What Does Social Media mean for Tourism?

It's All About Connections

It is vital that the Tourism Sector in emergeing markets be aware of the changes to the way the internet is being used around the world- and the implications this has for the way travel is distributed, marketed and sold. We have now entered the second wave of the web- commonly called Web 2.0. After a decade of gathering information online- we are now beginning to actually use it in our every day lives- as less of a tool and more of a lifestyle accessory. Web 2.0 is the participatory internet. This revolution was created by the programming language XML (extensible markup language) which has changed the way the web works. This new way of coding the web has meant that content can now be freed from the restraints of form and structure, allowing content to be shared, published and distributed without its surrounding web page format.

This has revolutionized the Internet and created an open database driven internet that allows user to utilize and manipulate (but also create and upload) content without knowledge of online programming or process. This has made content the driver and core asset of the web- and has made rich, flexible, customizable and web friendly content extremely valuable.

In a Web 2.0 environment content is

• The most important part of any online presence
• Able to be easily aggregated, categorized and sorted
• Sharable via varying channels and formats
• Often generated directly by the user
• Increasingly highly visual, with less text and more images and video

Information can be linked, related or connected by content alone- and this has significantly changed the way content is accessed, as users move away from searching and selecting from lists in a linear journey from enquiry to result. Users may see information aggregated in a personalized site, updated by a syndication system, and tagged, reviewed or updated by other users. The web is now often mapped by ‘tag clouds’ in which masses of relevancy-weighted information surround an initial point of interest.

The organization and structure of the web is largely defined and managed by its users. ‘ Tagging’ means applying labels to web content that describe it. This makes them searchable and sort-able by users. Tags can be applied by both suppliers and users- if a site allows them to. Popular Web 2.0 sites such as YouTube, Flickr and Gmail, work on user tagging systems. Increasingly, tagging and recognition of users identities via cookies means that XML websites are increasingly tailored to the users and that users each have a completely different experience of the website, making it their version of the site.

This environment of manageable, categorized content also allows XML to facilitate data exchange- which means that we can combine data from different sources into a single web page or application. This process is known as ‘Mashing’ and has become very important to tourism by allowing user generated content (UGC) to be embedded into supplier sites. The mashing of tourism content and links into online maps has created huge opportunities for the promotion and management of tourism resources in a highly visual and interactive manner.

With users effectively controlling the web, and gathering, combining and using data in their everyday lives- it is inevitable that creation of content by users has become widespread- and web logs ‘blogs’ are now being published at the rate of one very half second. Photo sharing and video logs ‘vlogs’ are now also becoming popular. People are increasingly being connected to each other online by sharing information and are forming social relationships with people who share common interests. The limitless scope of these relationships has created vast social networks of connected users- and the term social networking describes this highly personal, data driven form of interaction.

Personal sites such as Myspace and Facebook have become a part of many peoples’ everyday lives- a centre for extending, updating and managing the content within their social network. The implications for tourism in such an online environment are vast. Potential travellers now have access to vast repositories of travel information, reviews and multimedia, often generated by members of social networks they are part of, and published and shared without bias or vested interest. Travelling is largely a social activity, especially for the youth and independent travel market- and travel networks such as WAYN (Where Are You Now) allow users to interact, share information, advice and reviews while they are travelling. It is little wonder that this information is viewed as more credible and reliable than promotional information or official destination information- and is now a vital ingredient in the decision making processes for travel.

As social network marketing becomes widespread, many destinations and suppliers are forming partnerships with UGC aggregators and publishers to share and mash content. This content plays a major role in awareness and selection of destinations and travel suppliers, and is a key element in the distribution chain.  With this decision made, web users are now using the web to book their travel. This can be done directly with suppliers, or via Online Intermediaries- which are essentially web evolved travel agencies. Intermediaries provide access to huge databases of customizable travel inventory that allow users to design and build a completely personalized trip via ‘dynamic packaging’. Alternatively, meta-search sites- such as kayak.com will allow the user to search across multiple supplier sites to aggregate and compare products by cost, quality or other personal preferences.

Achieving this means having XML enabled supplier sites or destination management systems that can provide realtime access to inventory of rooms, seats and travel product, supported by the ability to transact via e-commerce.