Former Soviet Union
Republics
Effects of SM on Greek Bizirgianni & Dionysopoulou
youth tourism (2013)
Users of social
networking sites from Kim & Tussyadiah (2013)
Korea

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Scandinavian tourists’
Munar & Jacobsen (2013,
perceptions, types of
2014)
content creators
Twitter users behaviour Sotiriadis & Zyl (2013)
Burgess, Sellitto, Cox &
Buultjens (2011); Fotis, Buhalis &
Rossides (2011); Huang, Basu &
Hsu (2010); Lab42.com (2012); Lee
(2011); Lo, McKercher, Lo, Cheung
“pre-trip” stage & Law (2011); Parra-López,
Bulchand-Gidumal, Gutiérrez-Taño
& Díaz-Armas (2011); Sparks &
Browning (2011); Xiang & Gretzel
Role of social (2010); Yoo & Gretzel (2010, 2011,
media at all the 2012)
stages of a journey Fotis, Buhalis & Rossides
/ traveling (2011); Kim & Tussyadiah (2013);
process: before, Lab42.com (2012); Lee (2011);
during, and after “during-trip” stage Munar & Jacobsen (2013); Sparks
the trip & Browning (2011); Tussyadiah,
Park & Fesenmaier (2011); Zehrer,
Crotts & Magnini (2011)
Fotis, Buhalis & Rossides
(2011); Huang, Basu & Hsu (2010);
Lab42.com (2012); Lee (2011);
“post-trip” stage Munar & Jacobsen (2013); Parra-
López, Bulchand-Gidumal,
Gutiérrez-Taño & Díaz-Armas
(2011); Yoo & Gretzel (2011, 2012)
Trustworthiness Burgess, Sellitto, Cox &
and level of user Buultjens (2011); Munar &
satisfaction Jacobsen (2013); Sparks &

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Browning (2011); Yoo & Gretzel

(2010)

THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA TYPES

The growth of SM webpages has caused many changes globally

in the way that the tourism industry has been developed (Kalala,
2011). SM offer a number of different applications for their members
who want to communicate more and more in order to share
information and experiences. Therefore, SM are becoming
increasingly important for the tourism industry (Senders et al., 2013).
Various types and applications of SM currently exist and new
SM webpages appear online every day. Using these various forms of
SM, a growing number of online users become increasingly involved
in various online activities by consuming, participating, and
generating content online. Among these various types of SM used by
travelers, travel blogs were identified not just as a good platform that
can communicate travel experiences outside of the narratives of
tourism marketers, but also as an effective tool for promotion, product
distribution, management, and research (Volo, 2010). In terms of SM
types used, the findings of previous studies (Xiang et al., 2015; Ayeh
et al., 2013; Leung et al., 2013; Xiang & Gretzel, 2010) indicated that
the majority of online users just use the content posted by others and
only a small number of them create online content including text,
images, audio, and video. Based on the findings of two national
surveys on travelers’ SM use, conducted in the United States in 2008
and 2010, online travel agency and auction sites (Expedia,
Travelocity, Priceline, etc.), general search engines (Google, Yahoo!,
etc.), and service provider websites (airlines, hotels, rental cars, etc.)
were most prominently used in online travel searches. However, pure
SM sites like blogs and communities, as well as photo/video sharing
sites and social networking sites are also used in the context of online

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travel planning. Travel reviews are the most prominent form used
followed by photos posted by others, which were also frequently used
as input in their travel planning process. Audio files/podcasts and
tweets are only used by a minority of online travelers who use SM
(Yoo & Gretzel, 2012).
Another research, conducted among US travelers in 2010,
examined the primary online social networking sites used for travel
purposes (Nusair et al., 2012). When the respondents were asked to
select their favourite online social networking site for travel related
purposes, 72 per cent of them indicated that Facebook was their
favourite social networking website for travel related purposes.
YouTube was ranked in the second position (12 per cent), while 4 per
cent indicated MySpace as their favourite one; only 1 per cent
indicated TripAdvisor as their preferred website and about 5 per cent
other websites. Moreover, Milano et al. (2011) concluded that online
social networks (OSN), like Facebook and Twitter, have positive
impact on tourism website views, enhancing the business websites’
popularity, based on an analysis of the pattern of visits to a sample of
Italian tourism websites.
With a significant amount of information available to travelers,
the Internet is an important platform for the exchange of information
between customers and companies in the tourism industry (Parra-
López et al., 2011; Xiang & Gretzel, 2010). During the last years,
several researches have been conducted in topics related to the use of
SM in tourism (Amersdorffer et al., 2012). A noteworthy research
was conducted by Xiang and Gretzel (2010), which stresses that when
a user searches for tourism information through search engines, most
of the results come from SM. A research conducted by Senders et al.
(2013) concluded that customers enjoy building online relationships
with tour operators through social networks. The results also
indicated that people are increasingly comparing offers online with
the aid of SM (Munar & Jacobsen, 2014). Parra-López et al. (2011)
claimed that the main reason for the use of SM is that users perceive
a lot of benefits. However, there are several factors affecting their use.

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Significant factors that lead to the use of SM are the access to

technology, individual predisposition, and user confidence in the
information provided.
Furthermore, recent research stresses the shift from content
search to social interaction and the evolution towards virtual
communities and mobile platforms (Buhalis & Foerste, 2014; Nusair
et al., 2012; Lange-Faria & Elliot, 2012; Xiang et al., 2015).

THE TOURISTS’ PROFILE AND THEIR BEHAVIOUR IN

EUROPE

In general, a lot of studies have investigated the consumer

behavior related to the use of SM. Hudson and Thal (2013) provided
a literature review about the influence of SM in decision making
process, emphasizing on tourism marketing inquiring the consumer
behavior during the buying process and the role that business plays
on it. Sotiriadis and Zyl (2013) explored the way the users of SM, in
particular the users of Twitter from various European countries, make
decisions about the buying process of tourism goods and services.
Through this research, it was deduced that many tourism businesses
use the Twitter platform to create a more personal contact with
potential customers. Reliability plays a catalytic role in the use of
tourist information from other tourists. In fact, the “online reviews”
published at social networks seem to significantly affect the decision
making process of potential customers. Kim and Tussyadiah (2013),
in their study, focused on the relationship between the use of social
networks, the social support, and tourism experience. The results
showed that there are positive relations between them. Most tourists
are engaged in social activities through social networks while
traveling, so they can have social support and thus they have a
complete tourist experience. Indeed, the fact that they make
comments and share photos while traveling leads them to have a more
enjoyable journey. Therefore, it seems that it is important for tourists

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to be connected with SM. While publishing their travel stories,

tourists who publish photographs and process information will gain
more attention. On the other hand, those who read the others’ posts
about traveling are influenced regarding their own journeys (Kim &
Tussyadiah, 2013; Tussyadiah et al., 2011).
SM tourism research associated with local communities and SM
impact on local residents is still at an early stage, especially in Greece.
The study of Bizirgianni and Dionysopoulou (2013) was a first effort
to investigate the profile of young Greek tourists actively
participating in SM, as well as the effects of information absorbed
through SM on their travel decisions. Furthermore, the following two
online researches have been conducted regarding the way that tourists
act in social networking pages. Thus, the survey conducted by
Stikkymedia.com (Santos, 2012) using information from the World
Travel Market about SM and tourism businesses indicated that 85%
of tourists use their smartphones when being abroad. Moreover, 72%
publish photos from holidays and 46% do ‘check in’ through social
networks. The most common uses of social networks when traveling
abroad are the ‘check in’ process before the flight, searching for
activities and attractions, and searching for restaurants. As regards
consumer confidence, 92% of consumers trust almost all the
suggestions and opinions of their friends. Another survey entitled
“Techie traveler”, which was published in the blog “Market Research
the latest social media & market research news” (Lab42.com, 2012)
aimed to reveal the ways in which SM have changed how people
travel. So, it examined their habits before, during, and after the trip.
The use of SM extends from information searching to UGC,
which is perceived as similar to recommendations provided by
friends, family members or even “like-minded souls” (Ye et al., 2011;
Yoo & Gretzel, 2012). Murphy et al. (2010), based on their
investigation of motivation to share online content by young travelers,
suggested that young travelers would be more likely to publish their
UGC on their own SM than on a commercial supplier/intermediary
website. According to another research, people’s attitudes,

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motivations, and types of online social networks for posting their

UGC are affected by their nationalities (Wilson et al., 2012). Prior
research confirmed the role of personality of e-travelers in their
behavior related to the use and creation of UGC. Thus, according to
the study of Parra-López et al. (2012), the intentions to use SM are
directly influenced by the perceived benefits of that use. Yoo and
Gretzel (2011) found that travelers’ personality constitutes an
important determinant in motivating or inhibiting the creation of Web
content by travelers.

THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AT ALL STAGES OF

TRAVELING

Many social networks enable consumers to publish and share

their opinions, write comments, and describe their personal traveling
experiences, which then act as information sources for others (Buhalis
& Law, 2008). Although the use and the impact of SM at different
stages of traveling have been widely investigated in prior research
approaches, the relative impact of each type of SM on travelers’
decisions is not examined in the current literature. It seems that SM
webpages are increasingly used by customers in order to obtain
information about their journey. These sites can be used by customers
throughout a journey, i.e. before, during, and after the trip. Previous
research, related to the travelers’ perspective, dealt with the pre-trip
stage of the traveling process, especially with the information search
(Leung et al., 2013). Consumers cannot only collect travel
information from friends or relatives who directly belong to their
social network, but also acquire more detailed information from
online users worldwide.
Moreover, SM are more effective in equipping travelers with
comprehensive knowledge on a tourism destination than other
information sources (Yoo & Gretzel, 2011, 2012). As argued by
Huang et al. (2010), obtaining travel information appeared to be the

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primary motivation driving the travelers’ use of UGC and SM. Trip
characteristics seem to influence travelers’ engagement with UGC for
travel planning. Simms (2012) found that a higher percentage of
travelers turned to UGC creators when visiting a destination for the
first time, as well as when visiting an international destination.
Noteworthy is that according to empirical research findings, the
majority of Internet users are not using UGC for travel planning, so
little is presently known about the relevant factors determining UGC
usage for the specific purpose of travel planning (Ayeh et al., 2013).
Fotis et al. (2012) conducted an empirical study among holiday
travelers, residents of the Former Soviet Union Republics, in order to
analyze the use of SM throughout a trip. This research led to the
conclusion that SM are used during all stages of the traveling process,
but to a different extent and for a different target, affecting users by
choosing destinations for holidays. The content shared on online
communities or blogs constitutes travel stories and experiences,
which encourage audiences to visualize the consumption of tourist
products and services (Tussyadiah et al., 2011). Leung et al. (2013)
suggested that researchers and practitioners have to continually
explore the antecedents and impact of SM on travelers, due to the
rising popularity of SM in tourism and hospitality.

TRUSTWORTHINESS OF ONLINE TRAVEL INFORMATION

Several researches discussed the trustworthiness of UGC, mainly

from the tourist perspective. According to Zeng and Gerritsen (2014),
the trustworthiness of online travel information, especially UGC, is a
very important issue. Munar and Jacobsen (2013) critically analyzed
technological mediation through electronic word-of-mouth and
factors related to virtual dissemination of travel narratives. To some
extent, UGC is perceived as similar to recommendations provided by
friends, family members, etc., thus becoming vital information source
to potential tourists (Chung & Buhalis, 2008). It is considered as more
trustworthy than information provided by the destination or tourism

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service providers; it can subsequently be seen as substitute for word-

of-mouth (Fotis et al., 2012). The credibility reposed in UGC will
determine its influence upon tourists’ decisions, as well as on their
use of SM platforms. Yoo and Gretzel (2012) found that perceived
expertise and trustworthiness of UGC creators were the significant
predictors of trust in travel related UGC. There has been a debate
whether or not UGC could be trusted. Generally, there are differences
with regard to the level of trust in online travel information from
different sources. In most cases, users are not sure whether they
should trust comments made by travelers on weblogs and SM;
however, they believe that UGC would be useful in the future. They
feel that any concerns they may have in relation to legal and social
problems resulting from its use will be resolved (Burgess et al., 2011).
More focus is needed on the use and value of UGC for informing
future tourism enterprise management strategic perspectives (Leung
et al., 2013; Zeng & Gerritsen, 2014). Businesses would benefit if
they used SM in relationship management and improvement of
products and services based on UGC.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Based on the aforementioned literature review, the following

research hypotheses are formulated:
H1: SM are primarily used by travelers 2.0 before the trip
(concerning the use of SM at the various stages of traveling).
H2: The reasons for which travelers 2.0 use SM are different,
depending on the stage of the trip (before, during, and after the trip).
H3: The elements / services which are provided through SM
webpages influence travelers 2.0 to a different extent.
H4: The higher the influence of SM on travelers 2.0 in order to
choose a holiday destination or accommodation, the more likely is
that changes will be made in holiday plans.

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H5: Travelers 2.0 are uncertain about the trustworthiness of

information provided through SM.
In the context of the methodological part of this paper, an online
survey was conducted. The purpose of this survey was to investigate
the impact of SM upon travelers, and more specifically travelers 2.0.
The survey was entirely accomplished in Greece in a two-month
period (October-November 2013). The participants in the survey
were users of tourist services, who have the characteristics of traveler
2.0, as presented in Introduction. Facebook was the means of
collection of responses to the online questionnaire. The distribution
of the questionnaire took place through the following ways:
• sending the questionnaire as personal message to Facebook
‘friends’
• posting the link to groups of students of university
departments in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece
• posting the questionnaire link to scout groups.
In that way, it was possible to gather a whole of 250 properly
answered questionnaires; the initial sample was larger, but we
selected only the units of the sample which corresponded to travelers
2.0. Some demographic data of the final sample are given below:
regarding the gender, 44% of the respondents are male and 56%
female. These rates are in consistency with the data of similar studies
which indicate that women use SM at a higher rate compared to men.
With regard to the age, the responses from each group (as determined
in the questionnaire) were as follows: 12-18 years old (5%), 19-25
years old (62%), 26-35 years old (27%), and the remaining 6% of the
sample belonged to the group of 36-60 years old. It is noted that, in
general, the majority of people who use SM are between 19 and 35
years old; their percentage amounts to 89% of the total population of
users. Consequently, the fact that the respondents in our sample
belong mostly to the age groups of 19-25 and 26-35 years old is
consistent with the global data mentioned above.
It should be noted that, in general, there are a lot of differences
between SM in terms of the demographic data examined. For

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instance, the users of LinkedIn are more educated (Bachelor’s degree

or postgraduate studies) than the users of other SM. This is why we
will not proceed to a detailed presentation of the demographic data of
the sample, since the purpose is to examine the impact of SM, as a
whole, on travelers 2.0.

RESEARCH FINDINGS

Travelers use SM in different time periods (or stages) of their

trip. The three main stages of a trip are: (i) the preparation time, i.e.
before the trip, (ii) the time that the trip lasts, i.e. during the trip, and
(iii) a period (not so long) following the end of the trip, i.e. after the
trip. According to the results of the survey, hypothesis H1 seems to
be confirmed, since most of the respondents (66%) said that they use
SM before the trip. During the trip, SM are used by 54% of the
sample, and after the trip, they are used by an almost equal percentage
(52%). One out of three travelers uses SM at all the stages of a trip
(Figure 1).

66 %

54 % 52 %

33 %

Before During After At all the stages

Figure 1. Use of social media at each stage of a trip

Regarding hypothesis H2, the reasons for which SM are used are
quite different, depending on the stage of the trip. Before the trip, 73%

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of the respondents use SM in order to find information about

sightseeing, 46% use them to take ideas for an attractive destination,
and finally, 29% do it to make sure that the right choice has been
made. During the trip, 65% of the sample said that they use SM to
keep in touch with their friends; 54% search information about
activities that they could do at the place of destination; the third
preferred choice during the trip is posting relevant material (31%).
After the trip, the reason which distinguishes among the others is
sharing experiences of the trip; 84% of the respondents said that they
use SM after the trip for this specific reason. 32% use them to inform
others who intend to make the same trip, while 16% said that they
want to compare their experiences with those of other travelers.
Therefore, the reasons for which travelers use SM seem to be actually
depended upon the stage of the trip (Figure 2).

73%

46%

29%

info for ideas for right choice

sightseeing destination

Before the trip

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65%
54%

31%

Keep in touch search posting

information

During the trip

84%

32%
16%

share experiences inform others compare

experiences

After the trip

Figure 2. Reasons to use social media, depending on the stage of
the trip

Travelers 2.0 are influenced by SM, since this is one of their

major characteristics; however, the question that would be really
interesting to be answered is about the elements of SM that influence
travelers 2.0, as well as the extent they do so. This is what hypothesis
H3 investigates. The possible replies out of which the respondents
were asked to select were as follows: (i) photos, (ii) videos, (iii)
comments by unknown users, (iv) friends’ comments, (v) offers, (vi)

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contests, (vii) other services. If we take into account both the replies
of ‘a lot’ and ‘quite’, we can see in Figure 3 that photos receive a
cumulative percentage of 63%, being the element of SM which most
influences travelers 2.0. The comments by friends are in the second
position, having a cumulative percentage of 60% for ‘a lot’ and
‘quite”. Offers, videos, and other services seem to influence at a lower
rate, while the presence of contests in SM has the lowest rate of
influence on travelers 2.0. It should be noted that, compared to
comments by friends, the comments which come from unknown users
seem to have a rather controversial acceptance.

100
90
80
70 a lot
60 quite
50 somewhat
40 little
30 not at all
20
10
0

Figure 3. How the different elements / services provided through

social media webpages influence travelers 2.0

In order to test hypothesis H4, we investigated whether there is a

correlation at a significant level between the responses in the
following two questions: (i) “Do SM influence your choice for a
holiday destination or accommodation?” (a lot, quite, somewhat,
little, not at all) and (ii) “What is the possibility to change your plans
for a holiday destination or accommodation depending on the

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information provided through SM?” (very high, high, moderate, low,

very low). Both variables are qualitative, ordinal, so the appropriate
correlation coefficient to be used is Spearman’s. According to the
result of the statistical test, Spearman’s correlation coefficient was
found to be equal to 0.57 at the 0.01 level of significance (p=0.006 <
a=0.01), indicating that the two variables are positively correlated;
thus, hypothesis H4 seems to be confirmed.
Hypothesis H5 concerns the matter of users’ trust in the travel
information provided through SM. According to the results, only 1%
of the respondents trust the information provided at an absolute rate;
43% trust fairly the information, while a percentage of 52% feel
worried about this kind of information. The rest of 4% do not trust the
information at all. It can be deduced that, there is a lot of uncertainty
about the trustworthiness of SM with regard to the quality of
information provided through them; and this is apparent from the very
low percentages of the two extreme replies of ‘absolute trust’ and ‘no
trust’ (Figure 4).

Not at all Absolutely

4% 1%

Fairly
Very little
43%
52%

Figure 4. Level of trust in the travel information provided

through social media

CONCLUSIONS

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Based on the findings of our research, travelers 2.0 use SM at all

the stages of their trip (before, during, and after the trip), but primarily
before it; they use SM for different reasons at each stage of their trip.
Travelers 2.0 are influenced by the various elements / services which
are provided through SM, but to a different extent. It was also found
that as much higher is the influence of SM on travelers 2.0, the more
likely is to make changes in their holiday plans (concerning mostly
the choice for a holiday destination or accommodation). However, at
the same time that travelers 2.0 seem to be influenced by SM, they
declare that they do not trust the information provided through them.
This is a very important point, making us conclude that SM are
significant information tools which are increasingly used by
candidate tourists, but still they have not gained their confidence.
Considering the above, the following conclusions are drawn about the
behavior of users who employ SM for tourism services. Initially, it is
observed that the Internet users spend several hours every day on the
means, and in particular on SM taking advantage of the offered
opportunities.
The most important part of the research refers to the relation of
use of SM with the planning of the journey. It is characteristic that the
majority of users employed SM in some of the stages of their journey,
i.e. before, during, and after the trip. Indeed, the users exploited these
opportunities to have a variety of information, such as attractions and
destinations reviewed. This use of SM for tourism is entirely
consistent with four of the examined surveys. It becomes clear that,
in one way or another, users show a strong preference for SM to seek
or to publish information on their journey.
Regarding trust, 95% hold a neutral attitude about the
information provided. However, users trust much more the comments
of their “friends”; this point was also confirmed by the research of
Santos (2012). The research showed that users were affected by
several issues and applications related to tourism. In particular, the
posted comments and photos of friends play a key role in this
influence. In contrast, the comments by unknown users are not the

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main source of influence. The latter finding is in contrast with the

studies of Kim and Tussyadiah (2013), and Santos (2012), which
indicate that the others’ comments are an important source of
influence.
The Internet and SM have entered dynamically the lives of
people. However, there is skepticism from users and up to a degree a
failure of companies to meet the specific requirements of tourists.
Thus, the tourism sector has to stress the benefits from the use of SM
and should provide more opportunities and facilities to gain the full
confidence of users. This research was an attempt to highlight the
views and habits of travelers 2.0, and analyze how SM provide strong
opportunities for the tourism sector. We believe that the research led
to some useful conclusions and also revealed some points that need
further investigation and analysis, since there are not many studies
with relative content.
The survey accomplished for the purposes of this study took
place in only one country using a sample with specific characteristics.
This implies that the conclusions, which were drawn in this study,
cannot be arbitrarily generalized but carefully studied in relation to
the survey’s setting. Additionally, they should be compared with the
results of other studies, taking into consideration the similarities and
differences regarding sampling process and attributes of the sample.

FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

One of our findings is that there is lack of absolute trust and

confidence towards information provided through SM. A future study
could investigate the reasons for which this attitude occurs; such
findings might be useful for companies in order to learn the
requirements of their potential customers and operate in such a way
that would meet effectively these requirements.
Moreover, a research topic of great interest is the business
perspective, i.e. how tourism enterprises set up pages on social

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networks. There are a lot of issues that need to be thoroughly

considered, such as: (i) the strategy development (if any) behind the
design of pages on social networks, (ii) the factors that tourism
enterprises should take into consideration for design and
communication purposes, (iii) the good practices for SM marketing,
and generally, the benefits from such a business endeavor. Tourism
enterprises have started to experiment, to a greater or lesser extent,
with SM and researchers should investigate how this novelty will
influence their operation and their relationship with customers in the
future.
An interesting future direction might also be the investigation of
SM platforms that travelers mainly prefer. The preferences of
users/travelers radically change and one should consider the reasons
for which this happens. The analysis of new trends with respect to the
popularity of these platforms, as well as the examination of disparities
regarding their use, could contribute to a more thorough
understanding of the impact of SM upon travelers.
Due to the progress of technology and the penetration of the
Internet in every daily activity, tourism and ICTs should be
increasingly combined in the next years, leading to the establishment
and proliferation of the e-tourism industry. The pursuit of the
determinant factors of e-tourism, as ICTs continue to evolve at
incredibly fast pace, needs much further investigation. SM are
indisputably a milestone in this evolution, so the analysis of their
impact upon tourism and travelers should be further researched in
forthcoming studies.

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Volume 12, Number 3, pp. 48-74
UDC: 338.48+640(050)

Emmanouil Stiakakis ([email protected]) University of

Macedonia, 156 Egnatia str., 54006 Thessaloniki, Greece, Tel: +30
2310891643

Maro Vlachopoulou ([email protected]) University of

Macedonia, 156 Egnatia str., 54006 Thessaloniki, Greece, Tel: +30
2310891867

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