THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE MARKETING COMMUNICATION IN THE TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY
In recent times, the impact of social media on marketing communication cannot be overemphasized. Social media has proven to have a significant role both on the demand and supply aspects of marketing communication within the tourism and hospitality industry. This has directly facilitated the interaction and reaction with visitors via various internet platforms as well as provide a platform for the evaluations of services and satisfaction rates. This review study analyses the research publications that focus on the changes in marketing communications after the introduction of social media in tourism. It recapitulates the main characteristics of social media and its implication on marketing communication strategies. Since there is no collection of data, this conceptual paper is based solely on a review and analysis of previous research done and data from the literature. The findings of this paper suggest that research on social media in the tourism and hospitality sector is still in its embryonic stage. Additionally, it infers that as part of tourism management and marketing strategy, the need to encourage more in depth research into the influence and impacts of social media on several facets of the tourism and hospitality industry, becomes highly necessary in this domain.