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Are global travel organizations undervaluing regional Social Media?

Despite widespread prominence of social networking use across the travel industry, less than 10% of respondents to a new study cited any engagement with key regional social networks.

NEW YORK – Travel industry engagement in the major global social platforms – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube – is nearly universal. Social networks now play a considerable – and growing – role in travel companies’ marketing, customer engagement and service, according to The State of Social Media in Travel, a new study from travel industry research authority PhoCusWright.

However, despite widespread prominence of social networking use across the travel industry, less than 10% of respondents to a new study cited any engagement with key regional social networks. In China, home to the world’s largest social networking population and where nearly all Chinese travelers are active on local social platforms, only 6% of travel companies are currently active on some of the most popular social networks, such as Sina Weibo.

“Given the scope of our study, it was quite surprising to see that so few travel companies are engaged in regional social networks,” says Douglas Quinby, PhoCusWright’s vice president, research. “These platforms are especially important in fast-growing markets like China. Any travel organization with a shred of global ambition needs to appreciate global social media diversity and begin tackling those platforms in key markets important to their growth.”

PhoCusWright’s The State of Social Media in Travel, focuses on the role and implications of social media across all sectors of the global travel industry. Based on extensive consumer research and a global industry survey of nearly 600 travel companies, this study focuses on travel companies’ uses, strategies, activities, successes and management of social media.

Topics include:

  • Social demand across geographies, including how travelers across the U.S. and Europe use social networks
  • Travel companies’ use of social networks and benchmarks across
    – Organic posting tactics
    – Advertising
    – Customer service
    – Implementation of social applications such as booking engines and social logins
    – Social network monitoring practices and tools used
    – Overall social management, including budgeting and staffing
  • The impact of mobile on social media
  • Detailed segmentation by industry sector
News Editor - TravelDailyNews Media Network | + Posts

Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.

She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.

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