Social Media's Impact on Tourism Business in India Report

This report investigates the impact of social media on the tourism industry in India. It explores the advantages, such as enhanced consumer behavior, brand awareness, and cost-effective marketing, alongside disadvantages like privacy concerns and the potential for negative word-of-mouth. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, including interviews with industry experts and surveys of consumers, to assess the influence of social media on consumer decision-making. The study focuses on primary and secondary research questions that delve into the impact of both positive and negative factors on consumer perceptions and decision-making processes within the Indian tourism sector. The methodology includes both qualitative and quantitative research methods to provide a comprehensive understanding of the topic. The report concludes with recommendations for tourism businesses in India regarding effective social media utilization and addresses the limitations of the research, such as time and budget constraints. The report aims to provide valuable insights for tourism businesses to improve their marketing strategies and enhance their online presence.

Advantage and disadvantage of using
social network in tourism business in
India
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction............................................................................................................................3
2. Project Objective....................................................................................................................3
3. Project Scope..........................................................................................................................3
4. Literature Review...................................................................................................................3
Advantages.............................................................................................................................3
Disadvantage..........................................................................................................................4
5. Research Questions/Hypothesis.............................................................................................5
Primary Question...................................................................................................................5
Secondary Questions..............................................................................................................5
6. Research Design and Methodology.......................................................................................5
Research philosophy..............................................................................................................5
Research approach.................................................................................................................6
Research design......................................................................................................................6
Qualitative research................................................................................................................6
Research strategy...............................................................................................................6
Sampling technique............................................................................................................7
Sample size.........................................................................................................................7
Quantitative research..............................................................................................................7
Research strategy...............................................................................................................7
Sampling technique............................................................................................................7
Sample size.........................................................................................................................7
Data collection methods.....................................................................................................8
Data analysis methods........................................................................................................8
7. Research Limitations..............................................................................................................8
8. Time Schedule....................................................................................................................8
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9. Conclusion............................................................................................................................10
10. Reference List....................................................................................................................11
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1. Introduction
In recent time the technological disruptive development has impacted many industries around
the world in regards to the way of doing the business traditionally. There is great deal of
dependency on the data or information in this industry. The people who are travelling, like to
gather as much as possible information regarding their schedule, location and other facilities
to reduce the risk associated with this process (Hudson and Thal, 2013). But there used to be
gap in the information and that place is now currently fulfilled by the social median. In recent
time the rapid internet penetration rate along with the increasing use of mobile devices
created appropriate environment for the social media popularity. The information gap is
fulfilled through the social media information source and this process also has high reliability
as the information provider is the original user (Bramwell, 2011). Considering this the
business in the tourism sector has to adapt with this situation by understanding the positive
and negative side of it.
2. Project Objective
The project would evaluate the current tourism business in India and how it is impacted by
the advantage and disadvantages of the social media network.
3. Project Scope
The specific design of the research would evaluate the advantage and disadvantage created by
the new social media on the tourism industry. For the location, the research would focus on
India which has a diverse population, language, culture and geographical area (Mishra et al.,
2011). So the exploration and information need from a tourist’s perspective would also be
diverse. It would be interesting to explore these needs and how the social media fits into this
by creating advantages and disadvantages to the industry.
4. Literature Review
In India the technological advancement, increasing use of the mobile phones, increasing
reach of mobile and internet connections has positively influenced the use of social media
which in turn like many other industry also impacted the tourism industry.
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Advantages
Consumer behaviour
Social media network is the forum where people share their views, experience and opinion
with their peers’ groups over the virtual technological platform (Fotis et al., 2012). On the
other hand the traveller gives a great important to the other travellers account. So in the social
media this becomes the base of interaction sometime (Sigala et al., 2012). The industries in
this sector can use this factor and influence positive consumer behaviour where they can
encourage their previous customer to share their experience on the platform.
Image building and brand awareness
In the social media the promotions are well targeted unlike the traditional media (Luo and
Zhong, 2015). So a presence in the social media becomes a must for the tourism sectors. In
India big of small venture in this sector has accepted this reality and interacts with their
customer through this media. A sense of belonging is generated from these virtual
communities and that is exploited by the sector to improve the awareness and image of the
brands (Hvass and Munar, 2012).
Time and cost saving
In India most of the business in this sector is not too organised or running on low budget
(Mishra et al., 2011). Under that circumstance they find it difficult to go for advertising
through the traditional media. There the social media provides a good opportunity to such
businesses to go online and promote their businesses through social media (Hudson and Thal,
2013). The activities on the social media are well targeted with much lower cost than the
traditional media. On the other hand because of the ease of use the larger organisations also
using this platform and that save a considerable time with more impact.
Disadvantage
Privacy became one of the important issues in the recent times. So any privacy rules violation
can impact the organisations adversely. Like the positive word of mouth on the social media,
the negative word of mouth also spread rapidly on this platform (Leung et al., 2013). So it
can create damage to the brand fast in the short run. The necessity of the social media in
Indian tourism sector is accepted but a proper dedicated approach can only make this process
a success. The spammer or some ill intendment mind can easily spread negative message
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about any tourism company or brand over the online social media and can cause great
damage to the brand (Luo and Zhong, 2015). Presence in the social network needs constant
update from the tourism brand which could be demanding sometime (Sigala et al., 2012).
The attention span of the consumer over this platform is very short so developing right
content with fast attention seeking power becomes the challenges sometime (Fotis et al.,
2012). Because of the huge interconnectedness, now the customers view lot of information on
this platform and there the information overload is a real scenario.
5. Research Questions/Hypothesis
The literature review shows the advantageous and disadvantageous aspect of the social
media. It also provided the information of the growing acceptance of the social median in the
tourism industry. But there is a need of the impact measurement of the advantage and
disadvantages. Considering this the research would focus on the following questions.
Primary Question
How much impact does theses advantageous and disadvantageous factors makes on the
consumer decision making in the tourism industry?
Secondary Questions
To understand the primary question of the research in depth the secondary question of the
research is formulated.
What is the impact of advantageous factors on the consumer perception making in the
tourism industry in India?
What is the impact of disadvantageous factor on the consumer perception making in the
tourism industry in India?
How the social media positive and negative factors impact the consumer decision making in
the tourism industry in India?
What are the recommendations for the tourism industry in India regarding the use of social
media for its promotion?
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6. Research Design and Methodology
Research philosophy
The current research is on the advantage and disadvantage of use of social media on the
Indian tourism industry. Considering this the positivism philosophy is found to be most
appropriate for the research. This philosophy is based on the actual observation and
measurement to gather the factual knowledge (Cooper et al., 2006). The researcher only plays
the role of data collector and the interpretation of those data is done through objective
methods.
Research approach
Considering the positivism approach of the research the deductive approach is found to be
most suitable for this current research (Bryman and Bell, 2015). The deductive approach of
research is based on the existing theory. The literature review would produce that theoretical
background. The impact of the social media’s advantageous and disadvantageous factor on
the Indian tourism industry is the subject of the research. Here the deductive approach of
research would analysis the impact of those factor on the customer perception and decision
making process by consulting the literature.
Research design
The research would use the qualitative and quantitative method to reach to its conclusion.
The different positive and negative factors of social media in the Indian tourism industry
would be analysed to understand the impact on the consumer perception about tourism
brands. On the other hand how those things would influence different consumer decision
making factors would also be analysed (Cooper et al., 2006). The qualitative and quantitative
method in this regard would prove wide range of information to provide appreciate
recommendation.
Qualitative research
The non numerical information would be gathered in the research through the qualitative
research (Bryman and Bell, 2015). This approach would be useful in the research to have the
general trend and opinion of the tourism industry in India regarding the social median use and
its advantage and disadvantage.
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Research strategy
The main research strategy for the qualitative research would be the interview process. Here
the information gather from the industry experts would be useful for the trend and opinion
determination (Zikmund et al., 2013). Here managers or the owners of different tour
operating businesses would be interviewed for this process.
Sampling technique
The selection process of the managers or the owners of the tour operator would be done
through the non probabilistic methods (Hair, 2007). That means they would be specifically
selected according to the convenience of the research.
Sample size
For the current research six managers or owners of the tour operator would be appropriate.
Quantitative research
In this part of the research the numeric data would be required. From the qualitative research
the general opinion and trend regarding use of social media in the Indian tourism industry
would be understood (Zikmund et al., 2013). For the further specific understanding about the
level of impact of those positive and negative factors the objective statistical quantifiable data
is required.
Research strategy
In the quantitative part of the research the survey questionnaire would be used. In the survey
questionnaire closed ended questions would be asked to gather the data which would be later
analysed to produce quantifiable observations (Hair, 2007). The customer of this industry
would asked these questions to develop the understanding about the level of impact of these
positive and negative aspect of the social media use in the Indian tourism industry. The data
would also be used to produce the insights about the impact it has in the consumer decision
making process.
Sampling technique
In this part the customer of the tourism industry would be surveyed. The selection of the
customer would be done through the probabilistic sampling method (Hair, 2015). That means
the selection would be based on the random process.
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Sample size
For the current research 80 consumer survey would be done. This size of sample would be
useful for the development of the correct insights for the research.
Data collection methods
In the research the secondary as well as the primary method of data collection would be used.
The secondary data are those which are already in existence. The sources like the books,
journals, research articles, govt records which are relevant in this research would be used as
the secondary sources of information (Saunders, 2011). On the other hand the primary
sources of information would be the interview and survey information. These are the new
sources of information. For the process of interview the questionnaire would be semi
structured where some open ended and some closed ended questions would be there. This
would help the research to find out the actual opinion and trend in the Indian tourism industry
regarding the use of social median.
Data analysis methods
The collected data from the qualitative interview method would be analysed through the
objective analysis. Here the patterns would be indentified from the replies of the managers or
owner of the tour operator business (Sekaran and Bougie, 2016). The data gathered through
the questionnaire would be analysed through the statistical approach.
7. Research Limitations
The main limitation of the research would be the time factor. Completing the research within
the time period would be a difficult task (Saunders, 2011). On the other hand the budget of
the research is also another constrain for the research.
8. Time Schedule
The project introduction is important as the starting approach of this process needs to be
correct and that is why this process is given 1 week time period. For the project scope,
purpose and objective analysis next week is dedicated and along with this process the
relevant secondary data would also be collected within this time period (Sekaran and Bougie,
2016). Next week will be dedicated for the literature review as this will form the base for the
research. Within in the literature review period the appropriate methodology for the research
would also be decided. Primary data collection would be laborious process and there
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minimum 1 week would be required (Hair, 2015). After that nest two week would used for
the data analysis and conclusion and recommendation development.
Criteria Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6
Introduction
Defining
project
objectives,
scope and
purpose
For collecting
the secondary
type of data.
For conducting
review of the
Literature
Contemplating
and developing
appropriate
Methodology
for the research.
Completing
primary data
collection
For the
completion of
data analysis of
the primary
data
For the
development of
the conclusion
and
recommendatio
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n
9. Conclusion
In recent time the business especially in the tourism industry are developing strategies for the
social media purpose (Leung et al., 2013). The use of social media in this sector has
increased. Many businesses have learned the right approach which is able to balance the
advantage and disadvantage of this process. An actual impact analysis of these advantages
and disadvantages on the perception of the customer and hence on their purchase decision
making process in the Indian tourism industry, would helps to provide effective
recommendations to the business for their social media strategy.
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10. Reference List
Bramwell, B., (2011). Governance, the state and sustainable tourism: A political economy
approach. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 19(4-5), pp.459-477.
Bryman, A., and Bell, E. (2015). Business research methods. Oxford University Press, USA.
Cooper, D. R., Schindler, P. S., and Sun, J. (2006). Business research methods(Vol. 9). New
York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Fotis, J., Buhalis, D., and Rossides, N. (2012). Social media use and impact during the
holiday travel planning process (pp. 13-24). Springer-Verlag.
Hair, J. F. (2007). Research methods for business.
Hair, J. F. (2015). Essentials of business research methods. ME Sharpe.
Hudson, S., and Thal, K. (2013). The impact of social media on the consumer decision
process: Implications for tourism marketing. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 30(1-
2), 156-160.
Hvass, K. A., and Munar, A. M. (2012). The takeoff of social media in tourism. Journal of
Vacation Marketing, 18(2), 93-103.
Leung, D., Law, R., Van Hoof, H., and Buhalis, D. (2013). Social media in tourism and
hospitality: A literature review. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 30(1-2), 3-22.
Luo, Q. and Zhong, D., (2015). Using social network analysis to explain communication
characteristics of travel-related electronic word-of-mouth on social networking sites. Tourism
Management, 46, pp.274-282.
Mishra, P. K., Rout, H. B., and Mohapatra, S. S. (2011). Causality between tourism and
economic growth: Empirical evidence from India. European Journal of Social
Sciences, 18(4), 518-527.
Saunders, M. N. (2011). Research methods for business students, 5/e. Pearson Education
India.
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Sekaran, U., and Bougie, R. (2016). Research methods for business: A skill building
approach. John Wiley & Sons.
Sigala, M., Christou, E., and Gretzel, U. (Eds.). (2012). Social media in travel, tourism and
hospitality: Theory, practice and cases. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd..
Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B. J., Carr, J. C., and Griffin, M. (2013). Business research methods.
Cengage Learning.
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