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A study conducted by MASMI in cooperation with J. Fotis and Professor D. Buhalis

Are social media the secret to attracting Russian tourists to Cyprus?

Russian tourists are significantly influenced by social media when planning their holidays, according to a study conducted by international market research company MASMI in cooperation with John Fotis and Professor Dimitrios Buhalis, both from Bournemouth University’s School of Tourism. While Cyprus was among the top destinations considered by “web-empowered” Russian tourists…


Russian tourists
are significantly influenced by social media when planning their holidays, according to a study conducted by international market research company MASMI in cooperation with John Fotis and Professor Dimitrios Buhalis, both from Bournemouth University’s School of Tourism. While Cyprus was among the top destinations considered by “web-empowered” Russian tourists, it dropped to near the bottom of the list of countries which they actually visited, posing challenges for tourism stakeholders and marketers.

In explaining the rationale behind the study, John Fotis, a social media tourism researcher at Bournemouth University, stressed that “social media are becoming increasingly important in tourism, as for example 82% of US online consumers have checked web reviews, blogs and other online feedback for their travel-related decisions. Moreover, earlier this year it was revealed that Russia has the most engaged social networking audience worldwide. Given the fact that Russia has become Cyprus’ second most important incoming tourism market, and most promising in terms of per capita tourism receipts, we have decided to further examine the impact of social media on Russians’ holiday-related decisions.”

Through its online panel in Russia, MASMI surveyed 329 recent travellers to learn how they used social media to plan their holidays and choose a destination. The preliminary results were presented at the 3rd Annual EuroMed Conference in Business on 4 November in Nicosia and are a prelude to a more detailed study that will also explore the acceptance and usage of social media as marketing and communication tools by the Cyprus tourism industry.

Asked which countries they considered visiting for holidays, Russian online consumers ranked Cyprus 9th out of 24 countries. Topping the list of potential destinations was Turkey, followed by Egypt and Ukraine. While those were also the top three destinations they actually visited, Cyprus slipped to 23rd in terms of the country that respondents eventually travelled to.

“Cyprus is not making the most of opportunities to attract Russian tourists, as only 10% of those considering the island as a destination actually come here,” says MASMI CEO Dr Nicos Rossides. By contrast, Ukraine enjoys a 68% conversion rate, followed by Belarus (47%) and Turkey (45%). “Several factors could account for this, including costs, distance, and ease of obtaining visas,” adds Rossides. “However, Italy and Austria – both higher-cost markets with visa requirements – enjoy better conversion rates than Cyprus, so other variables such as feedback from travellers on social media sites might have a significant impact.”

Indeed, the study also found that 73% of Russian respondents visited social media sites when planning their trips, and 63% used such websites when they considered alternative destinations. In addition, 2 out of 3 respondents made changes to their holiday plans based on information they found on social media websites.

Top sources of information for Russian online consumers were reviews provided by other travellers in various social media websites (76%), friends and relatives (64%), travel shows/documentaries (45%), and official websites (41%). As far as trust of information is concerned, the views of friends and travellers were trusted 3 times as much as traditional communications through travel agents and advertisements. Moreover, almost 7 out of 10 agreed that they trust information about holidays provided by other travellers in various websites.

“Social media play an important role in travel behaviour, creating challenges for the marketing and communications industry,” concludes MASMI’s Rossides. “We found that consumers are engaged throughout their holiday process, using social media to stay in touch with friends and share experiences both during and after their holidays – and in that way creating greater engagement amongst this growing web community.”

“The fact that Cyprus enjoys high consideration but can do better in converting potential visitors from Russia is a significant finding,” adds Professor Dimitrios Buhalis, Established Chair in Tourism at Bournemouth University. “We look forward to exploring how tourism stakeholders in Cyprus are responding to the new reality imposed by social media in the next phase of our research.”

Profiles
Dr Nicos Rossides is Partner and Group CEO of MASMI, a leading independent market research agency with a network of offices across Europe and the Middle East. He has spent more than 25 years in market research and consulting, with particular experience in developing research infrastructures in emerging markets.

John Fotis is a tourism marketing consultant, currently on a PhD scholarship at the School of Tourism at Bournemouth University (UK), researching the impact of social media in travel-related consumer behaviour.

Professor Dimitrios Buhalis is Established Chair in Tourism at the School of Tourism at Bournemouth University (UK), Deputy Director of the International Centre for Tourism and Hospitality Research, elected President of the International Federation for Information Technologies in Travel and Tourism, and a member of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism.

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