Siddhant- A Journal of Decision Making

The past decade has witnessed a remarkable shift in social and commercial connectivity between the marketers and prospective customers. This has led to numerous opportunities for the travel industry as well. The advancement of network systems and communication technologies paved the way for multi-faceted phenomenon of e-tourism marketing. Social media has primarily reshaped the way tourism allied information to be generated and distributed among users for travel planning. Influence of social media on the travel business is predicted to be remarkable, particularly on its holiday travel segment. This paper presents a comprehensive view of the role and influence of social media on the travel planning development, that is before, during and after the trip, providing directions on usage levels, influence and trust. During the pre-trip phase, it provides inspiration to potential travellers; in during-trip phase, travellers use social media for self-expression, communication and entertainment and in the course of after-trip phase, travellers use it for post-trip self-expression in the form of reviews and feedback. Travel-related information on social media sites has been found to impact significantly not only consumer decision-making but also marketing strategies. The tourism structure primarily rests upon information and communication technologies for promotional actions and developing customer relationships. Social media is increasingly viewed as the vital instrument for the examination of tourists’ attitudes and behaviour by the increased purchase level and recommendations to other users.