Social media and consumer buying decisions in tourism: The case of Turkey

Social media play an important role in the consumer's decision-making process in tourism as they do in many other business areas. Tourism and hospitality marketers may reach more potential consumers in a shorter time and at a lower cost through the active use of social media. This study examines the influence of social media on the decision-making process and online buying trends of tourism consumers and the potential relationships between participant demographics and some of the variables such as information obtained from social media, use of social media for tourism services, the act of buying, influence and intention to share travel experiences. A survey method was used to collect data from various social media users, and Structural Equation Modeling was employed for the data analysis. According to the results; statistically meaningful relationships were found between the variables of knowledge about tourism services in the media and perceptions of use, influence on customers, intention to share experiences and the act of buying tourism and hospitality services.