FACTORS INFLUENCING DESTINATION IMAGE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE PRE-PURCHASE PERIOD OF TOURISM IN PAKISTAN

Authors

  • Javeria Ashfaq National University of Science & Technology
  • Asfandyar Khan Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
  • Urooj Zulfiqar Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
  • Mohib Ullah Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan

Keywords:

Destination image, User generated content, Information quality, Tourist’s motivation, Social media, Tourism and Pakistan

Abstract

Due to the technological advancements, people start depending on social media for various matters. As social media provides a tool for developing an image of the destination, it became an essential component in the process of decision-making regarding traveling. This study aims to investigate the influence of user-generated content (UGC), Information Quality (IQ) and Tourist’s Motivation (TM) on destination image through social media in the pre-trip period of tourism in Pakistan. The empirical analysis was conducted by using the survey method through online Google forms. Data was collected from social media (Facebook) users who were the members of the Facebook tourism groups in Pakistan. The findings of the study revealed that UGC does not significantly affect the destination image in the pre-purchase period. Whereas, information quality and tourist’s motivation significantly affect the destination image of Pakistani tourists. The research concludes that tourist’s motivation before experiencing tourism and the information they have exposed to plays a significant role in developing a destination image in the tourism market. Furthermore, this research contributes to the tourism sector of Pakistan by providing information regarding factors developing destination image. This information may help in developing a positive image of the destinations in Pakistan. Also, this study contributes by providing the tourism sector an understanding of the tourist’s behaviors in the pre-purchase period of traveling in Pakistan.

Author Biographies

Javeria Ashfaq, National University of Science & Technology

MS Scholar

Department of Mass Communication

Asfandyar Khan, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Ph.D. Scholar

Azman Hashim International Business School

Urooj Zulfiqar, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Ph.D. Scholar

Azman Hashim International Business School

Mohib Ullah, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan

Assistant Professor

Management Sciences

References

Adnan Hye, Q. M., & Ali Khan, R. E. (2013). Tourism-Led Growth Hypothesis: A Case Study of Pakistan. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 18(4), 303-313. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2012.658412

Akehurst, G. (2009). User generated content: the use of blogs for tourism organisations and tourism consumers. Service Business, 3(1), 51. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-008-0054-2

Alcázar, M. d. C. H., Piñero, M. S., & Maya, S. R. d. (2014). The effect of user-generated content on tourist behavior: the mediating role of destination image. Tourism & Management Studies, 10(ESPECIAL), 158-164.

Allameh, S. M., Khazaei Pool, J., Jaberi, A., Salehzadeh, R., & Asadi, H. (2015). Factors influencing sport tourists’ revisit intentions: The role and effect of destination image, perceived quality, perceived value and satisfaction. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 27(2), 191-207.

Ayeh, J. K., Au, N., & Law, R. (2013). “Do we believe in TripAdvisor?†Examining credibility perceptions and online travelers’ attitude toward using user-generated content. Journal of Travel Research, 52(4), 437-452.

Baloglu, S., & Mangaloglu, M. (2001). Tourism destination images of Turkey, Egypt, Greece, and Italy as perceived by US-based tour operators and travel agents. Tourism management, 22(1), 1-9.

Baloglu, S., & McCleary, K. W. (1999). A model of destination image formation. Annals of Tourism Research, 26(4), 868-897. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0160-7383(99)00030-4

Baloglu, S., & McCleary, K. W. (1999). US international pleasure travelers’ images of four Mediterranean destinations: A comparison of visitors and nonvisitors. Journal of Travel Research, 38(2), 144-152.

Beerli, A., & Martín, J. D. (2004). Factors influencing destination image. Annals of Tourism Research, 31(3), 657-681. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2004.01.010

Bhat, S. A., & Darzi, M. A. (2018). Antecedents of tourist loyalty to tourist destinations: a mediated-moderation study. International Journal of Tourism Cities, 4(2), 261-278.

Brien. (1991). Introduction to Information Systems in Business Management, Sixth Edition. Boston: Irwin.

Cai, L. A. (2002). Cooperative branding for rural destinations. Annals of Tourism Research, 29(3), 720-742. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0160-7383(01)00080-9

Chung, N., & Koo, C. (2015). The use of social media in travel information search. Telematics and Informatics, 32(2), 215-229. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2014.08.005

Comrey, A., & Lee, H. (1992). Interpretation and application of factor analytic results. Comrey AL, Lee HB. A first course in factor analysis, 2, 1992.

Crompton, J. L. (1979). An Assessment of the Image of Mexico as a Vacation Destination and the Influence of Geographical Location Upon That Image. Journal of Travel Research, 17(4), 18-23. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/004728757901700404

Crompton, J. L. (1979). Motivations for pleasure vacation. Annals of Tourism Research, 6(4), 408-424.

Crompton, J. L., & McKay, S. L. (1997). Motives of visitors attending festival events. Annals of tourism research, 24(2), 425-439.

Dann, G. M. (1981). Tourist motivation an appraisal. Annals of tourism research, 8(2), 187-219.

Eugenio-Martin, J. L., Martín Morales, N., & Scarpa, R. (2004). Tourism and economic growth in Latin American countries: A panel data approach.

Filieri, R., & McLeay, F. (2014). E-WOM and accommodation: An analysis of the factors that influence travelers’ adoption of information from online reviews. Journal of Travel Research, 53(1), 44-57.

Frias, D. M., Rodriguez, M. A., & Castañeda, J. A. (2008). Internet vs. travel agencies on pre-visit destination image formation: An information processing view. Tourism Management, 29(1), 163-179.

Gallarza, M. G., Saura, I. G., & GarcıÌa, H. C. (2002). Destination image: Towards a conceptual framework. Annals of tourism research, 29(1), 56-78.

Garg, A. (2013). A study of tourist perception towards travel risk factors in tourist decision making. Asian Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, 7(1), 47-57.

Gartner, W. (1993). Image formation process. In communication and channel systems in Tourism Marketing Uysal, M. & Fesenmaier, D. eds.

George, D. (2011). SPSS for windows step by step: A simple study guide and reference, 17.0 update, 10/e: Pearson Education India.

Gibson, H. J., Qi, C. X., & Zhang, J. J. (2008). Destination image and intent to visit China and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Journal of Sport Management, 22(4), 427-450.

GlobalWebIndex. (2019). GWI Social. Q4 2019 https://www.globalwebindex.com/reports/social.

Goodrich, J. N. (1978). The relationship between preferences for and perceptions of vacation destinations: Application of a choice model. Journal of Travel Research, 17(2), 8-13.

Hua, L. Y., Ramayah, T., Ping, T. A., & Jun-Hwa, C. (2017). Social Media as a Tool to Help Select Tourism Destinations: The Case of Malaysia. Information Systems Management, 34(3), 265-279.

Huang, J., Lee, Y., & Wang, R. (1999). Quality Information and Knowledge. Prentice Hall.

Hudson, S., Roth, M. S., Madden, T. J., & Hudson, R. (2015). The effects of social media on emotions, brand relationship quality, and word of mouth: An empirical study of music festival attendees. Tourism management, 47, 68-76.

Kang, J. (2011). Social media marketing in the hospitality industry: The role of benefits in increasing brand community participation and the impact of participation on consumer trust and commitment toward hotel and restaurant brands.

Kemp, S. (2019, 23, October,2019). The Global state od digital in October 2019. Retrieved from https://wearesocial.com/blog/2019/10/the-global-state-of-digital-in-october-2019

Khan, M. J., Chelliah, S., Khan, F., & Amin, S. (2019). Perceived risks, travel constraints and visit intention of young women travelers: the moderating role of travel motivation. Tourism Review, 74(3), 721-738.

Kim, S.-E., Lee, K. Y., Shin, S. I., & Yang, S.-B. (2017). Effects of tourism information quality in social media on destination image formation: The case of Sina Weibo. Information & Management, 54(6), 687-702. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2017.02.009

Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and psychological measurement, 30(3), 607-610.

Lawson, F., & Baud-Bovy, M. (1977). Tourism and recreation development, a handbook of physical planning (pp. 210pp.). London: Architectural Press.

Lee, Y. W., Strong, D. M., Kahn, B. K., & Wang, R. Y. (2002). AIMQ: a methodology for information quality assessment. Information & Management, 40(2), 133-146.

Li, M., Cai, L. A., Lehto, X. Y., & Huang, J. (2010). A missing link in understanding revisit intention—The role of motivation and image. Journal of travel & tourism marketing, 27(4), 335-348.

Lianto, N. (2014). Social media marketing: Why is social media one of the most important marketing tools.

Luo, Q., & 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, 274-282. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2014.07.007

Manzo, G. (2019). Travel & tourism economic impact 2019. World Travel & Tourism Council, London, UK.

Marchiori, E., & Cantoni, L. (2015). The role of prior experience in the perception of a tourism destination in user-generated content. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 4(3), 194-201.

Marine-Roig, E., & Clavé, S. A. (2016). Perceived image specialisation in multiscalar tourism destinations. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 5(3), 202-213.

Mark, S., Philip, L., & Adrian, T. (2009). Research methods for business students: Prentice Hall.

Martilla, J. A., & James, J. C. (1977). Importance-performance analysis. Journal of marketing, 41(1), 77-79.

McIntosh, R. W., Goeldner, C. R., & Ritchie, J. B. (1995). Tourism: principles, practices, philosophies: John Wiley and Sons.

Narangajavana, Y., Fiol, L. J. C., Tena, M. Ã. M., Artola, R. M. R., & García, J. S. (2017). The influence of social media in creating expectations. An empirical study for a tourist destination. Annals of tourism research, 65, 60-70.

Pike, S. (2002). Destination image analysis—a review of 142 papers from 1973 to 2000. Tourism Management, 23(5), 541-549. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261-5177(02)00005-5

Qi, S., & Chen, N. (2019). Understanding Macao’s destination image through user-generated content. Journal of China Tourism Research, 15(4), 503-519.

San Martín, H., & Del Bosque, I. A. R. (2008). Exploring the cognitive–affective nature of destination image and the role of psychological factors in its formation. Tourism Management, 29(2), 263-277.

Sarks, G. (2007). Consumer generated content in travel: a roadmap for bringing consumers into the conversation. Paper presented at the web-seminar presentation.

Senders, A., Govers, R., & Neuts, B. (2013). Social media affecting tour operators' customer loyalty. Journal of travel & tourism marketing, 30(1-2), 41-57.

Smith, K. (2019). 53 Incredible Facebook Statistics and Facts. Retrieved from https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/facebook-statistics/

Statistics, F. (2019). Accessed 20 October. https://newsroom.fb.com/company-info/

Steinfield, C., DiMicco, J. M., Ellison, N. B., & Lampe, C. (2009). Bowling online: social networking and social capital within the organization. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the fourth international conference on Communities and technologies.

Tapachai, N., & Waryszak, R. (2000). An examination of the role of beneficial image in tourist destination selection. Journal of Travel Research, 39(1), 37-44.

Tasci, A. D., & Gartner, W. C. (2007). Destination image and its functional relationships. Journal of Travel Research, 45(4), 413-425.

TRIBUNE, T. E. (2019). Tourism in Pakistan, https://tribune.com.pk/story/2105367/6-tourism-in-pakistan-3/.

UNWTO. (2019). International tourism continues to outpace the global economy. Retrieved from https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/pdf/10.18111/9789284421152

Vich-i-Martorell, G. À. (2004). The Internet and Tourism Principals in the Balearic Islands. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 5(1), 25-44. doi:https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.thr.6040003

Xiang, Z., & Gretzel, U. (2010). Role of social media in online travel information search. Tourism Management, 31(2), 179-188. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2009.02.016

Yoon, Y., & Uysal, M. (2005). An examination of the effects of motivation and satisfaction on destination loyalty: a structural model. Tourism management, 26(1), 45-56.

Zeng, B., & Gerritsen, R. (2014). What do we know about social media in tourism? A review. Tourism Management Perspectives, 10, 27-36. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2014.01.001

Downloads

Published

30.06.2021