Gone are the days when people would book vacations after looking at a pamphlet they received in the mail. Everyone wants to know and see as much about a place before they arrive there. I can totally understand that though.
Honestly, I find planning vacations almost as much fun as being on the vacation. You can take time out your day to mentally be on your vacation already. Looking at pictures and videos of your vacation destination is always great because you can actually visualize it. I also love to read consumer reviews. Listening to peoples personal experiences helps readers get a better feel for how the guests actually experience the destination. Social media is a place where pictures, videos, and consumer reviews collide and it is the next big play ground for travel communication.
A study was published by the International Journal for Tourism Management titled The Role of Social Media in Online Travel Information search. The authors, Xiang and Gretzel, found that the sites with the strongest SEO were the ones using in many forms of social media. With several different social media platforms you can utilize collaborative tagging which increases your search engine optimization and increase the likelihood that people doing travel research find your information.
As more social media platforms emerge the opportunities for online travel marketing will continue to change and expand. I’m going to go take a mental vacation somewhere. I advise you do the same.
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