Impact of Social Media & Blogging to Promotion of Dubai as a Travel Destination

Introduction

Social media did not just change the definition and value of network communication, but it also created a new digital marketing influence unmatched by any other business medium used today (Koul, 2012). Prior to the evolution of social media, researchers and scientists rely on newsgroups and forums as methods of peer-peer communication via the Internet (Cambie, 2009,  p. 103). But social media has broken the hierarchical and formal tone of newsgroups into a “colloquial” environment to change ideas and thoughts using the Internet infrastructure.

From the bare components of newsgroups, social media has evolved into blogging. Although, there is no standard or authoritative definition of blogging, it can be said that blogging is a “powerful communication medium that you can use to facilitate dialogue among groups of all kinds of subject (Gardner, 2005)” in a “journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order. (Asselin, 2008, p. 30)” Moreover, in today's extended definition of blogging, it already covers social media networks wherein ideas or thoughts are exchanged in a blogging manner, but in a micro-blogging form.

As said earlier, social media and blogging influenced the marketing effort and behavior of new generation businesses. There are only two roads that businesses can tread on. It is either they willingly use social media in their marketing campaigns or they are forced to so because of the need to do it. In fact, it is said that it is impossible for businesses to survive the 21^st generation without joining the social media trend, or the Internet marketing as a whole (Mayar & Ramsey, 2011).

The impact of social media and blogging is overwhelming and wide. Not a single industry is left untouched by the power of the new generation media, including tourism. Tourism, which largely relies first, on the perception, and second, on the consumption of the people, is influenced by social media and blogging, like never before you. Travel agencies, tourism-based businesses, and even national government agencies, utilize this media to reach customers and boost sales.

Research Question

With the increased attention on social media and blogging and their causative relation with marketing behavior and direction, it is also necessary to review the impact of such toward tourism marketing, specifically on the promotion of Dubai as a travel destination. Mainly, it is essential to establish the necessity of using social media and blogging with regards to this respect. Is social media really important to marketing Dubai as a top UAE and global travel destination?

Second, after establishing the importance of social media and blogging, the question leads to more queries on the level of impact or intensity of necessity of this media. What are the marketing components associated with this media making it a top influence on the behavior of consumers? Third,  clear understanding of social media and blogging means comprehending how the media can be utilized to effectively result to its defined goals and objectives.

A complete knowledge of these questions can give travel agencies and other tourism-based businesses or organizations an overview of how their marketing campaign should be written and implemented. It provides them an analysis to review their current approach to the industry, as a whole. Nonetheless, it also gives possible routes that can be taken by these concerned individuals with regards to the achievement of their business goals and objectives.

Research Context

Blogging, which is the main stay of social media, reached its popularity peak and attention early 2000. And since then, it has evolved into different forms, though retaining the core platform of blogging. Several researches have been conducted and sponsored by national governments and tourism-based businesses to understand the correlation of tourism marketing and social media, and also to get a clear path on how use the media to promote the industry.

In fact, there have been several empirical studies conducted to clearly establish knowledge on this important part of Internet marketing. However, the confusion is still on, especially on the specific requirements of social media and blogging on the promotion of certain travel destinations. Questions like “how can a global network promote a local destination” and “how strong that impact can be” are the guiding posts of this study.

In the end, the ultimate goal of this study is to help travel agencies, national governments, and the academe in getting a glimpse of the vast resource of social media and blogging with regards to promotion of travel destinations like Dubai.

Literature Review

Social media is a very broad concept that defining it would be difficult and overly inappropriate. Why? Social media is a large spectrum of features that include “customer reviews, business blogs (Wilson, 2010)” and other information that are generated and created by users. Technically, social media is a network that allows users to share information without restriction from website administrators. Based on this definition, blogging is a component of social media. For instance, in Blogger.com, which is a free blogging platform of Google, you are allowed to post contents that just being end-users of contents made by Google.

Recent Internet technology and infrastructure developments widened the coverage of social media. Social networking is an additional value to social media. Roughly, social networking can be a “combination of forums, blogs, micro-blogs, photo-sharing, video-sharing, bookmark-sharing, online publishing...and any more traditional website structure that accepts posts... (ibid.)” Using this defnition, social media already branched into more active forms of micro-blogging such as Twitter and Facebook.

Right now, in just a click of button, you can already reach thousands of people through Twitter, or share a delightful view of Dubai through Instagram. Indeed, social media has expanded its sphere and coverage that ignoring can mean disadvantage.

Today's Consumer and Market Behavior

In the paper, “Consumer Objectives and the Amount of Search in Electronic Travel and Tourism Markets” Oorni (2004) discussed the exchange of information that allow “consumers to update their market knowledge more extensively that is feasible in most conventional consumer markets” via Internet infrastructure. The study speaks on the different variation of searches with regards to the tourism industry. In this perspective, Oorni discusses the importance of understanding the Internet infrastructure to better understand the value and marketing component of the tourism industry, and perhaps, the best direction that should be taken to capture the online market

Why? Online buying of services and goods have increased in recent years. In fact, a Nielsen study reveals that more than 85% of the world's population have made at least a single online purchase (Black, 2011, p. 349). This means that the number of people that trust online market has increased from a slim 35% percent in the past two years.

According to Bai, et. al. (2004), more people, specifically college students, would book their way to their top travel destinations via the Internet. In this new result, they found out that “college students are not only spending more on spring break travel but also they are also researching through the process more via the Internet.” Understanding from this basic concept, it can be said that individuals who are planning to travel during vacations or free time are more dependent on the Internet for information of the place they want to go, and the process of getting accommodation and booking to these destinations.

Although, most of the studies are confined on the Western countries like the United States, and such results may only relate to foreign tourism impact, but the rationale of these studies can also be applied on local tourism. As a whole, the behavior of consumers have changed with regards to tourism because the Internet provides an avenue for individuals to see visualization of the destination. Standing on traditional marketing concept, “to see is to believe” is still an axiom among consumers, whether virtual or not.

The major player of online consumer behavior is trust and confidence. According to Gao (2005), “four factors relate to trust in the virtual marketplace: perceived market orientation, site quality, technical trustworthiness, and the extent of user's Web experience.” And recent development of the tourism industry details the increasing number of people buying airline tickets, reserving hotel accommodation, and buying souvenirs through the Internet. This means that the perception of consumers on the tourism market has largely improved over the past few years. With such development, utilizing the Internet to reach consumers is an essential part of the marketing pitch that tourism-based businesses should consider.

Social Media Used in Tourism Rationale – Dubai Perspective

With a population of more than 7 million,  one-third of which is using Facebook to connect, interact, with communicate with people inside the country and around the world. The National also reported a $33 million income generated from e-commerce markets. Based on these reports, it is easy to construe that the United Arab Emirates has largely utilized online markets to boost the economy.

The main characteristics of blogging and social media is that “they enhance collaboration and sharing of information online because they are built around software that allows individuals to communicate and form communities using their computers. (Smith, et. al., 2012)” With more than one-third of the population utilizing social media networks and online commerce, communicating with these communities would be beneficial to the industry, as a whole.

Dubai is one of the most popular emirates of the entire country. In fact, Dubai is an important economic and tourism region of UAE. The increased impact of Dubai on the country made it an important part of the global environment. Infrastructures have been built in the region in an unprecedented manner – and it is impossible to ignore these facts.

As the number of people visiting Dubai, and the increased percentage of Internet infrastructure usage, utilizing blogging is an essential part of marketing. As “portable laptops, digital cameras, mobile phones, and other devices, along with related social media practices like blogging, are redefining (Germann & Molz, 2012)” the value “technologies of visualization” that are “converging with technologies of communication to produce new ways of seeing and staying in touch” with consumers. Following this rationale, it is easy to correlate the value of social media and blogging in promoting Dubai as a top global and local destination.

In the same manner, the value and essence of social media is deeply anchored on the reach it can make. Twitter accounts can send tweets to thousands of followers in just an instant click. This means a tweet can promote a destination to people across the planet in a short time. And as a mean of communication, these social networks provide a better and easier way for consumers to send queries and resolve issues with businesses.

Intensity of Social Media Impact

Now that we have clearly established the vitality of social media and blogging on promoting Dubai as a top destination, it is necessary to illustrate the intensity of blogging and social media on the marketing campaign. Basically, we can understand the impact of social media on the basis of (1.) visualization, (2.) reinforcement,  and (3.) communication.

Traditional tourism marketing relies on brochures that provide visualization of travel destinations. Recent developments of technology and tourism still establishes the truth that “modern tourism is dependent on photographic images that form the bulk of tourism brochures and other similar tools. (Burns, et. al., 2010).” Visual images that promote tourism products, cityscape and landscapes, and other visual places are very important to the creation of social culture on consumers.

The impact of blogging can be seen on how blogging platform works. Visualization in blogs provide consumers the best knowledge of cityscape and landscapes, and other tourism products. A marketing pitch that provides detailed pictures appeals to the visual emotion of a person, and eventually creates a desire on the mind of the person. Dubai is a beautiful place with grand landscapes, however, not all people get the picture of a modern city in the middle of the Middle East desert. With the aid of blogging, travelers can get a picture of the city and can get the most of the place even without actually going there yet.

Second, the impact of social media can be seen on how it connects a blog to another network. For instance, while a blog provides visualization of Dubai, Facebook reviews of various users can reinforce the marketing value of the blog. In the same manner, social media networks such as Twitter can provide the combination of text and visual links that will keep the pace of marketing. Compared to traditional marketing, the visualization can serve as the presentation of the product, but sales don't just happen through presentations. It is necessary for the salesperson to discuss things and keep the emotion high. This strategy can be effectively done by social media networks.

Lastly, it must be understood that these social networks are essential means to continue communication with consumers, even after they have seen the visualization. As social networks are equipped with direct message (Twitter), and personal message (Facebook), and other messaging system, there is no need for a traveler to get out of his or her mobile Facebook account to communicate with hotels in Dubai.

The value of social media relies largely on how well tourism-based businesses use it. Its importance is already established as a fact in online marketing, however, the realtime intensity and impact (on individual scale) is directly equated with the manner of using the platform of resource.

Why and Objectives

This research aims to develop a strong understanding on the correlative value and importance of social media and blogging to the promotion and marketing of travel destinations like Dubai. It intends to provide an overview on how well can Dubai reach other people across the planet, and not just local tourists, via the Internet infrastructure. This proposal seeks to explore the reception of social media and blogging in marketing travel destinations.

In the same manner, this proposal seeks to develop a recommendation on how to use social media and blogging in an effective manner. As stated above, the essential of social media and blogging is already clear, across different industries and across different parts of the world, however, its intensity and impact is largely dependent on how the media is used.

For members of the academe, this paper intends to give them an overview on the tourism industry of Dubai, as well as the environment of social media within the country. For tourism-based businesses, the study develops valuable information that they can use to get in touch with social media and blogging resources, and how to use this media to gain marketing influence. For the government, this research can be a valuable tool to help stakeholders grow and mature in handling tourism-based issues. Lastly, it is a jump start for bloggers who are looking for ways and methods to educate and foster social tourism culture in the emirate, and the entire country.

Research method

This research will gather information necessary to establish facts of this study through various methods such as:

* Research Questionnaires. This tool will be used to seek information from the sample with regards to quantitative data such as the number of people using social media networks, the number of individuals using blogs to get a view of destinations, and many more.

* Document Analysis. As there have been various statistical surveys conducted in this subject, it is necessary to get valuable information from this this resource.

* Interviews. To get a clearer understanding on the emotion, perception, and other observable personal information, interviews will be conducted by the research on a certain samples.

As there are various information and data that should be gathered, the research will focus on both quantitative and qualitative methods. In the same manner, limitations on resources restrict the researcher to a certain level of sampling. From the large population, samples will be taken randomly, with respect to convenience.

Research plan comments

In the process of conducting this research, there are certain limitations of the research that are of importance. First, it is necessary to understand that the research confidence is not affected by the number of samples to be considered. A certain level of statistical calculation is essentially taken into account to ensure that readers of this research get a trusted, reliable, and dependable information.

Second, with regards to the research resources that will be used, the researcher has certain limitations considered. Ethical considerations are kept in check to ensure that no right is being violated. For instance, personal questions relating to what they buy from online stores or from tourism stores, the research does not intend to explore that.

Third, the research understands that the research must include a random sample of more value and strength. However, resource limitations stop the researcher from expanding the sample to areas and aspects that may require bigger cost.

References/Bibliography

Asselin, K. (2008). Blogging: The Remediation of Academic and Business Communications. ProQuest.

Bai, B., et.al., (2004). Online Travel planning and COllege students: The Springbreak experience..The      Haworth Press.

Black, L. (2011). Business Statistics: For Contemporary Decision Making. John Wiley & Sons.

Burns, O., et.al. (2010). Tourism and Visual Culture: Methods and Cases. CABI.

Cambie, S. (2009). International Communications Strategy: Developments in Cross-Cultural. Kogan         Page Publishers.

Gao, Y. (2005). Web Systems Design And Online Consumer Behavior.. Idea Group Inc (IGI).

Gardner, S. (2005). Buzz Marketing with Blogs For Dummies. John Wiley and Sons.

Germann, J. & Molz, G. (2012). Travel Connections: Tourism, Technology and Togetherness in a Mobile World. Routledge.

Mayar, V & Ramsey, G. (2011). Digital Impact: The Two Secrets to Online Marketing Success. John          Wiley & Sons.

Oorni, A. (2004).  Consumer Objectives and the Amount of Search in Electronic Travel and Tourism          Markets. The Haworth Press.

Smith, L., et.al. (2012). The Cultural Moment in Tourism. Routledge.

Wilson, S. (2010). Social Media and Small Business Marketing. Sell Photos on Istockphoto.