The Use of Social Media To Promote European Tourism Worldwide An Analysis of The European National Tourism Organisations' Usage of Social Media Promotion in Overseas Markets

Student: Alexandra Antonescu
The use of social media to promote European

tourism worldwide
An analysis of the European National Tourism Organisations
usage of social media promotion in overseas markets
Thesis submitted to obtain the grade of Master of Communication Studies New Media and
Society in Europe
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Pieter Ballon
Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Faculteit Letteren en Wijsbegeerte
Study area Communication Studies
Academic year 2012-2013
Abstract
Author: Alexandra Antonescu

Title: The use of social media to promote European tourism worldwide
University: Vrije Universiteit, Brussels
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Pieter Ballon
Year: 2012-2013
Words: 39,113
Keywords: social media, e-marketing, tourism, key performance indicators for social media,
behavioural targeting, China, Brazil, USA, Canada, travellers, European tourism
Topic
Social media are still not a very well known territory for many organisations. Does this means of
promotion increase tourist arrivals? What are the KPIs to be taken into account when measuring
success? Are European NTOs prepared for overseas markets and emerging economies? These are the
main questions this thesis tackles through the theoretical and empirical research. The study is divided
into 3 theoretical chapters and an empirical part containing expert interviews and a survey. The paper
can take the form of a short analysis on how different European National Tourism Organisations use
social media to promote their destinations. The main focus is on overseas markets, such as Brazil,
Canada, China and USA.
Summary
The increased popularity of social networks enabled a multitude of theories to appear. What is then,
the most successful social media strategy in the context of the tourism sector? The paper presents
current tourism trends in Europe, definitions and characteristics of social media and the ways in which
social media are used in tourism.
The world wide web is part of most peoples everyday lives. In such a connected world, reaching a
target group can be both simple and challenging. On one hand, there is immense potential to track
users online and sometimes offline behaviours, but, on the other hand, the competition for eyeballs
is fierce. Also, as users tastes evolve and their interests become more sophisticated, they move into
niche groups. In this case, finding and choosing the right channels to reach the target group can
prove to be difficult. Understanding how social media work, which metrics are more relevant to the
business goal, and what tone should be used might make a difference.
Europe has recently lost market share in terms of tourist arrivals, due to factors such as political
unrest, socio-economic uncertainties and the global recession. On the other hand, emerging markets,
such as Brazil and China have increased living standards, and many begin to enjoy disposable incomes
that they can spend on tourism. The North American market is still the main source of tourists for
Europe as travellers feel culturally connected to Europe. People have different travel behaviours, thus,
the study analyses each of the four markets, presenting a SWOT analysis and current trends in social
media and tourism.
There seems to be a lack of clarity as to what businesses should be doing when engaging with users
on social networks. According to a PhoCusWright study, travellers do not use social networks with the
primary intent of booking travel. Friends recommendations and travel guidebooks still remain the
main basis when choosing a destination. However, not being present on social media is not an option
anymore. Bombarded by hundreds of brands every week, to be forgotten is not a cost many
organizations are willing to pay.
Although there is a multitude of metrics available now, it is still unclear which are the most relevant.
Indeed, the answers are not clear and successful strategies might be those that adapted their social
media efforts to the business goal. As always, technology is constantly changing and todays Digital
Natives might be facing a world where they can double-tap in order to get more information almost
everywhere. Augmented reality and automated surveillance systems can improve the travel
experience and offer innovative means to reach the travellers information needs.
The paper triangulates theoretical information with an empirical part. Expert in depth interviews were
held with European tourism professionals and a survey was sent to European National Tourism
Organisations.
The study can be seen as a short analysis of social media in the tourism sector, from the beginning of
web 2.0 to current and future trends. It aims to help tourism marketers in their efforts to promote
European destinations.
The use of social media to promote European

tourism worldwide
Alexandra Antonescu
Declaration
I solemnly declare that I have written this masters thesis The use of social media to
promote European tourism worldwide myself.
I am aware of the rules of plagiarism and have therefore ensured that these have been
applied in this masters thesis.
Date:
Name: Alexandra Antonescu
Dear Alexandra Antonescu,

Herewith, I would like to give you consent to use currently unpublished sources for your
Masters Thesis. These sources include:
The US Outbound Travel Market
The E-Marketing Handbook vol 2.
Best regards,
Stefanie
Stefanie GALLOB
Project Manager
Research & Development
European Travel Commission (ETC)
Rue du March aux Herbes 61
1000 Brussels - BELGIUM
tel: + 32 2 - 548 9000
fax: + 32 2 - 514 18 43
email: Stefanie.Gallob@visiteurope.com
www.visiteurope.com / www.etc-corporate.org
Table of Contents
The use of social media to promote European tourism worldwide: an introduction11

Part I : Theoretical framework .............................................................................14
Chapter 1: General theories and trends regarding the use of social media in
tourism ................................................................................................................15
1.1. What is social media? .................................................................................... 15
1.2. Social media in tourism .................................................................................. 25
1.3. Targeting the right traveller ............................................................................. 40
Chapter 2: Social media and tourism in key markets ............................................46
2.1. Brazil .......................................................................................................... 46
2.2. Canada ......................................................................................................... 56
2.3. China ............................................................................................................ 65
2.4. USA .............................................................................................................. 76
Chapter 3: Effectiveness of social media to promote European tourism ...............85
3.1. Key performance indicators ............................................................................ 85
3.2. Successful social media strategies ................................................................... 91
3.3. Future trends in social media promotion for tourism ............................................ 98
Part II : Empirical research ................................................................................108
Methodology ......................................................................................................109
Interpreting the data .........................................................................................116
Expert interviews ....................................................................................... 116
Survey ...................................................................................................... 126
Conclusions ............................................................................................... 134
Using social media to promote European tourism worldwide: a conclusion .........137

Shortcomings and recommendations for future research ....................................142
Acknowledgments ...............................................................................................143
Bibliography ........................................................................................................144
Appendix .............................................................................................................153
List of figures and appendices

Figures
Figure 1: The honeycomb of social media
Figure 2: The Conversation Prism
Figure 3: American travellers indicating they were very/extremely confident in
various media sources for destination and travel supplier decisions (%)
Figure 4: The influence of social media on planning of leisure travel
Figure 5 Social media and tourism domain within the context of using a search engine
Figure 6: Composition of social media represented in Google
Figure 7: Social media usage for travel purposes.
Figure 8: Social media sites used for travel purposes
Figure 9: Do you use travel recommendations?
Figure 10: Do you use social media communities for travel purposes on mobile devices/smart phones,
etc.?
Figure 11: Top 10 destinations visited by Brazilian travellers by arrivals and nightsEurope and World
Figure 12: Segments of Brazilian travellers
Figure 13: Europe-specific themes among Brazilian travellers
Figure 14: Top 10 destinations visited by Canadian travellers by arrivals and nights World and Europe
Figure 15: Internet users as a percentage of the Canadian population
Figure 16: Canada leads video in viewing online videos
Figure 17: Share of time spent (%) by content
Figure 18: European NTOs offices in Canada
Figure 19: Top 15 destinations visited by Chinese travellers by arrivals and nights World and Europe
Figure 20: European countries with NTO websites in simplified Chinese, January 2012
Figure 21: Some European NTOs in China by location and type of office, January 2012
Figure 22: US Citizen Travel to Overseas in 2012
Figure 23: Ranking of the US Outbound by Arrivals 2011 (000)
Figure 24: Global tourism expenditure
Figure 25: The Landscape of Social Media Users
Figure 26: The recommendation eco-system
Figure 27: The augmented view provided by the Smartphone application Yelp
Figure 28: The interactive AR experience at the Inamo restaurant in London
Figure 29: The Holiday Inn AR experience
Figure 30: The Nearest Tube augmented reality application allows visitors to easily find the nearest
station in London
Figure 31: Google Glass
Figure 32: 2011 Advanced Optical Systems
Appendices
Appendix 1: The Evolution of The Conversation Prism
Appendix 2: Travel only social networks
Appendix 3: Europes share of Chinese market
Appendix 4: China long haul outbound travel
Appendix 5: Social, digital and mobile in China
Appendix 6: A new framework for measuring social media activity
Appendix 7: A demographic portrait of users of various social media services
Appendix 8: Interview transcriptions
Appendix 9: Survey
Appendix 10: Social media timeline
10
The use of social media to promote European tourism worldwide: an

introduction
Europe is still the number one tourist destination on the globe, but in recent years it has lost market
share against developing economies. Since tourism is still a significant part of many countries GDP,
generating direct and indirect revenues, the question is then, how can National Tourist Organisations
better promote their destinations and Europe as a whole, so as to create more jobs and economic
growth.
The paper focuses on issues such as social media and tourism trends. Also, it sheds light on how
European National Tourism Organisations use them, including strategies developed and ways to
measure success and raise awareness of their tourist destinations in overseas markets. The study
explores the link between overseas tourists expectations and social media usage. The focus is on
markets such as USA and Canada as the high number of tourist arrivals comes from North America.
However, I will also focus on emerging BRIC economies such as Brazil as they represent an exciting
opportunity for the future. Moreover, as the Chinese economy is growing stronger, the number of
Chinese tourists coming to Europe is forecasted to continue to grow in the coming years.
The question is whether the European tourism sector has enough resources to create a strong social
media brand awareness and a coherent strategy in overseas markets. Therefore, I tested if the shift
from one-to-many communication flows towards the many-to-many approach needed in the social
media promotion is understood by European National Tourist Organisations. My premise is that size
metrics such as the number of Likes and Followers are preferred to Engagement. If
this is the case, it may have consequences on the quality of relationships established with potential
tourists and thus in the power to influence their future travel behaviour. Also, I would like to test if
European NTOs are prepared for emerging markets such as Brazil and China, considering the
language barriers and in the case of China, internet regulations.
Generation Y, those born between 1980 and early 2000 have significantly different travel behaviours
than Baby Boomers. They are more interested in exploration, having different experiences and
connecting. Also, Digital Natives will expect no less than to be able to plan their trip online anytime
and have a digital environment while travelling. Thus, the tourism industry needs to adapt to these
changes in order to keep up the pace. As social media are all about creating communities, sharing
experiences and networking, it is and will continue to be a valuable tool to attract tourists. However,
the question is how efficient is social media in attracting tourists travel decisions as word-ofmouth continue to be the most influential factor when choosing a destination.
Therefore, I propose the following research questions:
11
1. What is the relevance of social media promotion when influencing travel behaviour?
2. Are European NTOs prepared to promote their destinations to overseas markets through social
media?
3. What are the most influential KPIs of NTOs social media strategies?
The European tourism sector faces many challenges today due to the unstable economic situation.
Building a strong, unitary and appealing image of Europe is a powerful message for the world to start
investing again in the old continent. As Europe has great sites and a rich cultural heritage, tourism is a
significant drive to its economy and needs to be promoted efficiently in order to rise to global
standards.
The European tourism industry has shown a decrease in market share due to the economic slowdown
in the continent. I believe it is beneficial to develop a sound strategy for promoting Europe in overseas
markets. As the usage of social media is increasing rapidly, now more than ever due to the popularity
of mobiles and tablets, it is essential for European Tourism Organisations to be present across multiple
platforms and channels. In just a few years, the conversation shifted from why use social media to
what is the right social media strategy. The choice of promotion channel can have a substantial
impact on the overall marketing strategy; therefore I believe it is essential to have a strong social
media strategy to meet the demands of the digital age.
Firstly, the paper presents a set of definitions regarding social media and establishes the key
characteristics of this medium. The following subchapter explores the relevance of using social media
for influencing travel behaviour. Therefore, social media trends in tourism are analysed. Furthermore,
the topic of using the right channel for a specific target group is addressed. The use of behavioural
targeting as well as controversial privacy issues are also discussed here.
The next chapter will provide an overview of the four key markets: USA, Canada, China and Brazil in
terms of tourism and social media trends. The aim is to observe the number of international arrivals,
as well as tourists behaviour while and before travelling to Europe. Also, in terms of internet usage I
will observe the link between heavy social media users and the most likely group to travel to European
destinations.
In the third part of the study, the focus is on social media effectiveness. An analysis of key
performance indicators is provided for the most popular social media channels, such as Facebook,
Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn. I then present paid and free monitoring tools available and make a few
recommendations on how to measure success. However, achieving results is also a matter of
creativity and some National Tourist Organisations developed successful social media strategies which
are presented here. Finally, I discuss future trends in social media promotion for tourism, including
augmented reality.
12
Combining qualitative and quantitative methods, the study aims to provide a more thorough
understanding on the topic. Therefore, I conducted 5 expert interviews with tourism e-marketing
professionals working for National Tourism Organisations. After observing trends and expert opinions,
a questionnaire was sent to National Tourist Organisations.
In the next chapter, future recommendations are given for both further research and social media
strategies. Shortcomings and limitations of the thesis are also discussed here. Lastly, conclusions are
drawn, illustrating the findings from both the empirical and theoretical research.
13
Part I: theoretical framework
14
Chapter 1: General theories and trends regarding the use of social media
The following chapter aims to organise the multitude of opinions and articles related to social media
and to offer a working definition and classification of the term. The starting point will be the
development of Web 1.0 moving then towards the Symbiotic Web and social media trends.
The following sub-chapter tackles issues such as social media in the tourism industry and how it
influences travel decisions. Finally, I discuss targeting techniques, specifically behavioural targeting
and what effect it has on consumers privacy.
1.1. What is social media?
From Web 1.0 to the social web and beyond

Developed in the early stages of the World Wide Web, Web 1.0 had a top-down approach with
information being closed to external editing. Content was edited only by the webmaster whose main
aim was to present information, much as a catalogue or brochure does. For instance, e-commerce
sites fall into the category of web 1.0.
The writing style is mostly impersonal, professional and
descriptive, whereas the linking structure offers little interaction between sites. However, some of the
web 1.0 apps offer a certain degree of interactivity (e.g. submitting forms). Unlike Web 2.0, Web 1.0
ignores the power of networks and sees the Web as a publishing, not a participatory tool.
The essential difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 is that in Web 1.0 the vast majority of users
acted simply as consumers of content, whereas Web 2.0 has a rather democratic nature, encouraging
user-generated content. In Web 2.0, a large number of niche groups (collections of friends) can
exchange content and tag, comment, and link to both intragroup and extragroup pages. A popular
innovation in Web 2.0 are mashups, which allows users to combine content in original forms. For
example, street addresses present in a classified advertisement database are linked with a map
website to visualize the locations. Such crosssite linkage captures the generic concept of creating
additional links between records of any semistructured database with another database.1
This developmental step is characterized by social media and the intersection of web application
features that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and
Balachander Krishnamurthy, Graham Cormode, Key differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 in
First Monday, Volume 13 Number 6, 2 June 2008
15
collaboration. Typical examples of Web 2.0 include wikis, blogs, social networking sites, music and
video sharing sites, as well as web applications and folksonomies. (OReilly 2009; Gehl 2011).2
Moving further, Web 3.0 or the Semantic Web is a project that intends to analyse all the data on the
Web, namely the content, links and transactions between people and computers. The Semantic Web
involves publishing in languages specifically designed for data, such as Resource Description
Framework (RDF), Web Ontology Language (OWL) and Extensible Markup Language (XML). HTML
language illustrates the links between documents. RDF, OWL, and XML, by contrast, can describe
arbitrary things such as people, meetings, or airplane parts.3 Key concepts and ideas behind the
semantic web were invented by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who defines the semantic web as a web of data
that can be processed directly and indirectly by machines. Therefore, a distinct feature of Web 3.0
lies in that machines become able to perform more of the tedious work involved in finding, combining,
and acting upon information on the Web.
Beyond the Semantic Web, technologies of the future prepare for Web 4.0, also known as the
Symbiotic Web - an era where humans and machines become one. This includes better integration of
digital technologies allowing the human mind and smart machines to interact using integrated Web
3.0 and 4.0 technology concepts. An important note here is that this technology is still in the design
phase and no clear definitions are yet available.
We can summarize the key developmental phases of the Web in the following way:
Web 1.0: Content distribution and consumption
Web
2.0:
Social
media
participation,
user-centered
design,
user-generated
content,
information sharing, interoperability, and collaboration
Web 3.0: Semantic Web, machine-to-machine communication
Web 4.0: Web services integration, Web 3.0 + Artificial Intelligence
For the purpose of this study we will focus on Web 2.0 technologies as these uses mainly the power of
social networks and the way they are used by consumers and businesses to collaborate and create
value.
Jari Kaivo-oja & Leo Westerlund, Digital Evolution: From Information Society to Ubiquous Society,
Dynamic Futures Lahti University of Applied Sciences Series A, Research reports, part 17. Series Editor
Ilkka Vnnen
3
Wikipedia, Semantic Web, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_Web, last consulted on 12
December 2012
4
Jari Kaivo-oja & Leo Westerlund, Digital Evolution: From Information Society to Ubiquous Society,
Dynamic Futures Lahti University of Applied Sciences Series A, Research reports, part 17. Series Editor
Ilkka Vnnen
16
If traditional media uses a one-to-many approach, new media communications and especially social
networks are rather interactive, the communications flow being many-to-many. If we think about
mediums such as television, radio and print we can easily see that they provide the means to easily
distribute a message to a large audience. However, targeting the consumer cannot be done as
precisely as on the internet. Of course, one can assume that a certain TV show is watched by a
distinct group of the society and therefore place a relevant ad in the commercial break or use product
placement in the show. However, there is no way of knowing how the people react to the commercial
and little control over the phenomenon of zapping (changing the channel during the commercial
break). Moreover, for advertisers, traditional media continues to be very expensive.
On the other hand, word-of-mouth seems to be the most trustworthy source of information when it
comes to choosing a certain brand or destination. More than 90%5 of consumers trust friends
recommendations over other forms of advertising. With that in mind, social media, an online version
of word-of-mouth, offers a huge potential for marketers to promote their brands due the mediums
highly interactive form.
Granitz and Ward note that Internet word-of-mouth (WOM) differs from traditional WOM in that the
Internet provides consumers with a large and diverse set of opinions about products and services from
individuals with whom they have little (or no) prior relationship. In addition to the anonymity enabled
by the internet, online WOM can also provide consumers higher quality advice from people with
greater expertise. (E.g. Specialized online forums, travel review websites etc.). On the downside, the
motives of the user providing the information may be difficult to assess. However, the presence of
negative information along with positive information has been found to increase message credibility
(Crowley & Hoyer, 1994; Pechmann, 1992).6
Another reason for using WOM concerns the consumers desire to reinforce their decisions and reduce
cognitive dissonance. Consumers find Internet WOM particularly useful for decisions that are risky,
important or infrequent. They use it as a surrogate when stronger-tie sources of WOM are not
available, such as for travel and gift decisions.
Visual.ly, Social media vs. traditional media, http://visual.ly/social-media-vs-traditional-media, last

retrieved on 12 December 2012
6
Schindler, R.M. & Bickart, B. (2005). Published word of mouth. Referable, Consumer-Generated
Information on the Internet, pp.37-40; In Haugtvedt, C.P., Machleit, K.A. & Yalch, R.F. (eds.). Online
Consumer Psychology. Understanding and Influencing Consumer Behavior in the Virtual World (3754). New York: Routledge.
7
IDEM, p. 54
17
Defining social media

According to Wikipedia, social media refers to people interacting with each other, as well as sharing
creating and exchanging information in virtual communities.
Authors such as Katri Lietsala & Esa Sirkkunen suggest defining social media as an umbrella term,
under which one can find various and many different cultural practices related to the online content
and people who are involved with that content.8 In a simpler fashion, Lon Safko, American author of
the famous Social Media Bible, defines the term as the media we use to be social.
In a study by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, social media is built on three key elements:
content, communities and Web 2.0. In this context, social media is about the interaction of people and
creating, sharing, exchanging and commenting contents in virtual communities and networks. 10
Authors such as Jan H. Kietzmann, researcher at the London School of Economics, introduce the term
mobile to the concept: social media employ mobile and web-based technologies to create highly
interactive platforms via which individuals and communities share, co-create, discuss, and modify
user-generated content.11
Social media is, according to Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein, "a group of Internet-based
applications which are built on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0 and which
allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content12
All in all, the common thread in most of the definitions of social media is the blending of technology
and social interaction in the co-creation of value.13 The key terms used are user-generated content
(UGC), Web 2.0 and social interaction through content. Moreover, social media usage is believed to be
a driving force in defining the current time period as the Attention Age.
Katri Lietsala & Esa Sirkkunen, Social Media, Introduction to the tools and processes of the
participatory economy, University of Tampere, 2008, p.18
9
Safko, Lon, The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success, Innovative
Thinking, 2010, p.3
10
Ahlqvist, Toni; Bck, A., Halonen, M., Heinonen, S (2008). Social media roadmaps exploring the
futures triggered by social media, VTT Tiedotteita - Valtion Teknillinen Tutkimuskeskus, p.13
11
H. Kietzmann, Jan; Kristopher Hermkens (2011). Social media? Get serious! Understanding the
functional building blocks of social media, Business Horizons
12
Kaplan, Andreas M. (MarchApril 2012). If you love something, let it go mobile: Mobile marketing
and mobile social media 4x4, Business Horizons 55 (2): 129139;
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007681311001558 Last consulted on 15
December 2012.
13
Nigel Morgan; Graham Jones; Ant Hodges. Social Media. The Complete Guide to Social Media From
The Social Media Guys. http://www.slideshare.net/spyroslangkos/complete-guide-to-social-media Last
consulted on 12 December 2012
18
To better understand how the different social media channels emerged and evolved, I will provide in
the coming lines, a short timeline regarding the evolution of social networks as well as the most
important benchmarks in the history of the internet. For a comprehensive timeline of social media
sites, please consult Appendix 9.
I will conclude by saying that the social media sites presented above are just the tip of the iceberg of
what was being created and used in the recent years. Even though there is clearly a boom with
regards to social networking sites, many businesses launched is gathering huge numbers of users and
then were sold to giants like Yahoo or Google or went bankrupt. Even Facebook was characterized by
the Economist as a rather hope industry after its stock market shares nearly halved in a few months.
With that in mind, having a good business model, constantly adapting to the changes in society while
respecting the users is the only way for a social media business to survive.
On the other hand, for a business looking to promote itself through social media, making sense of all
the different types of sharing content (video, image, text, links etc.) Choosing the right channels and
managing them effectively can be quite demanding. Even if the majority of the networking sites offers
most of their features for free, the costs lie in the time spent sharing content and engaging with the
fans. In the upcoming lines, I propose a set of classifications meant to organize the social media
landscape.
Social Media Classification
A study by the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland identifies four main categories of the
business opportunities offered by social media: core, enabler, feature and build-on.
The term core refers to social media applications: the content and activity rely totally on users and the
revenues are gathered directly relating to this activity.
The term enabler refers to social media practices and processes. An example of using social media as
an enabler is Wikipedia. Its aim is to create an encyclopedia using the collective wisdom and
contributions of Web users.
The third category, feature refers to rating, recommending and promoting content. For instance, many
news services allow users to set up profile pages in order to give them a more visible role in
commenting and promoting news.
Lastly, social media enables indirect business opportunities. Here we use the term built-on. These are:
19
Tools and services for creating social media applications.

An excellent example is Google AdSense, which enables even private persons to include ads
and generate revenues from their website.
Tool or service built on social media content

Services for aggregating and searching content fall under this category. Examples include
Mashups and services likeTechnorati, a search engine dedicated to searching blogs.
Social media as a delivery channel14
Another paper by the University of Indiana15 identifies seven functional blocks of social media,
presented in Figure 1. Each block examines a specic facet of social media user experience and its
implications for rms.
Figure 1: The honeycomb of social media
The identity functional block refers to the extent to which users reveal private data in a social
Media environment. Private data may include information such as age, gender, demographics, but also
subjective information such as personal preferences, feelings or thoughts.
14
Ahlqvist, Toni; Bck, A., Halonen, M., Heinonen, S (2008). Social media roadmaps exploring the
futures triggered by social media, VTT Tiedotteita - Valtion Teknillinen Tutkimuskeskus, p.16
15
Kietzmann, Jan; Kristopher Hermkens (2011). Social media? Get serious! Understanding the
functional building blocks of social media, Business Horizons, p.243
20
As identity is core to many social media platforms, this presents some fundamental implications for
rms, such as privacy. Revealing personal data online does not mean that one does not care how this
information might be used. Of course, users can choose to develop virtual identities to hide their real
ones and to protect themselves. For example, social networks like Divorce360 work for those in
various stages of break ups, who strongly need support but wish to remain anonymous. However,
when selecting social media tools, reaching a balance between privacy and revealing identities is
crucial; Not having this balance can lead to cyber-bullying and off-topic comments.16
The conversations block of the framework represents the communication dynamic between
users in a social media setting. It can be easily noticed that the medium is the message in this case, if
we think about Twitter which allows users to send short 140 character long messages in comparison to
Facebook which allows sharing photos, videos and longer texts. Blogs, on the other hand, are less
about staying connected (unlike Twitter or Facebook) and more about rich, lengthy conversations.
Sharing represents the extent to which users ex-change, distribute, and receive content. The
paper suggests that there are at least two main implications that this honeycomb block has for
businesses. The first is to identify what common interests users have. This of course, depends on the
scope of the channel (e.g YouTube for videos, Flickr for pictures etc). The second aspect refers to the
degree to which the object can or should be shared. This refers mainly to copyright issues and cyber
bullying. A relevant example here is YouTubes lawsuits for hosting offensive videos and not complying
with copyright laws. As a result, YouTube developed controls and allocated resources to lter and then
screen the content that it helps share. This includes requiring users who want to upload video, to
register
and
agree
to
terms
of
use;
providing
content
management system that allows content owners (e.g., movie studios) to identify and manage their
content on YouTube; asking users to ag inappropriate content; and employing an army of people who
screen and remove content that is in violation of the terms of use.17
Presence represents the extent to which users can know if other users are accessible, as well
as
their location and availability. A relevant example is Friends Around Me which allows users to share
their status updates and check-ins across networksFacebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and Gowalla
and display which friends are in close physical proximity.
5. The Relationship block refers to the extent to which users can be related to one another.
16
17
IDEM, p.244
IDEM, p.245
21
Depending on the channel employed, a business can place more accent on relationships (e.g. using
LinkedIn to see the degrees of separation between target members or using Twitter and YouTube
where relationships hardly matter).
6. Reputation is the extent to which users can identify the standing of others, including
themselves, in a social media setting. A relevant example in this case is LinkedIn, which builds
the reputation of one individual based on endorsements from others.
The authors also talk about reputation built by the relevance of the content posted by people or
businesses. This can be measured using content voting systems. For example, a business can
measure video counts or ratings to measure the reputation on YouTube, likes for Facebook etc.
Furthermore, the authors classify the multitude of monitoring tools into ones based on objective data.
(E.g., Number of views or followers) and those based on the collective intelligence of the crowd (e.g.,
Rating system like Social Mention).
7. The groups functional block represents the users ability to form communities and sub
communities.
Although online communities can grow almost unlimited, an important note was made by
anthropologist Robin Dunbar in 1992 regarding the fact that people have a cognitive limit which
restricts the number of stable social relationships they can have with other people to about 150. I
would argue that this a rather high number and it can very much vary on the type of personality one
has, namely if the person is more of an extrovert or introvert.
The authors make a distinction between two major types of groups: self-created, sorted by individuals
and open to anyone, closed (approval required), or secret (by invitation only). This is the case for
Facebook and Flickr which have administrators who manage the group, approve applicants, and invite
others to join.
Another important remark is the fact that the enormous traffic on social media needs to be filtered
somehow in order to reduce the noise that it generates. I strongly agree with this point of view, given
the fact that humans can only process a certain amount of information daily before their brains move
into whats known as information overload. However, filtering information AND people can be
regarded as somehow cynical and can encourage mental shortcuts like stereotypes in the long-term.
From a business perspective, I agree with the authors that these group choices are highly contextual,
and
rm
would
benet
from
studying
exactly
22
what
kinds
of
target
groups
in
their
community would support, and how these should affect their engagement with other honeycomb
pieces.
All in all, I believe The Honeycomb of Social Media offers a good overview of the main characteristics
of a social media platform and is a good starting point for further research. On the downside, I believe
that a more practical approach can prove more useful in order to understand how a business can
make the best use of the available social media channels.
Authors such as Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein differentiate between six types of social
media:18
Collaborative projects (e.g. Wikipedia)
Blogs and microblogs (e. g. Twitter)
Content communities (e. g. YouTube)
Social networking sites (e. g. Facebook)
Virtual game worlds (e. g. World of Warcraft)
Virtual social worlds (e.g. Second Life)
Following a more exhaustive approach, Brian Solis19 and Jesse Thomas20 have created the well-known
Conversation Prism, a visual representation of the Social Web and the conversation that defines it. 21
The Conversation Prism 3.0 debuted in August 2008 and is the result of the authors attempt to
classify and sort social media applications.
In the 3.0 version of the Conversation Prism, each leaf of the flower color is coded and represents
another media or focus group. (See Figure 2)
18
Kaplan, A. and Haenlein, M. (2010), Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of
social media, in: Business Horizons, vol. 53, no.1, Elsevier, pp.5968. Also: (Electronic), available:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007681309001232 Last consulted on 2 January
2013
19
Brian Solis is described in the 2008 book PR 2.0 as a founding father of the PR 2.0 concept who
realized early on how PR, multimedia and the Web would intersect and create a new breed of
PR/Web marketers.
20
Jesse Thomas is the founder and CEO of JESS3, a creative interactive agency that specializes in
data visualization.
21
http://www.theconversationprism.com/ Last consulted on 18 December 2012. For the development
of the several versions of the Conversation Prism see http://www.theconversationprism.com/blog/
23
Figure 2: The Conversation Prism, Source: http://www.theconversationprism.com

Brian Solis is currently working on the next classification. The Conversation Prism 4.0. At the moment
the categories are: Comment and Reputation, Wisdom of the Crowds, Questions & Answers,
Collaboration, Social Commerce, Blog Platforms, Blogs/Conversations, Social Curation, Streams,
Nicheworking, Co-Creation, Enterprise Social Networks, DIY + Custom Social Networks, Discussion
Boards and Forums, Social Networks, Listening, Intelligence & Targeting, Business Networking,
Reviews and Ratings, Location, Video, sCRM, Documents/Content, Events, Music, Wiki, Virtual Worlds,
Livecasting, Pictures, Social Bookmarks, Social Marketing Management, Influence, and Bio-Social.22
Regarding mobile social media. Kaplan distinguishes four types:23
22
BrianSolis.com, Please help us update The Conversation Prism 4.0, July 2 2012,
http://www.briansolis.com/2012/07/please-help-us-update-the-conversation-prism-v4-0/ Last
23
Kaplan, A. (2012), If you love something, let it go mobile: mobile marketing and mobile social media
4x4in: Business Horizons, vol. 55, no. 2, Elsevier, pp 129-139. Also: (Electronic), available:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007681311001558 Last consulted on 18
December 2012
24
Space-timers, location and time sensitive mobile social media, for example Foursquare
Space-locators, only location sensitive mobile social media, for example Yelp
Quick-timers, only time-sensitive mobile social media, for example Facebook status updates
Slow-timers, neither location nor time sensitive mobile social media, for example, watching a
YouTube video.
The above mentioned building blocks and classifications of social media applications illustrate that the
Social Web is like a toolbox: a toolbox offering exciting opportunities to join the conversation and
engage customers, build relationships and influence the customer journey.24
For the purpose of this study, I propose a working definition and classification of the term social
media, with the aim of assessing the efficiency of European NTOs to promote tourism to the old
continent in overseas markets.
Social media are characterized by the use of Web 2.0 technologies with the purpose of social
interaction and co-creation of value, such as UGC.
In order to simplify the vast amount of social media classifications and due to limited resources in the
empirical part, I propose dividing social media sites by their purpose. Also, as the focus of this paper
is also in overseas markets such as China and Brazil, I propose another category related to regional
social media sites. This aims to provide a clearer picture on how European NTOs promote their
destinations in non-Western markets.
1. Networking: e.g. Facebook; Twitter; Google+; LinkedIn
2. Content sharing: Pinterest, YouTube, Digg, Tumblr, Flickr, Vimeo, Picassa
3. Opinion: Blogspot, Wordpress, TripAdvisor
4. Location based: Foursquare
5. Regional Social media channels: Weibo, Orkut, Hyves
1.2. Social media in tourism
A great amount of social media sites assist consumers in posting and sharing their travel-related
experiences, which supports the argument by Thomas Friedman (2006) that the world is at25. Due
24
ETC, UNWTO, E-Marketing Handbook, 2nd Edition (study in progress)

Scribd, Role of Social Media in Online Travel Information Search, Retrieved from
http://www.scribd.com/doc/75059561/Role-of-Social-Media-in-Online-Travel-Informa
tion-Search
25
25
to the flattening of access to the internet across various demographic groups, consumers have more
power in producing and disseminating information. Moreover, tourists increasingly use social media
sites to describe, reconstruct and relive their trips, as well as to keep their friends informed about
their experiences. (Pudliner, 2007; Tussyadiah & Fesenmaier, 2009)26
It is no news that the use of social media is growing while the use of the remainder of the web is
shrinking. If we think about giant social networking sites like Facebook, we can see that the usage of
this channel had increased year after year by almost 70%, while usage of the remainder of the web
dropped by 10%. In 2012 corporate spend on online advertising was expected to exceed spending on
advertising in traditional media. A survey by the social marketing software company Wildfire revealed
that 97% of 700 companies polled believe that social media marketing benefit their businesses and
75% intended to increase social media spending in 2012.27
However, an important question is to which extend do travellers actually use social media when
choosing a destination? This has implications in assessing the degree of influence social media
promotion of NTOs have on future travel decisions.
According to some sources, the influence of social media on travel planning is rising. One study
showed that 43% of American travellers used UGC to plan leisure travel, while 26% used social media
(compared with, for example, 34.8% using print resources).28.
A study conducted by Google showed that the internet is the number one source of information when
it comes to travel planning, with internet search engines being on top. Moreover, more than 40% of
the travellers state that comments from people in their social networks are influential in the travel
process.29 Also, according to research by the Travel Industry Association of America about two-thirds
(64%) of online travellers use search engines to plan their trips. (TIA, 2005). Another study revealed
that search engines are the most popular online information source for American families when
planning their holidays. (eMarketer, 2008).30 It is important to note here that search engine are and
will continue to take into account social media content in their search results.
On the other hand, other studies suggest that social media does not have a prominent role in the
future travel decisions of Americans, as only 6% of respondents states that information from a social
26
Xiang, Z., & Gretzel, U. (2010), Role of social media in online travel information search, Tourism
Management, 31, p.179
27
Wildfire Social Media Marketing Blog, Measuring the business impact of social media, January 19,
2012, http://blog.wildfireapp.com/2012/01/19/measuring-the-business-impact-of-social-mediainfographic/ Last retrieved on 18 December 2012
28
ETC-UNWTO, Study on the United States Outbound Travel Market to Europe, (study in progress)
29
Google/OTX, Travelers Road to Decision 2011, U.S., Jul 2011
30
Management, 31, p. 179
26
networking site convienced them to visit a destination.31 The table below shows that Facebook /
Twitter (19%) and YouTube (14%) scored lowest among the various categories.
Figure 3: American travellers indicating they were very/extremely confident in
various media sources for destination and travel supplier decisions (%)
Another study by PhoCusWright conducted in 2011, showed the same trend: more than half of US
respondents stated that social media is not at all influential when planning leisure travel.
31
ETC-UNWTO, Study on the United States Outbound Travel Market to Europe, (study in progress)
27
Figure 4: The influence of social media on planning of leisure travel. Extract from the PhoCus
Wright Consumer Travel Report Third Edition
All in all, it seems that social media does not play a central role in future travel decision, but it is
however one of the sources that travellers take into account.
With the rationale of having too few studies on the role of online travel information search and the
likelihood for a traveller to actually use social media sites, authors like Xiang, Z. and Gretzel, U.
propose in their 2010 study a framework of three components:
(1) the online traveller
(2) the online tourism domain, constituted by a number of players providing information, such as
consumers
(3) the search engine, which can influence the travellers perception through rankings, paid links or
metadata.32
The results of the study show that social media are extremely search engine friendly. The main
reasons are the fact that they are updated frequently and include numerous links and tags, which will
32
28
inuence their ranking within search results in a positive way. Also, frequent updates invite search
engines to index social media pages more frequently
33
Figure 5: Social media and tourism domain within the context of using a search engine
(Adapted from Xiang, et al., 2008)
There are important differences in the types of social media sites taken into account by travelers.
Figure 4 (below) shows the breakdown of the types of social media. Not surprisingly, virtual
communities, like igougo.com and lonelyplanet.com represent approximately 40% of all the 1150
identied social media sites. However, the long history of these sites might also play a role, but still,
they are seen as the primary platforms for online travelers to share their experiences. On the other
hand, social networking sites, like Facebook and Twitter represent only 9%.
33
34
IDEM, p. 182
34
29
Figure 6: Composition of social media represented in Google

All in all, this study conrms the growing importance of social media in the online tourism domain for
travel information search. It also conrms that tourism marketers can no longer ignore the role of
social media in distributing travel-related information without risking to become irrelevant.35
At ITB Tourism Fair &Exhibition, Berlin in 2011, a research study conducted by a m1nd - set was
presented.36 The research wanted to assess, among others, if people use social media and mobile
devices to organize leisure trips. The methodology consisted of a survey carried out in December 2010
among 1,336 travelers from Europe, North America and Asia. The participants were randomly selected
from a m1nd - set database of frequent travelers.
According to the results, the more people travel, the more confident they feel about booking hotels or
renting a car by themselves (online). Not surprisingly, the longer and more complex the trip is, the
greater the importance of a travel agency is.
Regarding the social media usage in the travel process, the majority of respondents (20%) used social
networking sites for travel information search before booking. (See Figure 5) However, younger
travelers are more likely to use social media than senior ones, as 26% of the respondents aged 35
and younger used social media most of the time to get inspired for their next trip.
35
36
M1nd-set- Research Report - ITB Tourism Fair &Exhibition Berlin 2011 March 2011
30
For travel booking, social media is rarely used, with 56% of the respondents saying that they never
used it. When it comes to information search while travelling, 27% say they sometimes use it and
only 10% use it most of the time.
Figure 7: Social media usage for travel purposes. Extract from M1nd-set- Research Report - ITB
Tourism Fair &Exhibition Berlin 2011
Overall, social media is the least used for travel booking and the most used as an inspiration source
and for travel information search before booking. The most popular age group is 35 and younger, with
the digital natives having a high potential to become heavy users of social media for travel purposes.
Regarding the sites used, the most popular one is TripAdvisor (47%), which allows users to review
their trips, followed by Facebook (41%). The third place is occupied by LinkedIn (10%), a surprising
result as this platform is mostly utilized for professional reasons. The assumption is that it is mostly
used by business travellers. (see Figure 6)
Figure 8: Social media sites used for travel purposes. Extract from M1nd-set- Research Report ITB Tourism Fair &Exhibition Berlin 2011
31
When it comes to travel recommendations it seems that 45% use it sometimes, out of which the
majority are women. Also, 59% admit that travel recommendations influence their booking and travel
behavior. Again, women are considerably more influenced than men. Regarding giving travel
recommendations, it seems that 51% do it sometimes, with senior travelers being more generous in
this regard than younger ones. (See Figure 7)
32
Figure 9: Do you use travel recommendations? Extract from M1nd-set- Research Report - ITB
Tourism Fair &Exhibition Berlin 2011
Social media mobile usage was still in its infancy in 2010 when the survey was conducted. Therefore,
more than half of the respondents said they never used social media communities for travel purposes
on mobile devices. However, younger people and early adopters were more likely to use Smartphones
for travel purposes. (See Figure 8)
Figure
10: Do you
use
social
media communities for travel
purposes on mobile
devices/smart phones, etc.? Extract from M1nd-set- Research Report - ITB Tourism Fair
&Exhibition Berlin 2011
By 2015, it is expected that 9 out of 10 consumers will have a mobile subscription and approximately
a third of consumers will have used mobile apps specific to upcoming vacations. Also, around 70% will
33
post vacation photos on a social network and update their Facebook status while still on vacation. In
2012, more than half of consumers liked a Facebook page specific to a vacation.
Word-of-mouth and recommendations from friends and family continue to be the most trusted sources
of information. The second place is occupied by online consumer reviews, an increase of 15% in four
years. Regarding TV, newspapers and magazine ads, confidence has declined by 24%, 20% and 25%
respectively since 2009. Only 47% of consumers trust traditional media, compared to 70% trusting
online travel reviews. Despite these numbers, the majority of the marketing budget is spent on
traditional media.37
Given the limited resources, this paper will focus only on a few of the most important social media
sites to promote European tourism worldwide. In the order of importance of the tourism industry, the
focus will be on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. In the following rows, the
rationale for choosing these channels over others:
Facebook was founded in 2004 at Harvard by Mark Zuckerberg. Even from the beginning it was a
huge success, with more than half of the students signing up in the first month. Since then, it has
launched products such as Messages (2004), News Feed (2006) and Timeline (2011). The newest
product, Graph Search is a search tool enabling users to find people, places and other information
shared on Facebook. Currently it is available only for a limited English (US) audience.
Facebook also provides 2 advertising options: Facebook Ads and Sponsored Stories. Facebook Ads
enable marketers to place targeted ads according to audience demographic factors and the interests
people have chosen to share on Facebook. With Sponsored Stories marketers can amplify the
distribution of stories that people have already shared with their friends. Also, this service allows them
to promote stories to people that have liked their Facebook Page.
Key facts (as of December 2012)
More than a billion monthly active users
82% of monthly active users are outside the US and Canada
618 million daily active users
680 million monthly active users who used Facebook mobile products38
37
Stikky Media, 2102 Social Media and Tourism Industry Statistics,

http://www.stikkymedia.com/blog/2012-social-media-and-tourism-industry-statistics Last consulted
on 19 December 2012
38
Facebook, Facebook Key Facts, http://newsroom.fb.com/Key-Facts Last consulted on 19 December
2012
34
LinkedIn was founded in December 2002 by Reid Hoffman and founding team members from PayPal
and Socialnet.com. It was officially launched on May 5, 2003. The current CEO is Jeff Weiner,
previously at Yahoo! Inc. Executive. On 30 November 2011, the company opened its first office in
Brazil which served as regional headquarters to approx 14 million LinkedIn members across Latin
America.
Key facts as of December 2012:
LinkedIn is currently available in 19 languages39
More than 200 million members in over 200 countries and territories.
Approx. 2 new Professionals are signing up to LinkedIn every second.
64% of LinkedIn members are located outside of the United States
More than 2.7 million companies have LinkedIn Company Pages.
In the fourth quarter of 2012, an average of 27 percent of unique visiting members came
through mobile apps, versus just 15 percent a year ago.
Regional membership
50M+ EMEA as of June 30, 2012
39M+ Europe as of June 30, 2012
37M+ Asia and the Pacific as of January 7, 2013
4M+ Southeast Asia as of January 29, 201240
Twitter was founded by Jack Dorsey in 2006. The micro-blogging tool allows quick and easy
communication for large groups through 140 characters-long messages, known as tweets.
Twitter provides advertising option such as Promoted Accounts, Promoted Tweets and Analytics.
Promoted Accounts are used to put businesses in front of more people that follow their brand.
Therefore, the account will show up in Who to follow Twitter recommendation engine. Promoted
Tweets have the added value of reaching more people interested in the business. They can appear in
user timelines as well as in Twitter for mobile, desktops and tablets. Regarding the targeting options,
a marketer can choose from segmenting groups by geography, by interest and gender or by device.41
Key facts:
39 English, Czech, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay,
Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish.
40
LinkedIn, About LinkedIn, http://press.linkedin.com/about Last consulted on 19 December 2012
41
Twitter, Twitter Ads self service products, https://business.twitter.com/products/twitter-ads-selfservice Last consulted on 19 December 2012
35
500 million registered users, but just 140 million active users
300,000 new visitors every day
Top countries: USA, UK, Australia, Brazil, Canada
Twitter is available in more than 20 languages
34% of marketers have generated leads using Twitter
55% of Twitter users access the platform via their mobile
11 accounts are created every second
750 tweets are shared on Twitter every second
57% of all companies that use social media for business use Twitter42
Pinterest was founded in 2012 by Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra and Evan Sharp. The site is managed
by Cold Brew Labs and funded by a small group of entrepreneurs and inventors43. Pinterest
scrapbooking site attained 10 million users faster than any other standalone site in history.
Key facts
In February 2013, Reuters and ComScore stated that Pinterest had 48.7 million users. 44
Approx 80% of Pinterest users are female45
Most popular age group is 25-35 year olds46
5.8% of the most popular boards are travel related boards47
The number of daily Pinterest users has increased by 145% since January 2012.
(Source: Shopify)
Pinterest generated more referral traffic to businesses than Google+, YouTube, and LinkedIn
combined. (Source: Shareaholic)
YouTube
was
founded
in
2005
by
Chad
Hurley, Steve
Chen
and Jawed
Karim, three
former PayPal employees. It is a sharing platform for uploading and distributing videos. In November
42 The Wall (blog), Twitter, the latest facts and figures, http://wallblog.co.uk/2012/11/13/twitter-thelatest-facts-and-figures-infographic/ Last consulted on 19 December 212
43 Carlson, Nicholas, Inside Pinterest: An Overnight Success Four Years In The Making, Business
Insider, May 1, 2012
44 Reuters, Start-up Pinterest wins new funding, $2.5 billion valuation, 20 February 2013,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/21/net-us-funding-pinterest-idUSBRE91K01R20130221 Last
45
Nielsen, The Social Media Report 2012,
http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/us/en/reports-downloads/2012-Reports/The-SocialMedia-Report-2012.pdf Last consulted on 20 December 2012
46
Viral blog, Pinterest Statistics, http://www.viralblog.com/social-media/pinterest-statistics-usersinteraction-and-engagement/ Last consulted on 20 December 2012
47
Repinly.com, Stats, http://www.repinly.com/stats.aspx Last consulted on 20 December 2012
36
2006, Google bought YouTube for US$1. 65 billion, so now YouTube operates as a subsidiary of
Google.
YouTube advertising service operates through Google AdWords.
Among the different features provided by YouTube, is uploading 3D videos. The videos can be viewed
in different ways, one of them has used the common anaglyph (cyan/red lens) method which utilizes
glasses worn by the viewer.48
Key facts
Over 800 million unique users visit YouTube each month
Over 4 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube
72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute
70% of YouTube traffic comes from outside the US
YouTube is localized in 53 countries and across 61 languages
In 2011, YouTube had more than 1 trillion views or around 140 views for every person on
Earth
25% of global YouTube views come from mobile devices49
Although it is an important resource for travelers to seek information about their destinations,
TripAdvisor is not widely used as a promotional tool among NTOs. Therefore TripAdvisor will not be
among the main channels this study is focusing on.
TripAdvisor was founded in February 2000 by Stephen Kaufer. It offers travel reviews from real
travelers with links to booking tools. It operated in 30 countries worldwide, including China since April
2009, under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also provides a service for businesses, enabling the tourism
industry access to millions of monthly TripAdvisor visitors. In June 2010 the company launched a new
feature, TripAdvisor Trip Friends which allows users to receive travel recommendations from their
Facebook friends. The platforms wisdom of the crowds was therefore enhanced by the wisdom of
friends, delivering personalized recommendations.
Key facts:
More than 100 million travel reviews and opinions from travelers around the world
More than 90 percent of topics posted in the TripAdvisor forums are replied to within 24 hours.
More than 60 new contributions are posted every minute.
116,000+ destinations
48
YouTube, YouTube in 3D, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ANcspdYh_U July 21 2009, Last

49
YouTube, Statistics, http://www.youtube.com/yt/press/statistics.html Last consulted on 20
December 2012
37
259,000+ attractions
14,000,000+ candid traveler photos
TripAdvisor provides easy access worldwide with leading online travel agencies including
Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, hotels.com, Priceline, Booking.com, and more.50
As this study is mainly concerned about the way European NTOs use social media to promote their
destinations in overseas markets, including China and Brazil, the focus will also be on regional social
networks such as Weibo, QZone and Orkut.
QQ/QZone was launched by Tencent in 2005. It is the largest social networking site, allowing users
to write blogs, keep diaries, send photos, and listen to music.
Key facts
Over 700 million active users
42.73 sharing percentage51
Sina Weibo was launched by SINA Corporation on 14 August 2009. It is largely a mobile-focused
social network often leveraged by celebrities, brands and industry experts through a Twitter-like usage
model. The platform has twice as many users as Twitter and is an essential platform to more than
22% of the Chinese Internet population.52
Key facts
368 million registered users as of mid 2012.53
12,28% sharing percentage54
About 100 million messages are posted each day55
Tencent Weibo was launched by Tencent in April 2010. It is very similar to Sina Weibo as it allows
users to post messages consisting of 140 Chinese characters.
50
TripAdvisor, Fact Sheet, http://www.tripadvisor.com/PressCenter-c4-Fact_Sheet.html Last

51
Slideshare, China Social Media Wallpaper, http://www.slideshare.net/fullscreen/RockyFu/chinasocial-media-whitepaper-2012/3 Last consulted on 20 December 2012
52
Mashable, 5 Chinese Social Networks You Need to Watch, 5 July
2012,http://mashable.com/2012/07/02/china-social-networks/ Last consulted on 20 December 2012
53
Steven Millward, Chinas Forgotten 3rd Twitter Clone Hits 260 Million Users, 22 October 2012
techinasia.com Last consulted on 20 December 2012
54
55
Bloomberg, Cao, Belinda, Sina's Weibo Outlook Buoys Internet Stock Gains: China Overnight, 28
February 2012
38
Key facts
about 200-250 million users.56
9,04 sharing percentage57
RenRen was founded in December 2005 and is a replica of Facebook for China. Popular among
college students, the platform is thriving to stay relevant in the fast-growing online and mobile space.
Key facts
31 million active monthly users as of April 201158
7.46 sharing percentage59
Orkut was launched on 24 January 2004 by Google Inc. Its name comes from the platforms creator,
Orkut Bykkkten, a Google employee. The social network is one of the most visited websites in
India and Brazil with over 50% of Orkut users coming from Brazil60 where it is the second most used
platforms after Facebook.
Key stats
Approx 34 million users as of December 201161
Available in 28 languages
Given the high number of users of these social media sites, National Tourist organizations can make
the best use of these networks to distribute their promotional messages across different markets.
However, when thinking about social media statistics it is important to keep in mind that the number
of subscriptions may differ significantly from the number of active users. As shown above, there are
different methods to use social media for promotional purposes. NTOs can choose between the
advertising services provided by the specific network and integrate them in their overall social media
strategy. However, the distinctive advantage of social media is that is it mainly a free (yet timeconsuming) service. The main way to drive conversion remains creating value. For example, posting
exclusive information, like short-term promotion and discounts drives engagement. However,
behavioral targeting techniques provided by social networking sites will most likely increase in
56 Forbes, Five Things You Need To Know About Chinese Social Media, 25 October 2012,
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2012/10/25/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-chinese-socialmedia/ Last consulted on 20 December 2012
57
58
WSJ.com , Chao, Loretta, Renren Lowers Key User Figure Before IPO, April 29, 2011
59
60
Orkut, Members, http://www.orkut.com/Main#MembersAll Last consulted on 20 December 2012
61
New Media Trend Watch, Markets by country, http://www.newmediatrendwatch.com/markets-bycountry/11-long-haul/42-brazil Last consulted on 21 December 2012
39
popularity. It is then a matter of budget decision-making at the NTOs level whether to move the
marketing focus from traditional media to online and social media.
1.3. Targeting the right traveller
Marketers still have different opinions on whether to distribute the same message across channels or
to adapt it to the site used. In some cases the answer is clear: content-based channels such as
YouTube and Flickr allow the distribution of videos, respectively of photos. On the other hand,
Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest allow sharing various content like videos, photos and links altogether.
However, the type of audience differs. Facebook is used mainly for entertaining purposes, so the posts
should be written in a rather informal and easy-to-digest manner. Twitter is used for professional and
entertaining purposes. As tweets are limited to 140 characters, the messages should be clear, short
and concise. Regarding the tone used it is rather formal with content revolving around topics such as
the latest news and exclusive information about events. However, some organizations use both a B2B
and a B2C Twitter account so the content is adapted according to the purpose of the channel. LinkedIn
is mostly used by companies and organizations to connect with other professionals and to post new
job opportunities, industry events and specific industry discussions. Finally, Pinterest organizes
content around boards where one can pin links, photos and videos according to the topic of the
board. It is a perfect tool for posting inspirational content. However, usually when a consumer likes a
brand, it connects with it on all available social media sites. Therefore, if a brand is flooding
consumers with the same type of message on all channels, it can be seen as spam by the consumer
which then can lead to the user un-liking the brand.
Everybody wants to travel, but not everyone has the same means to do so, the same interests and
the same travel behavior. How can then NTOs reach the right traveler? TV ads may reach a wide
audience, but not the specific type of high-income consumer which is most likely to travel overseas to
European destinations. Campaigns built around interests are best reached through online behavior
targeting, which allows marketers to segment consumers by demographics, interests, browsing history
or even by their friends interest.
How does the behavioral targeting actually work and how efficient is it?
The assumption of behavioral targeting (BT) is that if advertising better matches consumer interests,
consumers are more likely to respond to the message and advertisers will be willing to pay more for
ads delivered to such an audience.
40
A survey conducted by the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) found out that:
1. advertising rates are significantly higher when BT is used
2. advertising using BT is more successful than standard RON advertising, creating greater utility
for consumers and clear appeal for advertisers because of the increased conversion of ads into
sales.
3. a majority of network advertisers revenue is spent acquiring inventory, making BT an
important source of revenue for publishers as well as ad networks62
Conventional media are able to obtain targeting data for their audiences through surveys and other
tools such as registration data. This provides advertisers with a general idea of the audience thus
enabling them to increase the chances of a successful advertising campaign.
After surveying 12 ad networks, including nine of the largest players in the market (based on the
number of site visits), it was shown that BT is an essential part of an ad network, publisher, and
advertiser success.
BT advertising is more effective with conversion rates more than double the rates for run of network
advertising. Also click through rates (ad clicks divided by impressions delivered) are improved by as
670% over run of network advertising.
From a consumer perspective, this shows that such advertising is significantly more valuable because
it is more likely to tell consumers about a product they want to buy. 63
1. Facebook: Facebook Ads; Sponsored Stories
2. Twitter: Promoted Accounts, Promoted Tweets
3. Google AdWords (for YouTube, Google+)
One step further in personalization is social indexing, a system used to collaboratively create and
manage tags in order to annotate and categorize content. This practice is also known as collaborative
tagging, social classification, folksonomy and social tagging.64
Social index can be more powerful than targeted content determined by users preferences because it
mines friends likes following the assumption that friends share interests. A social index is created
62
Beales, Howard, The Value of Behavioral Targeting (2010), study sponsored by the Network
Advertising
Initiative
(NAI),
http://www.networkadvertising.org/pdfs/Beales_NAI_Study.pdf
Last
consulted on 12 January 2013

63 IDEM
64 Wikipedia, Folksonomy, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folksonomy Last consulted on 12 January
2013
41
and used to refine the presented information. Then that information undergoes a like/dislike review
and is filtered through friends social graphs to provide another level of content refinement.
65
The concept was created in 2007 by Bret Taylor co-founder of FriendFeed a social network acquired
by Facebook in 2009. The like button became an important data collection tool when used together
with Facebook's user base, having approx. 600 million people at that time. Any site can add the like
button to its pages. If a person clicks the like button, that links is automatically shared with his or
her Facebook friends. At the same time, the button is fed into Taylors index.66
An example of using social indexing is the TripAdvisors Wisdom of Friends, a feature that allows
travelers to receive advice on TripAdvisor from their Facebook friends. Moreover, the feature Friend of
a Friend also allows users to see reviews and opinions from second-degree contacts. These features
supplement the over 100 million reviews and opinions from travelers around the world and make the
user experience highly personalized.67
Another example of the use of semantic technology is given by AvisBudgetGroup model. To
understand more about travellers, the company uses information from hotel and flight bookings.
Therefore, it can create a tailored offer. Avis Budget works with OpenTravel to deliver targeted offers
based on reservation history.68
Facebook took personalised search one step further. Facebook Social Graph was initially available
only for a few US states, but was launched worldwide at the end on March 2013.
The old search on Facebook (called PPS) was keyword based, meaning that the user entered keywords
and the search engine produced the results. A few years later, a new search product was launched,
called Typeahead. It delivers search results as the searcher is typing, using prefix matching."
65 WTM &PhoCusWright Month Report, Travel Innovation and Technology Trends:2012 and Beyond
Social Media: The Cornerstone of Marketing Strategy
http://www.wtmlondon.com/page.cfm/Action=fileDownload/formatFor=library_2_assocPDF/fileName=
7220668_assocPDF/fileExt=pdf Last consulted on 12 January 2013
66
Technology Review, Social Indexing, June 2011,

http://www2.technologyreview.com/article/423688/social-indexing/ Last consulted on 12 January
2013
67
TripAdvisor, Fact Sheet, http://www.tripadvisor.com/PressCenter-c4-Fact_Sheet.html Last
68
WTM &PhoCusWrights, Travel Innovation and Technology Trends: 2012 and Beyond, Semantic
Technology (Finally) Becomes Relevant
http://www.wtmlondon.com/page.cfm/Action=fileDownload/formatFor=library_2_assocPDF/fileName=
8344824_assocPDF/fileExt=pdf Last consulted on 12 January 2013
42
Graph Search intends to extend the current capability of search engines to also search based on the
relationship between entities, using natural language as the input for the queries. For example:
Restaurants liked by Facebook employees
People who went to Austria
Restaurants in Paris liked by people who graduated from Vrije Universiteit, Brussels.69
Facebook Social Graph has the potential to optimize campaigns and pages so as to become more likely
to appear in users search results. However, marketers should be aware of the risks that come with
employees liking pages that are against the brands mission (e.g. pages that promote racism).
The annoyed and confused consumer privacy concerns
In the following lines I will present the consumer perspective in terms of privacy issues. The
willingness of disclosing personal information is seen as dangerous when thinking about issues like
cybercrime, child abuse or reputation. On the other hand, giving away personal data can be profitable,
if we think about business models such as Spotify, which allow users to access music for free only if
they provide their contact information. From the business perspective, private data can be used to
better target consumers, allows price discrimination models and can offer valuable feedback
information. However, the topic is still controversial.
Researcher Szoka Berin argues in a paper on targeted online advertising that users should be free to
opt out from whatever tracking they disagree with, BUT not without a cost. The internet is open to
everyone, but the new currency is private data. Therefore, if a user shares less private information, he
or she expect to receive less content and services for free.
Content creators and service providers should be free to choose the appropriate balance. The
economic base for content and services will be smaller if its easier for some users to receive without
sharing.
70
Other authors, such as Acquisti Alessandro, Leslie John and George Loewenstein from Carnegie Mellon
University argue that privacy valuations are inconsistent and highly dependent on subtle framing. In
their study What is privacy worth? they explicitly contrasted individuals willingness to pay to protect
data to their willingness to accept money to reveal the same data. The results of the experiments
69
Facebook Engineering (Notes), Under the Hood: Building out the infrastructure for Graph Search,
March 6, 2013
https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-engineering/under-the-hood-building-out-theinfrastructure-for-graph-search/10151347573598920 Last consulted on 12 April 2013
70
Szoka, Berin, Targeted Online Advertising: Whats the Harm & Where Are We Heading? (2009), In
The Technology Liberation Front, http://techliberation.com/2009/02/13/targeted-online-advertisingwhat%E2%80%99s-the-harm-where-are-we-heading/ Last consulted on 20 January 2013
43
show that what people say their data is worth depends critically on the context in which they are
asked - specifically, on how the problem is framed. The study concludes that individuals decisions
about their data are sometimes taken as representing their true and final preferences towards
protecting personal data. Therefore they wrongly become an instrument for designing privacy
policies.71
Research has further shown that when people are uncertain about their own values, which is likely to
be the case for privacy, they are more likely to be influenced by contextual factors in their decisionmakings. If the material value of privacy is already extremely difficult to estimate, the psychological
value is likely to be even less well defined, creating the kind of 'preference uncertainty' in which
inconsistencies in judgment and decision making commonly emerge: the "privacy paradox".72
In another paper, Alessandro Acquisti argues that market forces and economic laws, if left alone,
would eventually result in the most efficient amount of personal information being exchanged. The
main concerns of individuals using new information technology are those related to cybercrime,
identity theft, credit card frauds or future price discrimination. Therefore, billions of dollars are lost in
missed sales. However, when it comes to protecting private data, individuals tend to look for
immediate gratification, underestimating the future risks. Although paradoxical, from an economic
perspective, those individuals who demand privacy but take no action to protect theirs are actually
acting rationally. The paper concludes that economics will need to be assisted by law and technology
to actually achieve the balances it proposes.73
The filter bubble effect
In his book Escaping the filter bubble, Eli Pariser74 argues that the internets evolution towards
personalization alters the way in which information is perceived as we enter our own interests and
likes filter bubble.
Therefore, by having our own ideas bounce back at us, we unknowingly
indoctrinate ourselves. You may think you're the captain of your own destiny, but the personalization
can lead you down a road to a kind of informational determinism in which what you've clicked on in
71
Acquisti Alessandro, Leslie John and George Loewenstein, What is privacy worth?, Carnegie Mellon
University
72
Leslie K. John, Alessandro Acquisti and George Loewenstein, The Best of Strangers: Contextdependent willingness to divulge personal information, Carnegie Mellon University
73
Acquisti, Alessandro, Chapter 1, Privacy and security of personal information, Economic Incentives
and Technological Solutions, H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management, Carnegie
Mellon University
74
Eli Pariser is the chief executive of Upworthy a web site for viral meaningful content launched in
March 2012 together with Peter Koechley, the former managing editor of The Onion. It is backed
by Chris Hughes, one of the co-founders of Facebook
44
the past determines what you see next--a Web history you're doomed to repeat. You can get stuck in
a static, ever-narrowing version of yourself--an endless you-loop.75
He further argues that targeted ads may seem harmless, but not in the context of something like five
hundred companies that are able to track every move one makes on the Internet and selling private
data to marketers.
In the Darwinian environment of the hyper-relevant news feed, content about issues like
homelessness or climate change cant compete with goofy viral videos, celebrity news, and kittens.
The public sphere falls out of view. And that matters, because while we can lose sight of our common
problems, they dont lose sight of us.76
There is no doubt a case for internet companies to give users more control over the personal
information being held about them. But users do have however some degree of control. They can turn
off personalization or favor sites that are transparent about the ways in which they filter and present
information.
I would argue that the filter bubble is a mental construct that can be easily changed if one modifies its
preferences. For example, moving from a low-income status to a higher-income one determines one
to change the way he perceives the world: from the brand choices to music preferences and choice of
holidays. Moreover, cookies do not store personal information such as name, address, phone number
etc., so they do not pose a real threat to ones future privacy.
Chapter 2: Social media and tourism in key markets
75
Sci/Tech, Escaping the Filter Bubble, http://www.wfs.org/content/escaping-filter-bubble Last

76
Eli Pariser, Filter Bubble meet Upworthy, March 26, 2012, http://www.thefilterbubble.com/ Last
45
This chapter gives an overview of the current tourism and social media trends in key overseas
markets: Brazil, Canada, China and USA. North America is still the biggest source of tourists for
Europe, whereas emerging markets such as Brazil and China represent a huge opportunity for Europe.
2.1. Social media and tourism landscape in Brazil
Tourism Trends
Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America and is set to become the fifth largest in the world. Due
to policies of price and tax stability and floating exchange rates the spending power of the Brazilian
consumer has increased.77
Inequality has been significantly reduced in the last decade, bringing the Gini coefficient down 4
percentage points to 54. Nonetheless, Brazil still ranks as the worlds 16th most unequal country, with
the richest 10% of households accounting for as much as 43% of consumption 78
Total investment grew by only 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2012, leading to a contraction of 4% for
the year as a whole. Also, there has been a fall in the investment rate to just over 18% of GDP, still
well below the government's stated goal of 20% of GDP. Compared to 2011, when the investment rate
reached 19.3%, the outing was particularly dismal.79
According to Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, over three million Brazilians are now living abroad.
European countries with large Brazilian populations include Portugal (120,000), the United Kingdom
(100,000), Italy (35,000), and Switzerland (25,000).80
UNWTO figures show that Brazilian outbound departures are up from 3.2 million in 2000 to 5.3 million
in 2010. While the number of departures increased by 62% between 2000 and 2010, spending rose by
77
ETC & UNWTO, Understanding Brazilian Outbound Tourism: What Brazilian Blogosphere is Saying
about Europe, (study in progress)
78
European Central Bank, Euro foreign exchange reference rates, 2013
http://www.ecb.int/stats/exchange/eurofxref/html/index.en.html Last consulted on 16 April 2013
79
The Economist Intelligence Unit, Brazil post second-lowest growth rate in ten years, 2013,
http://country.eiu.com/article.aspx?articleid=1800228564&Country=Brazil&topic=Economy Last
retrieved on 13 May 2013
80
about Europe, (study in progress)
46
325% over the same period and reached US$ 25 billion in 2011. This puts per trip expenditure at
slightly above US$ 3,600.81
In 2012, Brazilian travel expenditure reached US$ 22.2 billion. This ranked the country on the worlds
12th place. China has become the largest spender with US$ 102 billion, and surpassed both the United
States (US$ 83.7 billion) and Germany (US$ 83.8 billion), becoming the largest spender in
international tourism globally.82
Data shows that 62% of Brazilian outbound trips goes to the Americas and 31% almost one third
go to Europe. Africa and Asia account for 3% each, with Oceania making up less than one per cent. 83
Between 2006 and 2010 trips to Africa, Asia, and Oceania increased by 141%, 63%, and 51%
respectively, albeit from a low base. Trips to the Americas increased by 91%, while trips to Europe
increased by only 38%.84
Figure 11: Top 10 destinations visited by Brazilian travellers by arrivals and nightsEurope
and World85
Ranking of Brazilian Outbound Market by Arrivals

2007, 2011
IDEM
UNWTO
China the new
number
one tourism source market in the world, Press Release,
United (2013),
States of America
639431
1508279
http://media.unwto.org/en/press-release/2013-04-04/china-new-number-one-tourism-sourcemarket-world
April 1.282.374
2013
Argentina Last retrieved on 18
742.232
83
246.190 440.787
aboutPortugal
Europe, (study in progress)
84
IDEM
Uruguay
286.319 426.315
85
UNWTO (2012), Tourism Factbook, Data on Outbound Tourism (calculated on basis of arrivals in
Spain countries) dataset [Electronic].
252.061 360.006
destination
81
82
Chile
228.779
328.274
Italy
229.384
293.309
United Kingdom
131.487
276.000
Germany
156.272
237.125
Mexico
60.019
196.266
47
Portugal
246190
440787
Spain
252.061
360.006
Italy
229.384
293.309
United Kingdom
131.487
276.000
Germany
156.272
237.125
Switzerland
56.204
79.080
Turkey
22.863
64.482
Greece
23.532
52.118
Austria
N/A
Belgium
0
50.796
23.408
45.160
Source: 14
Most Brazilian travellers have travelled to the United States and Argentina, in Europe they are visiting
mainly Portugal, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom.
Brazilians travel to Europe is affected by a large and growing Brazilian diaspora, as well as by deep
cultural and historical ties. It is common for Brazilian travellers to visit relatives and friends, and to
seek their roots on the Old Continent.
Based on Brazilian blogging, London and Barcelona appear to be the primary shopping cities in
Europe. However, the main competition is the United States which has attracted tourists with low
prices for shopping and simplified visa procedures. Therefore, the relatively slow growth of outbound
travel to Europe might not be surprising. The rising disposable incomes in Brazil have naturally been
quicker to translate into short- rather than long-haul travel. For instance, in the first half of 2011,
Brazilians spend over one billion US dollars shopping in Florida alone, a 61% increase from the
previous year.
It is, however, worth mentioning that European destinations below the big six have increased their
share of trips by 5.4 percentage points, from 10.5% in 2005 to 15.9% in 2010.
The fast-paced growth in travel to Africa, Asia, and Oceania should be viewed in the context of
business and expert travel, as these destinations have not yet attracted Brazilian mainstream
travellers.
48
Brazilian Travellers Profile

The Majority of travellers bring their spouses as companion (57.2%), 29.8% travel with their children,
7.6% with relatives, 3.6% with friends and 1.8% with other kind of companionship. 86
With growing disposable incomes but a tax system that puts high levies on imported products, many
Brazilian consumers also like to travel abroad for shopping. Currently, the United States is the highend shopping destination of choice for Brazilian consumers.87
Brazilian travellers image of Europe is characterized by a focus on academic studies, gastronomy,
sports, historical and cultural attractions, religious sites, and glamour and prestige.88
Brazilians are influenced by a number of sources during the travel planning process; telenovelas,
social media, TV programme, travel agencies and websites such as Groupon, Clickon and Peixe
Urbano.89
According to a 2011 survey, TV is seen as the most relevant source of information by 69% of
Brazilians. It remains the dominant and sometimes the only media source of information in many
smaller cities, where the population does not have access to the internet. Brazil is a big producer and
exporter of telenovelas which are particularly popular among those without higher education. TV
Globo, Brazils largest television network, is known for its primetime telenovelas and attracts 65% of
the total television audience.
Promoting European destinations in telenovelas is thus very effective, given their popularity. For
instance, some telenovelas had episodes filmed in countries such as Italy, Greece, Portugal, and the
Netherlands.
Destination Marketing Organizations often sponsor their production and combine it with other
advertisement activities during the period that the show is airing.
The following table is meant to summarize the main tourism trends of Brazilian travellers to
Europe, giving an overview of Europes strong and weak points as a touristic destination.
SWOT ANALYSIS90
86
ETC & UNWTO The Latin American Outbound Market Study, Market Insights, Brazil, (study in
progress)
87
about Europe, p.20
88
IDEM, p.21
89
IDEM, p.21
90
IDEM, p.23
49
STRENGHTS
WEAKNESSES
Diversity of cultures and nations first time
travellers who are coming to Europe want to

maximize
the
number
of
destinations
Language barriers lack of information

in Portuguese
experienced during their trips
Difficulty with the visa process and

entering in some countries
Gastronomic delights
Well-preserved historical sites
Historical connections with some of European
High price of intra-city transportation
countries
Crowded attractions
accepted
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
Due to the Euro crisis Brazilians see the
opportunity of cheaper travel to Europe
Changing
demographic
profile
of
Brazil
attracting
(cheaper
Brazilians
luxury
to
goods
class has grown by at least 40 million people
visa procedures
If the economic growth and disposable
Back to ones roots many Brazilians have their
income
roots in Portugal, Italy, Spain and Germany
might not have the means to spend
therefore travellers tend to choose destinations
money on traveling
Religious sites Brazil has the worlds largest

of
Roman
Catholics.
Travelling
abroad they are visiting sanctuaries in European

cities.
Sports attractions - Brazilians are avid football
fans and when travelling to Europe they want to
visit famous football stadiums and even try to
get tickets for football games to see the teams
that they otherwise only see on TV.
shopping
is
compared to Europe) and more relaxed
community
US,
emerging middle class. The Brazilian middle
where they have friends and family ties.
Main competitive destination to Europe,

the
since 2003.
Brazilian credit cards are not widely
Effective
marketing
through
telenovelas
Broadcasting European telenovelas in Brazil or

sponsor
shooting
Brazilian
telenovelas
European destinations
50
in
continue
to
slow,
Brazilians
Figure 12: Segments of Brazilian travellers Retrived from ETC & UNWTO, Understanding Brazilian
Outbound Tourism: What Brazilian Blogosphere is Saying about Europe91
ETCs netnographic research which analyzed more than 3.4 million tweets, collected between
September 2011 and August 2012, identified the following travel segments:
Group travellers This segment is forecasts to remain the largest by 2014 and even to grow. This
type of travellers is mainly influenced by traditional media such as TV and by travel agents. They tend
to be less independent than other groups, preferring to visit with tourist guides. Regarding social
media, they generally seek information after they purchase the travel package.
Semi-independent travellers Although they represent the smallest group, they are a growing
segment. They mainly rely on information from friends, social media and travel agencies. They prefer
free itineraries to guided tours. Regarding social media, they use it to organise their travel
arrangements and even to seek information on tickets and transportation to the main attractions.
They are also the ones to post photos on social media sites after the trip.
Independent travellers They are usually well educated an IT-savvy. Therefore they seek information
online and try to find the best deals. They are mainly influenced by websites and social media. They
are very independent in their travel behaviour, preferring to personalize their trip as much as possible.
Regarding social media, they use this medium before the trip to seek advice and tips on the location.
After the trip, they share their experiences via photos, comments, videos etc.
Brazilians social media users
91
IDEM, p.11
51
According to Internet World Stats, in mid-2012, there were over 88 million internet users,
representing 45.6% of the total population.92
Named by the Wall Street Journal93 the social media capital of the universe, Brazil is the ideal target
for online marketers. This is mainly due to the extrovert culture and the openness of Brazilians
towards brands. When in comes to travel planning, social media is a very important channel,
especially among the well-educated and higher-income groups.
Mobile usage is also on the rise, as it provides a cheaper alternative to broadband use. In a country
with a big rich-poor divide, social media bridges class divisions. (...) Twitter has targeted mobile users
since it first launched in Brazil. Given the lack of diversity in mainstream media, its become a popular
alternative for keeping up with the news and the latest trends. 94
As with most free markets, Facebook dominates the social media sphere. However, what is unique
about Brazil is the use of Orkut, a social network owned by Google that is little used outside of Brazil.
The highest number of social media users (6.7 million) is in So Paulo, followed by Rio de Janeiro (4
million). Following the same trend as for internet users, male slightly dominate females in terms of
users: 54% male and 46% female.95
As with most free markets, Facebook dominates the social media sphere. However, what is unique
about Brazil is the use of Orkut, a social network owned by Google that is little used outside of Brazil.
In January 2012, Orkut totalled 34,419,000 users, surpassed only by Facebook which totalled
36,098,000 users. Twitter had a smaller user-base but a bigger growth rate (40%) and 12,499,000
92
Internet Word Stats , Internet Usage, Facebook Subscribers and Population Statistics for all the
Americas World Region Countries, June 30, 2012
93
The Wall Street Journal, Brazil:The social media capital of the universe, 4 February 2013,
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323301104578257950857891898.html Last
consulted on 12 April 2013
94
Social Media Today, Brazil: A Social Media Marketers' Gold Mine, 5 April 2013
http://socialmediatoday.com/christian-arno/1337541/brazil-social-media-marketing-gold-mine Last
95
about Europe, p.6
52
users.96As of the beginning of 2013, Facebook totalled 69 million users in Brazil, a 48.5% increase
compared to the previous year.97
Travellers love to share their holiday experiences such as prices, transportation or attractions. Social
media becomes thus a tool to build a better image of oneself and a way to connect to others with
similar interests.
However distinct they may seem, traditional and social media tend to reinforce each other. For
instance, mentioning a destination in a TV show or telenovela immediately sparks discussions in
social media. This was the case in countries such as Malta, Slovakia and Croatia.
After a recent late-night TV show had a report about exchange programmes for learning English on
Malta, this location, which usually does not enjoy much attention in the Brazilian social media sphere,
was a trending topic on Twitter and Facebook for days. The same happened with Slovakia and Croatia
when they appeared for a full hour on prime time TV.98
According to the netnographic study, more than half (53%) of the Facebook users are sharing content
and interact with it, while 57% of the users have liked brands or products. This is a positive trend for
marketers investing in Facebook advertising. Moreover, in Brazil, Facebook offers an average cost per
click (CPC) of $0.28 and an average cost per thousand views (CPM) of $0.07.
99
Regarding Twitter, the majority of users are observers, with only 35% sharing content. However,
around 40% of users follow brands or products. In terms of advertising this is a good medium to keep
fans up-to-date with regards to recent news, products or services that might interest them.100
Research by ExactTarget shows that 42% of Brazilian consumers in the 25-44 age group have bought
a product after receiving a marketing message through social media.
96
101
comScore, Facebook Blasts into Top Position in Brazilian Social Networking Market Following Year of
Tremendous Growth, January 2012,
http://www.comscore.com/Insights/Press_Releases/2012/1/Facebook_Blasts_into_Top_Position_in_Br
azilian_Social_Networking_Market Last consulted on 12 April 2013
97
eMarketer, Emerging Markets Drive Facebok User Growth,
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Emerging-Markets-Drive-Facebook-User-Growth/1009875 Last
98
about Europe, p.36
99
about Europe, p.18
100
IDEM, p.19
101
E-commerce Brasil (2012), Estudo revela como consumidor brasileiro interage com e-mail,
Facebook e Twitter (Online), available: http://www.ecommercebrasil.com.br/noticias/estudo-revelacomo-consumidor-brasileiro-interage-com-e-mail-facebook-e-twitter Last consulted on 12 April 2013
53
Inner motivations for travel

As presented in the Brazilian Netnographic study, travellers have different reasons to see other places.
Some see tourism as a way to prove their higher status, while others seek new experiences and
finding cultural roots. Below are a few motivations of Brazilians when travelling to Europe, as
expressed in the netnographic study:
Status-related motivations - Europe is considered a classy destination where only a few Brazilians
can travel to. The bragging rights of travelling to Europe are significantly higher than when visiting
neighbouring countries.
Experience-centred motivations the many cultural and religious bounds Europe shares with Brazil
are a common motivation to travel to Europe. Brazilians seek to find their roots and acquire
knowledge on Europes history, culture and gastronomy.
People-centred motivations Brazilians are more likely to travel to Europe when the purpose
is also to visit friends and relatives. The growing Brazilian diaspora facilitates this trend.
Figure 13: Europe-specific themes among Brazilian travellers
54
Major themes in the discussion about European travel in the Brazilian social media sphere. The
relative sizes of the circles reflect the relative sizes of the different themes. Sub-themes (dark green
cir-cles) are clustered into broader themes (grey circles).102
Promoting Europe in Brazil
Some European NTOs in Brazil by location as of January 2013.
Country / NTO
Location
Bulgaria
Sao Paulo
Czech Republic
So Paulo
Hungary
Representative is headquartered in Budapest, Hungary
Italy
So Paulo
Monaco
Rio de Janeiro
Portugal
So Paulo
Spain
So Paulo
Switzerland
So Paulo
Source: The respective NTOs websites (2013)

DMOs often struggle with a lack of resources in terms of promoting their destinations in Brazil.
Moreover, the large socioeconomic differences of the country make it difficult to choose only one
advertising message and channel. Marketers need to take into account both the IT-savvy welleducated group and the newer members of the middle class who get their information through TV
programmes and travel agents. Therefore, the recommended approach is to set a target group and
tailor the channel and message to it.
Brazilians have many cultural ties with Europe, but this also differs depending on the geographical
location. For instance, Brazil's Southeast Region is home for many European descendants and has
been the largest source of outbound tourists. On the other hand, Brazilians in the Northeast have
fewer historical connections to Europe.
102
about Europe, p.34
55
However, the general awareness about Europe in Brazil is still low, as the continent is competing with
closer and cheaper destinations such as Argentina and USA. Moreover, Google revealed that in Brazil,
search queries such as "Where is Estonia located?" and "What is the capital of Norway?" are common.
Europe needs to establish smart strategies in order compete with destinations in Latin America and
USA, which have gained a big share of Brazilian outbound travel in recent years. One way of doing this
is through telenovelas. Their potential is not to be underestimated as the most popular episodes
reach up to 40% of the population. Therefore destination marketing organizations can promote their
destinations through sponsorship and advertisements on the most popular telenovelas. This will also
spark discussions on social media and raise awareness on European destinations.103
2.2. Social media and tourism trends in Canada
Tourism trends
According to the Index of Economic Freedom from 2013, Canadas economy has been resilient. It
benefited from open-market policies and reductions in corporate tax rates. These contributed to the
countries global competitiveness.104
In 2012, the estimated total population was over 34 million, representing 3,4 inhabitants per km.105
The population is expected to increase by 6.08% reaching 36.4 million by 2020. However, the aging
population will continue to rise.106
Canada has strong cultural roots in Europe with 28% of the total population having British origins,
23% French and 15 other European.107
103
about Europe, p.63
104
The Heritage Foundation (2013), 2013 Index of Economic Freedom,
http://www.heritage.org/index/country/canada, Last consulted on 6 April 2013
105
International Monetary Fund (2013), Report on selected countries and subjects.
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2012/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2010&ey=2017&scsm=
1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&pr1.x=74&pr1.y=3&c=156&s=NGDPD%2CLUR%2CLP&grp=0&a
= Last consulted on 15 May 2013
106
United States Census Bureau (2013), Mid-year Population by Five Year Age Groups and Sex Custom Region Canada
http://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/region.php?N=%20Results%20&T=10&A=s
eparate&RT=0&Y=2012&R=-1&C=CA Last consulted on 15 May 2013
56
Long haul outbound from Canada is forecast to grow an average of 2.2% per year through 2017.
Arrivals to European regions are expected to grow, especially in Central/Eastern Europe, by 17.5% (to
0.5 million).108
In 2017, Northern Europes share of the Canadian market is forecast to rise to 9.8%. Central/Eastern
Europes share is expected to grow by 5% while Western Europes share is forecast to fall to 13.7%.
Southern Europes share is also expected to fall by 11.5%.109
According to Statistics Canada some 317 million domestic trips were made in 2011 with 124 million of
these being to destination Ontario and 84 million to destination within the province of Quebec. 110
In 2011, most Canadians visited the USA, Mexico, Cuba, and France. In the top 10 visited countries,
there are 3 European destinations (UK, France and Italy). This is not surprising, considering that the
biggest share of the Canadian population is mainly of French and British origin.
Figure 14: Top 10 destinations visited by Canadian travellers by arrivals and nights World
and Europe
World Destinations
2007
European Destinations
2011
2007
2011
France
922.000
925.477
Mexico
945.620
1.563.146
United Kingdom
851.995
740.000
Cuba
660.384
1.002.318
Italy
397.510
574.527
France
922.000
925.477
Germany
246.126
281.876
China
577.220
747.981
Spain
124.258
228.285
740.000
Greece
158.796
142.287
668.290
Switzerland
94.413
99.509
96.000
99.000
United States of America
United Kingdom
Dominican Republic
17.759.000 21.337.000
851.995
591.871
Italy
397.510
574.527
Ireland
Jamaica
190.650
378.938
Austria
88.035
98.545
Hong Kong, China
296.300
291.454
Turkey
76.708
96.135
Source: 14
Source: 14
In 2011, 925.477 Canadian travellers visited France, 740.000 the United Kingdom, and 574.527 Italy,
while Germany had 218.876 Canadian visitors and Spain 228.285.
107
CIA, The World Factbook, 2013, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/geos/ca.html Last consulted on 15 May 2013
108
ETC (2013), European Tourism 2013 Trends & Prospects (Q1/2013)
109
ETC (2013), European Tourism 2013 Trends & Prospects (Q1/2013)
110
Statistics Canada, Trips by Canadians in Canada, by province and territory, 2011,
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/arts26a-eng.htm Last consulted on 4
June 2013
57
In 2012, Canadian travellers spent US$ 35.2 billion, which put them at the 7th place in the world
rankings. China has become the worlds largest spender with US$ 102 billion. China surpassed the top
two spenders to become the largest international tourism spender in the world. Previously, the second
largest spender was the United States (US$ 83.7 billion), and the top spender was Germany (US$
83.8 billion).111
2012s Canadian Tourism Expenditure nearly doubled in spending on international tourism since 2005
(US$ 18 million) before allowing the impact of inflation and exchange rate. 112
According to UNWTO the average length of stay of Canadian travellers abroad was 10 day in the
period between 2007 and 2011.113
Canadian leisure travellers to Britain stay on average 9 nights per visit in a destination and spend
778 (91) per visit. On the other hand, business travellers to Britain spend 1.142 (185) per visit
and stay in a destination 6 nights.114
Although the majority of Canadian holiday travellers stay in hotels, a high share of visitors to Europe
(especially VFR travellers) stay with friends and family and /or private accommodation. 115
The average length of a trip to Europe in 2007 was 18,2 nights. However, the length of stay in the
leading individual destinations in Europe varied across Europe: from 12,5 nights in France and 12,3
nights in the UK, to about 10,8 nights in Italy, Spain and Ireland, to 8,1 nights in the Netherlands, 7,1
Switzerland and 5,6 in Austria. 116
Canadian Travellers Profile
Canadians are experienced and demanding travellers. Those with the highest propensity to travel
overseas are aged 45-65. The majority of overseas travellers come from Ontario (48%), Quebec
(22%), and British Columbia (14%) (2008). Repeat travellers account for more than 50% of total
trips. 117
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
UNWTO, World Tourism Barometer, vol. 11, April 2013

IDEM
UNWTO (2012), Tourism Statistics Compendium 2005-2009 and 2007-2011
Visit Britain (2013), Canada Market and Trade Profile
ETC (2009), Market Insights, Canada
IDEM
IDEM
58
Canadians are more likely than other visitors to socialise with the locals. They are highly
interested in experiencing the local culture, from visiting a pub, going shopping, to visit castles,
churches, monuments, historic houses, gardens, museums, and art galleries. They are keen in
exploring the country (including walking in the countryside and visiting the coast), participating in
sporting activities, and researching their ancestry. Young Canadians in particular want to
understand local culture and to live like a local. 118
Despite growing travel to South America and Asia, Europe continues to remain high on the
Canadians wish-list when it comes to travelling. However, Australia and New Zealand are the main
competitors in terms of aspirations. 119
An expected positive aspect of demographic changes is that Canadas aging population will
probably favour Europe.
VFR is particularly important for travel to the UK and Germany. In 2007, 60% of total international
trips were holiday / vacation, 19% VFR, 13% business and 8% other. 120
Planning and booking121
Although the great majority of trips now involve some use of the internet, Canadians have been slow
to adopt the internet for actual travel purchase. As the Canadian Travel Commission points out, the
internet remains more of a research tool than a virtual travel agent. Online bookings are
predominantly used for airline, hotel and car-hire arrangements for domestic and US destinations;
long-haul travel may be researched, and preliminary arrangements made online, but the final
bookings are usually made through a travel agent often with a visit to retail outlet.
According to VisitBritain about 30% of visits to Britain were decided upon between one and three
months ahead of travel, but 21% do so between three and six months in advance, and almost one-inten make their decision more than one year before they travel.
The following table is meant to summarize the main tourism trends of Chinese travellers to Europe,
giving an overview of Europes strong and weak points as a touristic destination.
SWOT Analysis
STRENGHTS
118
119
120
121
WEAKNESSES
IDEM
IDEM
IDEM
IDEM
59
Canadian boomers love history, nature
Leisure travellers travel mostly to South
and culture. Europe has a good
America, Asia and Oceania and their
preservation of historic attractions, rich
travel expenditure in those destinations
cultural past and high level of cultural
is higher than in Europe. 122
sophistication.
No language barriers.
The ease of travelling around different

countries in Europe.
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
Most Canadian travellers to Europe are
in their 40s, 50s or 60s. According to
travellers to other overseas countries.
demographic
124
forecasts
the
Canadian
population will continue to age fast. It is
highly likely that they will favour Europe
The airfares from Canada to Europe are

getting more expensive.
in their travel choices.
Europe has lost its share of leisure
Economic uncertainties which affect the
The majority of visitors from Canada are
Canadian travel and tourism, with many
returning to Europe after their first trip.
potential travellers thinking twice before
The Canadian population is mainly of
spending money going on a trip.
European origin; VFR represents an

important reason for travelling.
Europes destination follow the growing

trend
towards
sustainable
tourism,
while the demand for environmentallyfriendly or green travel continues to

grow in Canada.
The
Canadian
Outbound
Trips
are
expected to keep the positive growth in

next five years.123
The Canadian Netizen
122
The Conference Board of Canada (2013), Insights you can count on. New York: ETC Transatlantic
conference
123
conference
124
conference
60
According to the Internet World Stats, by June 30, 2012, there were 28,469,069 internet users in
Canada, representing 83% of the population.
Figure
15:
Internet
users
as
125
percentage
of
the
Canadian
population,
Source:
http://www.cira.ca/factbook/2013/canada-online.html
As in most markets, the highest number of internet users is located in big cities. During the fourth
quarter of 2011, ComScores report found that 38% of Canadas users were located in the province of
Ontario, followed by Quebec with 24%. Finally, the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan
were home to about 18% of the internet users.126
Social media usage
In 2011, around 16.9 million Canadians were on social networks. However, when it comes to video
consumption the numbers are much higher: 25 million Canadians watch online videos on a monthly
basis, with YouTube being the main player and the second largest search engine.
127
It is worth noting that not everybody is looking for video when they search, but video reaches 91% of
the Canadian population.128
125
Internet World Stats, December 2012, http://www.newmediatrendwatch.com/markets-bycountry/11-long-haul/45-canada Last consulted on 5 June 2013
126
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Web-User-Concentration-Canada-Mimics-PopulationSpread/1008978#mymYIWg0qBowuZ3E.99
127
6S
Marketing,
Canadian
Internet
Usage
Statistics
(Infographic)
http://www.6smarketing.com/infographic-canadian-internet-usage-statistics/ Last consulted on 5 June
2013; Marketing gathered this data from Google presentations at the Google Engage Conference in
Vancouver, Canada on Sept 17, 2012.
128
IDEM
61
In terms of social media usage, Canadians and USA users follow a common trend, with over 47%
using social media at least once a month in 2011; whereas only 42.4% of South Koreans and 40.2%
of Australians use social networks on a monthly basis.129 Total minutes spent on social media sites
went from 8,105 to 10,708 between 2010 and 2011.130
According to a ComScore study, Canadian users distinguish themselves by their high engagement on
social networks. In 2011 Canadians spent an average of 45 hours per month on social media, almost
double the global average. According to the same study, Canadians watched an average of 300 videos
per month. In this sense, YouTube was amongst the most important channels with views increasing by
a staggering 170% in 2011.131
Figure
16:
Canada
leads
video
in
viewing
online
videos,
Source:
According to a report by Media Technology Monitor, one in three Anglophone Canadians check their
social media feeds on a daily basis. Out of the total social media users, 63% check their Facebook,
Twitter and LinkedIn updates every day. According to the same report, about 93% of social media
users are on Facebook, making this channel once again the most widespread social networking site in
129
Cira, Factbook, 2013, http://www.cira.ca/factbook/2013/canada-online.html Last consulted on 5

June 2013
130
Slideshare, 2012 Canada digital future in focus, http://www.slideshare.net/supernovastudios/2012canada-digital-future-in-focus Last consulted on 5 June 2013
131
Cira, Factbook, 2013, http://www.cira.ca/factbook/2013/canada-online.html Last consulted on 5
June 2013
62
the country. Regarding LinkedIn, about 12% of Internet users said they used it at least once a month
in 2011. However, the figure was up to 18 % in 2012.132
Figure
17:
Share
of
time
spent
(%)
by
content,
Source:
Even though big screens are still the most preferred way for Canadians to access the Internet, mobile
internet is growing at a face pace. For instance, by the end of 2011, almost half of the mobile users
were using a Smartphone, an increase of close to 50% from the previous year.133
In a way, mobile devices have become as important as clothing a part of peoples everyday life. In
Canada, around 60-70% of citizens are on mobile. Almost 80% of them do not leave home without
their mobile device. Therefore, investing in mobile promotion is nothing but a great idea, as 86% of
Smartphone users notice mobile ads. However, not only do Canadians notice ads, but they also react
after seeing it, more than in traditional media. According to a Google Conference held in Vancouver in
2012, 57% of the users have performed a mobile search after seeing an ad, compared to only 32% of
those seeing a billboard and 49% a TV ad.134
Compared to traditional advertising, mobile ads are more effective in driving search traffic. People can
buy anything on mobile, e.g. Toilet paper, especially if they dont have a car and it gets delivered.135
132
Macleans.ca,
New
report
reveals
stats
about
social
media
usage
in
Canada,
http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/04/29/how-do-you-compare-new-report-reveals-stats-about-socialmedia-usage-in-canada/ Last consulted on 6 June 2013
133
Cira, Factbook, http://www.cira.ca/factbook/2013/canada-online.html Last consulted on 6 June
2013
134
6S
Marketing,
Canadian
internet
usage
statistics
(Infographic),
http://www.6smarketing.com/infographic-canadian-internet-usage-statistics/ Last consulted on 6 June
2013 , 6S Marketing gathered this data from Google presentations at the Google Engage Conference
in Vancouver, Canada on Sept 17, 2012
135
IDEM
63
Key social media stats in the Canadian market:136
LinkedIn: 4 million users, August 2011
MySpace: 150 million users, June 2011
Twitter: over 200 million users September 2011
Facebook: over 500 million active users
YouTube: 17.6 million users, January 2011
Google +: 67 million users, November 2011
Promoting Europe in Canada

When it comes to promoting European destinations in North America, some National Tourism
Organisations prefer having one office dealing with both the USA and Canadian market. This is mainly
explained by their need to reduce costs and by the many similarities between the two countries.
As it can be seen in the table below, countries like Croatia, Sweden and Poland chose to locate their
offices in New York and work on promoting both markets from USA. Also, Austria and Denmark
National Tourist Organisations do not mention the location of their offices on their websites, but
instead provide the contact details of the persons responsible for the North America market.
Figure 18: European NTOs offices in Canada, Source: NTOs websites
Country/NTO
Location
Austria
N/A
Bulgaria
Ottawa
Croatia
New York
Flanders
New York
Czech Republic
Toronto, Ontario
Denmark
N/A
Germany
Toronto, Ontario
Iceland
Ottawa
Ireland
Toronto, Ontario
Italy
Toronto, Ontario
Poland
New York
136
Connie Crosby, Social Media & Mobile Use in Canada: a demographic snapshot, Crosby Group
Consulting, January 2012 data extracted from the respective social networking sites, retrieved from
http://www.slideshare.net/conniecrosby/social-media-and-mobile-use-in-canada-a-demographicsnapshot-january-2012 Last consulted on 6 June 2013
64
Portugal
New York
Spain
Toronto, Ontario
Sweden
New York
Switzerland
Toronto
Belgium (Wallonie)
Qubec
However, the main difference is that the Canadians feel closer to Europe than US citizens do, due to
their cultural roots, mainly French and British. Therefore I believe that a more targeted approach
when it comes to promoting European destinations in Canada is needed. Even though the social media
channels of choice might be more or less similar to those US citizens use, tailor promotional messages
could lead to more Canadians dreaming about visiting the old continent, the land where their
ancestors came from and where their friends and relatives might still live in.
2.3. Social media and tourism trends in China
Tourism trends
With a population of over 1 billion citizens, the volume of international trips by Chinese travellers
has grown from 10 million in 2000 to 83 million in 2012. Several factors contributed to this
increase, the most important ones being the rising disposable incomes, the relaxation of
restrictions on foreign travel and the rapid urbanization. China has also become the largest spender
in international tourism globally with a record of US$ 102 billion spent in international tourism in
2012 an almost eightfold increase since 2000.137
Chinese arrivals in most European destinations at least doubled since 2005. The Czech Republic
has recorded unrivalled growth since 2005 (+35% a year), from a low base of 17,900 to 109,000
in 2011. Other destinations that saw the number of Chinese arrivals more than triple during this
period include Switzerland, Hungary, Croatia, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Armenia, Georgia, Estonia
and Lithuania. 12 countries in Europe report more than 100,000 Chinese arrivals a year.
The Russian Federation is considered the most important European destination; it remains
essentially a short-haul destination as most traffic is comprised of cross border, trade-border
movement.
137
ETC & UNWTO (2012 Update ) The Chinese Outbound Travel Market, p.23
65
Figure 19: Top 15 destinations visited by Chinese travellers by arrivals and nights World
and Europe7 Source: ETC & UNWTO (2012 Update ) The Chinese Outbound Travel Market, p. 23
Ranking of Chinese Outbound Market by Arrivals,
2006 and 2011 (000)
World destinations
2006
2011
Hong Kong, China
8.434
13.600
Macao, China
2.628
4.704
Republic of Korea
897
2.220
Taiwan
897
1.784
Thailand
1.037
1.721
Singapure
1.037
1.578
Vietnam
516
1.417
Malaysia
439
1.251
USA
321
1.089
Japan
812
1.043
Russian Federation
765
846
France
574
730
Germany
442
637
Indonesia
147
574
Australia
309
542
Source: ETC & UNWTO (2012) Chinese Outbound Travel Market
Europe
2006
2011
Russian Federation
765
846
France
574
730
Germany
442
637
Switzerland
133
453
Spain
109
300
Austria
177
243
Italy
117
210
Netherlands
95
156
United Kingdom
107
149
Kazahstan
117
N/A
Czech Republic
30
109
Belgium
107
100
Turkey
53
97
Sweden
50
73
Greece
41
N/A
Source: ETC & UNWTO (2012) Chinese Outbound Travel Market
Most Chinese travelling to France were high-income business travellers, a majority of whom were
paid by the companies dispatching them. Germany benefits from having the highest number of
direct flights from China, which often makes it a first stop for Chinese tourists on a multidestination tour of Europe. Germany is also an important business destination for the Chinese.
Switzerland saw the inflow of Chinese tourists increase substantially since 2009, the main reason
being the countrys entry into the Schengen area in December 2008. As such Chinese tourists do
not need to apply for a separate visa in order to visit Switzerland. The United Kingdom holds
however a disadvantage over other European destinations, due to the large number of students,
business and VFR visitors, as well as the fact that the country is not a member of the Schengen
area and therefore not a candidate destination for multi-designation tours on a single visa.
First-time travellers to Europe tend to choose multi-destination tours, but the trend is towards
fewer destinations per trip. Among repeat travellers, there is also a trend towards deep tours that
cover just one or two countries Italy is a prominent destination for such trips.
A majority of outbound travellers are travelling for leisure purposes, but some of those going to
European destinations such as the United Kingdom and the Nordic countries are business travellers.
However, business trips are often combined with leisure activities.138
138
IDEM, P.25
66
A Chinese trip to Europe averages 8 to 15 days. Most European destinations have average lengths
of stay between 1 and 3 nights. United Kingdom, a non-Schengen destination, is a notable
exception, with 13 nights as the average length of stay; however, 33% of the visits last 4-7 nights,
according to VisitBritain data.139
The major urban centres of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen account for most of the
outbound travel demand among Chinese, but demand from smaller cities and towns is also growing
fast.140
According to the Annual Report on China Outbound Tourism Development 2010, 46.98% of Chinese
outbound tourists are travelling with members of their family, and another 23.81% with friends.
Only 6.95% travel entirely without companions. 2.76% of travellers are participants in groups
organized by their work units or companies - mostly for technical tours, incentives, and study.141
Chinese travellers are relatively young; 20% are aged 15-29; 35% are aged 25-34; 29% are in the
35-44 age bracket. Travellers to Europe are older than the average outbound traveller with the 3560142 age segment having the highest proportion.
Holidays and other types of leisure account for just 25% of all arrivals in the Nordic countries,
according to research carried out by the Scandinavian Tourist Board. Italy or Belgium, attract as
many as 70-80% leisure tourism in their overall count, with the balance coming from conferences
and meetings business. United Kingdom, which probably attracts a higher share of business
travellers from China than any other European country excluding Germany is also much more
important than average for study trips, notably ones with an English-language focus.
In the last seven years, the attention of the European tourism industry has been focused on the
Chinese group leisure tourism market, which opened up as a result of the granting of Approved
Destination Status (ADS)143 to most European countries in 2004. Chinese leisure travellers are very
pricey-conscious in terms of their outlay regarding transport, accommodation, food and beverages,
but they are big spenders when it comes to shopping. In 2010, as much as a fourth of travellers
cited shopping as the area of paramount expenditure. Europe is perceived by Chinese travellers as
a shopping heaven, especially for luxury brands144.
139
140
141
142
143
144
IDEM, P. 26
IDEM, p.26
IDEM, p.24
IDEM, p.25
ADS is the scheme that authorises countries to receive leisure tour group travellers from China
IDEM, p. 25
67
The following table is meant to summarize the main tourism trends of Chinese travellers to Europe,
SWOT ANALYTIS145
STRENGHTS
WEAKNESSES
New Airlines routes
Tough competition
A variety of tourism products
Decreasing market share
Schengen agreement
Lack of Chinese-oriented service (e.g. Chinese
Peaceful and clean cities
language information and materials)
Not crowded
Poor value-for money (esp. Accommodation)
Good preservation of historical attractions
Tourist tax
Clean environment
High prices (accommodation, food)
Rich cultural past and a high level of cultural
Tedious Visa application process
sophistication
Unable to use Chinese credit cards in most
Friendly and helpful people
places
Different currencies
Lacking public transportation at some
destination
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
Plans to invest in transport infrastructure
VISA barriers
Relaxation of travel restrictions
USA market which attracts students and
Fast growing e-commerce
business visitors from China
First time travellers choose multi-destination
Renewed terrorism, natural disasters, epidemics
tours and repeat-travellers deep tours
or political unrest
Changing demographic profile of China (a
Fluctuations in the Chinese economy
growing middle-class)
Ad-hoc e-marketing and e-commerce channels
The increased and diversified leisure time

A growing ability and desire to spend
Money on a leisure which includes tourism
145
IDEM, p.25
68
The Chinese Netizen

China has the world largest internet population, totalling 564 million Internet users as of December
2012 - 50.9 million more than the year before.146 The Internet penetration rate amongst the
population is now 42%. (China Internet Network Information Centre - Jan 2013)147 The amount of
time people spent online also increased from 18.7 hours to 20.5 hours per week on average148 and
72% of Chinese Netizens have Broadband Internet access.149
According to China Internet Network Information Centre, 56% of Chinese internet users are male and
most of Chinese internet users are aged between 20-29 years. Among party and government organs
and institutions, the leading cadres and common clerks account for 0.5% and 4.2% respectively.
Internet users with a monthly income of above RMB 3,000 increase steadily, accounting for 28.8%,
which is 6.5% higher than the end of 2011.150
Among the group of Chinese with higher education degrees, 96.1% use the internet. Geographically,
internet usage is the highest in the economically more developed coastal areas. Regions such as
Beijing (70.3% internet penetration), Shanghai (66.2%), Guangdong (60.4%), Fujian (57.0%) and
Zhejiang (56.1%) are way ahead of the poorer southwestern provinces like Yunnan (24.8%), Jiangxi
(14.5%) and Guizhou (11.9%).151
According to China Internet Network Information Centre, mobile-internet users outnumber PCbased ones - with 75% of Chinese Netizens using mobiles to go online. Moreover, 60% of Chinas rural
Netizens access the internet via mobile devices.152 Chinas telecom industry is the largest in the world.
The number of mobile internet users in China accounts for more than the entire population of US,
namely 420 million. Moreover, the mobile penetration rate totals 82%. Also, the value of Chinas
Mobile Internet Market is growing at an annual rate of 102%. However, only 30% of Chinese mobile
146
Synthesio, Social Media and Censorship in China, 2013, http://synthesio.com/corporate/wpcontent/uploads/2013/03/Social-media-and-censorship-in-China1.pdf Last consulted on 14 May 2013
147
The next web, We are social, Social, Digital and Mobile in China,
http://thenextweb.com/asia/2013/01/17/chinese-netizens-spent-approximately-19-million-years-onsocial-media-in-2012-report/ Last consulted on 14 May 2013
148
149
150
China Internet Network Information Center, Statistical Report on Internet Development in China
(January 2013), http://www1.cnnic.cn/IDR/ReportDownloads/201302/P020130312536825920279.pdf
Last consulted on 14 May 2013
151
ETC- UNWTO Understanding Chinese Outbound Tourism - What the Chinese blogosphere is saying
about Europe, 2012, p.3
152
China Internet Network Information Center, Statistical Report on Internet Development in China
(January 2013), http://www1.cnnic.cn/IDR/ReportDownloads/201302/P020130312536825920279.pdf
69
internet users have access to 3G services. As of mobile social networking trends, the numbers are still
rising. For example, in 2012, mobile Weibo users in China increased by 47%, according to the China
Network Information Centre.153
However, the internet is still highly regulated in China. In 1998, the Chinese government implemented
the Golden Shield Project, commonly known as the Great Firewall of China or GFW, in order to monitor
and censor the web within the country The Chinese Director of Information, Wang Chen, declared that
350 million pieces of information, including text, photos and videos, were blocked by the GWF on the
Chinese web in 2010. A 2012 study by Carnegie Mellon University estimated that 16% of all online
conversations in China were deleted by the government in 2012. 154 Until recently, barely 38% of
Chinas Netizens revealed their identity on social networking sites.
155
Chinese social media users

Blogs and social media account for 66% of online activities in China. The social media penetration is
44% with 91% of Chinas Netizens visiting social media sites. The top social networking sites by
registered users are QZone (712 million), Tencent Weibo (507 million), Sina Weibo (400mln), PengYou
(259 million) and RenRen (172 million).156 Moreover, each of Chinas social media users follows on
average 8 Brands and 80% of users care about commercial information on social networking sites.
157
309 million people used Twitter-esque micro-blogging platforms such as Sina Weibo, Tencent Weibo
and Netease Web in 2012 - an increase of 58.73 million from the previous year. The number of users
of social networking websites (including Facebook and Linkedin clones such as Renren, Kaixin001,
Tianjin, Wealink and Ushi) was 275 million by the end of December 2012, up by 12.6% over the end
of 2011.158
Regarding professional social networking sites, LinkedIn is probably the social media network with the
most active Great FireWall crossover. China ranks 7th in the list of countries worldwide by its number
of LinkedIn users.
153
154
155
156
IDEM
157
IDEM
158
70
More than half of Weibo users access e-commerce sites after noticing relevant information on the
platform. Thus, there are more than 230,000 companies with a presence on Weibo. However, the
channel also hosts 60,000 government accounts. All in all, the platform has great potential for
businesses across various sectors, as Sina Weibo users consume 54% of the total goods and services
in China. (Sina Weibo users report - October 2012).159 However, although the number of online travel
bookings is increasing, most travellers still book their trips offline. The internet is mainly used for
searching travel related information.
What the Chinese Netizen is saying about Europe
Using a database of 50 million micro-blog posts and 20 million blog posts written in 2010 and 2011, a
study jointly published by ETC and UNWTO offers a netnographic analysis on the mind of the Chinese
traveller to Europe. In this study, the authors use quantitative methods such as text analysis to
extract patterns from blogs and micro-blogs. However, although social media mining is a quantitative
method, the results it generates are qualitative. Therefore, the method should be seen as conducting
an enormous focus group.160
According to the study, when planning a trip, many white-collar bloggers yearn for a peaceful, quiet
and clean environment, which would help them get away from the pressures of everyday life.
Pollution in Chinese cities has turned air quality and deep blue skies into an unidentified advantage for
many European destinations.161
A new phenomenon among Chinese travellers is small town travelling. This is particularly interesting
for more experienced travellers who often opt for packages where they get to spend more time in
fewer locations.162
Shopping is one of the favourite activities of Chinese tourists, as many items in European luxury shops
are actually cheaper in Europe. This is the case both because of hefty taxes on imported luxury goods
in China and because of the appreciating Yuan. Although many luxury products are made in China, in
European luxury stores, you are sure to get the real thing. Most Chinese travellers are often very
159
160
ETC- UNWTO, Understanding Chinese Outbound Tourism - What the Chinese blogosphere is saying
161
162
71
pricey-conscious. They prefer to save as much money as possible on food, accommodation and
transportation, whereas entertainment and shopping are accepted as being more costly.163
Another rising trend is going on a make up honeymoon, even ten years or more after the actual
wedding. Many Chinese couples who married in the 1990s and 2000s did not have the chance to go on
a honeymoon. Now, when incomes in China are rising steadily, a large group of people is about to tip
over the income threshold where they can afford international travelling. Although domestic
destinations164 are the most popular choices for honeymooners, Europe also scores high on the list,
with Greece, Italy, France and Turkey at the top.165
Social media Marketing Initiatives

National Tourism Organisations do not hesitate to take advantage of the possibilities that social media
promotion offers. One of the most successful social media campaigns was My 2011 Travel which
encouraged micro-bloggers to post travel stories on Sina Weibo. The activity was sponsored by the
Spanish, Australian and Egyptian Tourism Organisations. Among the rewards offered was a visit to
Ayers Rock in Australia, a ten-day journey to Egypt or a trip for two in Spain. Other popular nonChinese tourism organisations on Sina Weibo are those of Singapore, Switzerland, New Zealand,
Canada and the Republic of Korea.166
Visa issues
Since the 1980s, more liberalized emigration policies made it possible for an increasing number of
Chinese tourists to travel legally. However, many Chinese travellers still face difficulties when
applying for a visa in Europe. According to a report by ETOA 167, about 26% of potential Chinese
visitors to Europe cancelled their trips due to the slow processing of Schengen visas. Popular tourist
destinations like the UK and France were found to have the most difficult visa processing. In
163
164
Popular domestic destinations include Lijiang and Xiamen as well as Asian destinations like The
Maldives, Fiji, Malaysia and Thailand
165
166
167
European Tour Operators Association (ETOA), Europe: Open for Business? Reopening the debate on
visa policy, 2010
72
contrast, Germany was ranked the best consular authority, with the advantages of having high
speed visa processing and friendly staff.168
Different tribes, different travel patterns
The netnographic study distinguishes five different groups of Chinese travellers, namely the
Traditionalists, Wenyi Youth, Experience-centred travellers, the Hedonists and the Connoisseurs.
1. Traditionalists or tick-a-box travellers form the largest tribe. They mainly consist of group
travellers. Their main motivation to travel to Europe is to mark their middle-class identity in
China. They are less interested in having an authentic, cultural experience than other tribes.
2. Wenyi169 Youth is a group characterized by the pursuit of freedom, unique experiences and
self-realisation. According to one blogger, the term describes the young, white-collar Chinese
whose mindsets are westernised and who pursue experience and quality of life. Although the
Wenyi Youth visit many of the same attractions as the Traditionalist travellers, they are more
adventurous and they are unlikely to join a tour group. They are mainly keen on escaping the
pressures of white-collar city life. The photos they share online show that they are able to
appreciate a narrow lane as much as a famous attraction. The travellers themselves are
seldom in the picture and when they are, they do not pose.
3. Experience-centred travellers like travelling for its own sake rather than for prestige or status.
Their main motivations for travelling are curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. For example,
when visiting main attractions, they are deeply interested in their historical background and
significance.
4.
The hedonists from the smallest group of the five tribes. They mainly consist of overseas
students to whom travel is all about pleasure: shopping, eating at good restaurants and
having a good time in general. They are known to other bloggers as the rich kids spending
their parents money.
5. The connoisseurs are quality-oriented travellers who often have a particular interest, such as
food or photography, running as a theme through their travel blogs.170
168
169
Wenyi is the Chinese word for literature and art
170
about Europe, 2012, pp.35-40
73
All in all, it is important to keep in mind that treating a huge market like China as a single unit will not
work. Finally, online promotion should still be combined with traditional channels in order to also reach
the population that is not present on social media platforms.
European National Tourism Organisations Promotion in China

Coming back to one of the research questions, the following rows aim to explore how prepared are
European NTOs for Chinese tourists.
As of January 2012, thirteen NTOs created their own simplified Chinese websites. Traditional Chinese
characters are used for the Hong Kong and Taiwanese markets, while simplified Chinese characters
are used in mainland China and Singaporean Chinese.171
Figure 20: European countries with NTO websites in simplified Chinese, January 2012
Many NTOs are struggling with limited resources; therefore they are represented in China through
their embassies, consulates, or national airlines. In 2011 there were 23 foreign NTOs established in
China, out of which 18 were European. (See figure 19)172
The first European country to open an office in China was Switzerland in 1998. Since then 18 other
European countries have joined. Sweden, Norway and Denmark had a joint operation in Beijing and
Shanghai under the banner of the Scandinavian Tourist Board (STB). However, Visit Sweden left the
board in 2012 because of differences in strategic priorities, and went alone. The Portuguese tourism
board, is represented abroad by ICEP, the Portuguese Agency for Foreign Trade and Investment. Two
171
172
ETC & UNWTO (2012 Update), The Chinese Outbound Travel Market, p38
IDEM, p73
74
other countries (Germany and Ireland) have local marketing representatives. Hungary is represented
by its embassy, and Italy by the Italian Chamber of Commerce.173
Figure 21. Some European NTOs in China by location and type of office, January 2012
However, although a presence in China is crucial if NTOs want to make sure they capture their share
of the markets growth, the experience shows that the first years of ADS 174 operation in Europe have
rather fallen short of expectations, even for Europes leading tourism destinations. In terms of ADS
business, the main players in Europe, will continue to be the leading Schengen destinations. As long
as visas do not become unaffordable, The United Kingdom will continue to attract a notable share of
students and business tourists from China. However, the difficulty lies in organizing multi-destination
173
174
IDEM, p74
Approved Destination Status
75
tours which include the UK and countries in the Shengen area. This is due to the separate visa
required by the UK.175
2.4. Social media and tourism trends in USA
Tourism trends
Europe is the largest destination region of the US outbound travel and will continue to attract a large
number of US tourists. For example, in 2012, 40% of US long haul travellers chose to venture to
Europe176 Long haul outbound from the US is forecast to grow 5.8% per year on average through
2016.177 However, the growth rate in percentage terms for travel to Europe is lower than some
emerging destinations, notably emerging Asia178
Figure 22: US Citizen Travel to Overseas in 2012
175
176
177
178
ETC, European Tourism 2013 Trends and Prospects, 9 May 2013
ETC (2012). European Tourism 2012 Trends and Prospects (Q4/2012)
ETC & UNWTO, The US Outbound Travel Market, 2010
76
Although they report more than 100,000 US arrivals a year, most of European destinations registered
a decline in US arrivals in 2011.179 For instance, US arrivals in UK, France, Italy and Germany have
dropped since 2006. However, in 2011 Spain has recorded a growth of 12% and Switzerland 11%180.
Figure 23: Ranking of the US Outbound by Arrivals 2011 (000)
Expenditure
Personal income in the US decreased US$505.5 billion (3.6%) and disposable personal income (DPI)
decreased US$491.4 billion (4.0%), in January 2013, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. 181
However, US tourists spent US$ 79.1 billion on their travels abroad in 2011. This represents a 7%
increase from 2006 when the expenditure was US$ 72.1 billion, and a 5% jump from 2010 when it
amounted to US$ 75.5 billion.182
As of 2013, US ranks third in terms of global tourist expenditure, surpassed by China (1 st place) and
Germany (2nd place).183
179
OTTI (2011). United States Resident Travel Abroad, 2011

IDEM
181
US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
182
UNWTO (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012). Tourism Highlights
183
Carlos Vogeler- Regional Director for the Americas UNWTO, US Travel Market and Consumer
Trends, presented on 9 May 2013 at ETC Transatlantic Conference in New York
180
77
Figure 24: Global tourism expenditure
Value for money, as well as a desire for added value and cost-consciousness, is increasingly important
hence the growth in cruising (including Mediterranean and European river cruising), all-inclusive
holidays, condominium/villa rental and fractional ownership/timeshare.184 Nevertheless travellers to
Europe tend to be relatively financially resilient and more likely to seek added value than be driven by
reduced prices.185 US outbound travel market is an established market for Europe as a tourist
destination. At the moment Europe is an affordable destination for US travellers with regard to the
current exchange rate. However, due to the growing demand in the US for value for money holidays
(all-inclusive and cruise) the main European competitors are Central and South America and the
Caribbean.
The following table is meant to summarize the main tourism trends of US travellers to Europe,
SWOT ANALYSIS186
STRENGHTS
Rich
WEAKNESSES
cultural
past,
high
level
of
cultural
Lacking
public
transportation
sophistication
destinations
Diversity of cultures and nations
Insufficient parking spaces
Scenic landscapes, rich gastronomic tapestry
Shopping value for money
Europe
Value for money accommodation
184
185
186
is
considered
as
relatively
safe
ETC & UNWTO, The US Outbound Travel Market (study in progress)

IDEM
IDEM
78
at
some
destination
Opening hours/ days of shops
Friendly and helpful people
Ease of getting around
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
Europe is the most popular destination for US
Growing
outbound travel and will continue to grow
America
Growing cruise market
(attracts people with Hispanic roots and those
Currency, exchange rate
who seek more exotic destinations)
Intermodality:
good
connectivity
between
competition
are
main
Central
competitor
and
South
destinations
Economic uncertainties
Europe and US
Rising unemployment rate
Information and reassurance through digital
Lack of all-inclusive offers
communications
Themed itineraries
Hidden gems and insider trips
US Travellers Profile187
The majority of United States visitors to Europe travel for leisure, followed by visits to friends and
relatives, business/professional reasons and study/teaching.
They travel mostly in the May-Sept period, peaking in the summer months, and stay for an average of
18.3 days. However, shorter breaks of 1-2 weeks are growing, largely as a result of economic
pressure.
Most Americans travel as couples, they tend to be middle-aged older, wealthier and bettereducated than the average.
There is some evidence of a growth in multi-generational travel (i.e. Grandparents, parents,
children), while travel to Europe for educational reasons can confer bragging rights on childrens
return to school.
Most United States travelers to Europe visit only one country per visit (70%) and they live mostly in
the Middle Atlantic states (30%), the South Atlantic states (25%) and Pacific states (14%). New
York is the largest source of visitors to Europe (17%), followed by California (10.7%).
187
IDEM
79
Segments188
Baby Boomers (Young Boomers (45-54), Older Boomers (55-65)) comprise approximately
38% of all United States online leisure travellers. They are older, richer, fitter, more confident,
and more experienced than their predecessors. These include traditional older travellers, who
are likely to be wealthier and retired, as well as more adventurous middle youth travellers,
who are likely to be in professional, managerial or self-employed positions.
Generation X (31-44) comprise approximately 30% of all United States online leisure
travellers. Known for their rejection of all things conventional, they are bored (having been
flooded with 24 hour media etc. at the touch of a finger ever since they were born) but are
creative, and have a strong desire to learn. Sustainable and adventure travel appeal to
them. For them adventure is not necessarily about adventure activities, but discovering new
destinations, cultures and experiences.
The Creative Class (the Bobos Bourgeois Bohemians) straddles both the Baby Boomers
and Generation X segments. They are interested in more than just the product; they want to
know where it comes from - its intrinsic values and content. They are interested in active
participation and experiential activities that they find intriguing, fulfilling, and personally
enriching. They want activities that appeal to both their sense of status and self-improvement.
Echo Boomers (18-30) comprise approximately 22% of all United States online leisure
travellers. They have been defined as high-tech, high-touch, social-networking, iPod-listening
natives of the digital realm who trust their peers' advice over most forms of advertising.
Nonetheless, they are a generation not easily impressed by what is online, and appear to want
help when it comes to booking travel.
Seniors (66+): Although they comprise only approximately 10% of all United States online
leisure travellers, seniors represent a modest and lucrative segment in Europe. They are likely
to have the strongest affinity with Europe, because of ancestral links, which are loosening with
each generation.
188
IDEM
80
Booking and planning189

Family and friends (52%) and travel guidebooks (46%) still trump internet search engines (39%) as
preferred sources of "ideas and inspiration" when planning leisure travel.
The shift from offline (travel agents) to online booking appears to have stabilised, with cca. 60%
still booking via traditional travel agents and central reservations systems or walk-ins, compared to
38% via supplier branded and online travel agencies.
Over 105 million American adults used the internet to plan travel during in 2009 up from 90 million
in 2007. The internet is the dominant source for travel information among online travellers, and
is even higher among online travel planners.
Mobile devices (and particularly iPads and smart phones) tend to be used mostly for domestic travel
information (e.g. Finding restaurants and checking flight times) than for international travel. However
their use for overseas travel is likely to grow, with tablets likely to be increasingly used for predeparture information and smart phones for in-destination information, depending on international
roaming rates.
USA social media users
US is the market with probably the highest percentage of internet penetration. At the end of June
2012, there were 245,203,319 internet users in the US (representing 78.1% of the population),
according to Internet World Stats. Out of these, cut 166 million were Facebook users at mid-year
2012.
According to an article by ComScore in February 2013 most of US citizens spend the majority of their
time on Facebook (83%) followed by Tumblr (5.7%), Pinterest (1.9%), Twitter (1.7%), LinkedIn
(1,4%) and others.190
Another late 2012 survey by the Pew Research Centers Internet & American Life Project, shows in
percentages how much young Americans use social media sites. It also divides social media sites, by
their most common users.191
189
IDEM
comScore, Putting the 2013 US Digital Future in Focus, February 2013,
http://www.comscore.com/Insights/Blog/Putting_the_2013_U.S._Digital_Future_in_Focus Last
consulted on 20 May 2013
191
Maeve Duggan, Joanna Brenner, The Demographics of social media users, February 14, 2013,
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Social-media-users/The-State-of-Social-MediaUsers/Overview.aspx Last consulted on 20 May 2013
190
81
Figure 25: The Landscape of Social Media Users
For a complete demographic portrait of users of various social media services, see Appendix 7.
The use of social networks continues to rise in the US: from 79% travellers active on social networks
in 2011 to 83% in 2012. Moreover, they like to share content (comments, pictures, videos) as they
travel, according to a PhoCusWright report.192
Probably one of the fastest growing social networks, Pinterest went from 700,000 to almost 20 million
unique visitors in the US. This has obvious consequences in the time users spend on other networking
sites, as about 1 in 4 consumers reports that they spend more time on Pitnerest in the detriment of
other social media sites, according to research from Compete's Online Shopper Intelligence Survey.
The findings show that 39% of the market has changed their social networking behaviour in some way
due to Pinterest.
There is a wide range of content that is distributed on Pinterest, from recipies to humour. The
competes survey found out that the most overwhelmingly popular content that consumers interacted
with in interest was food related content, namely 57%. Travel related content accounted for 22%, and
was above Inspiration/Education and Children. According to cometepulse,
192
Pinterest is also driving
PhoCusWright, US Travellers share trip experiences in real time, January 2013,

http://www.phocuswright.com/research_updates/im-on-vacation-and-youre-not-us-travelers-sharetrip-experiences-in-real-time Last consulted on 20 May 2013
82
purchases, with about 25% of women reporting having purchased a service or product after seeing it
on Pinterest- that number jumped to 37% amongst males.193
Twitters users growth, although not so impressive at the beginning as the one of Facebook, continues
to overcome Mark Zuckenbergs platform. For instance, in 2011 Facebook user growth rose by only
13.4%, compared to 31,9% in the case of Twitter. However, Twitters growth rates are mainly due to
the channels size, which is fairly small. For instance, in 2012, Facebook had 141.2 million users,
compared to 28.7 million Twitter had. Still, between 2010 and 2014, eMarketer predicts, Twitter will
about double its US user base, reaching 37.6 million microbloggers by the period's end.194
US Facebook vs. Twitter user growth, 2010-2014 (% change):
2010: +38.6% (Facebook) / +23.5% (Twitter)
2011: +13.4% / +31.9%
2012: +6.6% / +20.7%
2013: +3.9% / +14.8%
2014: +3.6% / +14.0%
US Facebook vs. Twitter users, 2010-2014:
2010: 116.8 million Facebook users / 18.0 million Twitter users
2011: 132.5 million / 23.8 million
In Januay 2012, comScore reported that the US traffic of blogging platform Tumblr rose from less
than 7 million unique visitors in late 2010 to more than twice as many a year later.
195
The popularity of Google+ has shown dramatic growth in 2011, according to a February 2012 analysis
from Compete. The company found that Google+ has grown by about 40% for US non-mobile traffic.
In December 2011, Google+ reached a new peak of 20 million unique visitors, 50 million visits, and
193
competepulse, June 2012

E-marketer, Facebook US User Growth Slows Twitter Sees Double Digit Gains, March 5, 2012,
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Facebooks-US-User-Growth-Slows-Twitter-Sees-Double-DigitGains/1008879 Last consulted on 20 May 2013
195
eMarketer, Users and Marketers Warm to Niche Social Networks, February 2012
194
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Users-Marketers-Warm-Niche-Social-Networks/1008864 Last
83
200 million page views and ranked 9th in the top 10 social networking websites and forums, according
to Hitwise data released in January 2012.
196
Travel reviews
More and more US consumers trust online travel reviews and recommendations from friends when
choosing and booking a holiday destination. Of course, this is not the only source of information they
seek, but it is rather triangulated with other sources such as information found on travel agencies,
NTOs websites and others.
Young Americans (18-34) and those with higher household incomes are most likely to find travellers
reviews trustworthy. A May 2011 study from Burst Media signaled the weight Millennials give to peer
recommendations. More than 57% of internet users ages 18 to 34 said they were influenced to
purchase travel by their friends' and followers' recommendations.197 Although lower income Americans
are the least likely to find other travellers' reviews "trustworthy", they have shown the biggest
increase from 2011 with a 14% jump in 2012.
Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest are the most popular for travellers under 35 who share reviews of
their travel experiences online. Even adults over 35 use social networks 12% of the time and seek out
travel review websites 8% of the time.
198
However, the difference between these two age groups lies in trust: Nearly a third of travellers aged
21 to 34 who read travel review websites said those sites, which are heavy with user-generated
196
MarketingCharts, Google making strides online, February 2012
http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/google-making-strides-online21042/?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_source=mc&utm_medium=textlink Last consulted on 21 May

2013
197
eMarketer, Millennials seek online advice, December 2012,
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Millennials-Seek-Online-Advice-Opinions-Booking-Travel/1009531
198
Travel Industry Review, Survey Shows Jump in Percentage of Travelers Who Trust Other Travelers
Reviews, December 2012

http://www.travelindustrywire.com/article68268.html Last consulted on 21 May 2013
*The Allianz Travel Insurance Vacation Confidence Index is based on a telephone survey conducted by
Ipsos Public Affairs from November 7 - 12, 2012 of a nationally representative sample of 1,000
randomly-selected adults aged 18 and over residing in the U.S
84
content, had "much influence" on their travel plans, compared to only about one in five travellers aged
35 and over, according to a Travel Weekly study from June 2012.199
Chapter 3: Effectiveness of social media to promote European

tourism
Do social media enhance performance on tourist arrivals? To what extend is this means of promotion
efficient in attracting tourists? The following chapter examines how much effort should be put into
social media activities to obtain the maximum benefits. Furthermore, with the rise of social media
monitoring tools and metrics, there is a need to clarify which of the KPIs are the most relevant and
what exactly they mean for National Tourist Organisations.
Furthermore, successful social media strategies conducted by European NTOs are analysed. The last
sub-chapter presents future trends in social media and tourism and how these can lead to a better
customer service, a more accurate targeting of the consumer and business growth.
3.1. Key performance indicators for social media
Before setting up a framework with the most important social media KPIs, it is important to establish
clear business goals and objectives. In the case of National Tourism Organisations, the main goals
are to increase awareness of their destinations and thus to increase the number of visitors. However,
an important note here is that although promoting a destination is crucial for attracting more visitors,
it is difficult for NTOs to measure to which extend the number of tourist arrivals were due to their
promotional efforts and not other factors, such as appealing packages by travel agencies or friends
recommendations.
Today, there is a multitude of social media metrics allowing marketers to measure the success of the
strategy, but it is of outmost importance to relate them to the specific business objectives.
Social media measurement should relate to the specific business case for the use of social media
which is likely to include one or more of the following :
Brand Health measuring attitudes, conversation and behaviour towards the destination;
199
eMarketer, Millennials seek online advice, December 2012,
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Millennials-Seek-Online-Advice-Opinions-Booking-Travel/1009531
85
Marketing Optimisation improving the effectiveness of the marketing programmes;

Revenue Generation where and how the organisation generates revenue;
Operational Efficiency where and how the organisation reduces costs;
Customer Experience the relationship customers have with the destination; and
Innovation collaborating with the customers and marketing partners.200
Associating meaningful KPIs for each of the objectives allows marketers to understand and
describe the overall story around their social media strategy. In general, social media metrics
marketers look at include:
Audience size (e.g. Number of followers) and network size (a calculation based on the number of
people your immediate followers is connected to);
Reach - the viral impact of any content being shared by your audience across your network;
Engagement the number of interactions (e.g. Comments and post likes);
Sentiment the nature of the response (positive or negative); and
Outcomes resulting traffic and specific conversion events.201
The final step is comparing benchmarks. Important questions to be answered here are:
How does this social media platform compare to other social media platforms used by the
NTO?202
How does this social media activity compared to other marketing channels?203
How does this social media activity compare to your competitors?
How does it compare to historical data?204
The IAB (UK Interactive Advertising Bureau) Framework for Measuring Social Media Activity proposes
a framework that aims to define and measure core KPI metrics as follows:
1. By social media platform (e.g. Blog, microblogging, community forum, social network, fan
page, video sharing site etc.)
2. By 4As:
Awareness overall levels of activity across the social media platform;
Appreciation the level and depth of engagement across the social media platform;
Action responses that influence or relate to specific conversion events; and
Advocacy creating online word of mouth and stimulating advocacy.
200
201
202
203
204
ETC and UNWTO, E-Marketing Handbook second edition (study in progress)

ETC and UNWTO, E-Marketing Handbook second edition (study in progress)
only compare with other platforms that share similar interests
only compare with other channels that share similar objectives
Has this activity improved since the last measurement period?
86
The importance marketers place on the four As depends on their original objectives. For example, an
activity that aims to generate buzz and WOM will focus more on appreciation, advocacy and
awareness, while an activity designed to generate leads will focus more on metrics such as action. 205
3. By soft metrics and hard Financials
Softer metrics are based on outputs, while financial metrics are defined based on the 4As. Therefore,
cost per impression is used to measure awareness, cost per engagement for appreciation, cost per
lead for action and cost per referral for advocacy. The specific marketing objectives will help
marketers define the extent to which they should focus on each of these four areas.
For further information on KPI specific to each channel, please see Appendix 6: A new framework for
measuring social media activity
It is important to note that each type of metric has its own shortcomings. When it comes to audience
size marketers should distinguish between fake and real fans and take into consideration the
number of inactive users vs. the active ones. It is known that some organizations practice buying
fans in order to appear more powerful (for example to advertisers). However, this can be easily
observed by using specialized software (e.g. Fake Follower Check) to find out how many spam
accounts are following a specific account.
Reach refers to the number of users who saw a piece of information posted on social media or who
might see it. It measures the potential audience size and how far the content was disseminated. This
metric can be powerful when compared to other engagement metrics and if it is used as a
denominator in the social media measurement equation. However, this metrics main shortcoming is
the fact that it is based on the hope that eyeballs are available.
Reach has 2 parts. How many people saw something (actual reach) and how many potentially could
see something (fictitious reach). If I have a reach of 2 million but at the time I post every day only 3
people see the post what is the real reach? 3. Howie Goldfarb.
Reach is definitely ephemeral because reach doesnt really matter. Action does. Click through,
downloads, sticky site traffic, purchases, that kind of thing is what really matters. Shelly Kramer.206
205
Slideshare, Measurement framework for social media, http://fr.slideshare.net/Ifonlyblog/iabmeasurement-framework-for-social-media-final4-3 Last consulted on 10 April 2013
206
Enterprise Marketing News, The question of reach as a viable metric,
http://www.enterprisemarketingnews.com/2013/03/12/the-question-of-reach-as-a-viable-metric/ Last
87
On Twitter, for example, reach is defined by the potential audience of a user youre connecting with.
So, someone may have 1,000 followers, but the followers of these connections combined may equal
100,000 (at least). When User X with the 1,000 followers tweets something, the hope is that persons
followers will see the tweet and re-share with their audience. If a follower has 100 followers
themselves, thats now another 100 eyeballs to potentially see the share. Potentially being the key
word.207
Engagement208, although it is an important metric, should not be seen as a strategy in itself. A
strategy ideally uses a unique value proposition that would be difficult for a competitor to copy.
Engaging with customers in a unique way might be therefore difficult. The best way is to view
engagement as a tactic of the marketing strategy which has the potential to drive consumer loyalty
and action (e.g. purchase, booking etc)
Apple, for instance has no social media engagement. On the other hand, Dells stock price faces a near
five-year low, although it is consideres the standard of social engagement. Therefore, it is obvious that
engagement is not valuable unless it is tied to some organisational goal.
209
Sentiment is a way to measure the emotion behind comments and references of a brand in social
media. This can give managers an early warning if the organization is confronted with a customer
service or other type of issue. However, the problem with sentiment metric is that most sentiment
analysis algorithms use simple terms to express sentiment about a product or service. It is difficult to
turn linguistic nuances or differing contexts into positive or negative sentiments.
This makes
algorithms place a large number of comments or mentions into the neutral category, which is not
particularly useful for marketers.
Monitoring tools
The multitude of tools that measure social media success does not make it easy for marketers to
choose the right one. Generally, social media monitoring seeks to understand metrics such as reach,
mentions, sentiment and referrals. However, different tools focus on different metrics and sometimes
a combination between several tools (free or paid) can be the best choice.
207
Enterprise Marketing News, The question of reach as a viable metric,

http://www.enterprisemarketingnews.com/2013/03/12/the-question-of-reach-as-a-viable-metric/ Last
208
Engaging involves responding to activities that happen to you, like comments, mentions, likes,
shares, re-tweets.
209
Businessgrow, Social Media engagement is not a strategy,
http://www.businessesgrow.com/2013/01/06/social-media-engagement-is-not-a-strategy/ Last
88
Examples of platform-based monitoring tools:
Facebook Insights - provides page analytics to all administrators with more than 30 page likes.
An updated version of Facebook Insights was launched in November 2011. It provides a large
amount of data from demographics to metrics like People Talking About This, the Virality of
posts and many others, segmented by day, week and month.
Posts are categorised and can be analysed according to type (Photo, Link, Video, Platform Post
and Question). The tool also provides a breakdown around how people came across the
brands content within Facebook, including:
Organic the number of unique people that saw your content in their news feed
Paid the number of people that saw an ad or sponsored story
Viral the number of people that saw a piece of content because one of your followers had
liked, commented on or shared that content.
YouTube analytics uses the same metrics as Google Analytics, such as total video views, a
demographic breakdown of who is viewing those videos or how long people are watching
them.
Pinterest analytics measures metrics such as reach, the number of re-pins, most re-pinned
items, impressions and clicks
Flickr analytics (paid)
Examples of free (or low cost) tools in the rows below:
Tweetstats (www.tweetstats.com) - provides information such as tweets per hour, tweets per
month, tweet timeline and reply statistics. It also allows you to look at what your competitors
are doing.
Twitter Analyzer (www.twitalyzer.com) - provides detailed metrics on things like impact,

engagement, clout and velocity for individual Twitter accounts
Klout (www.klout.com) - is starting to establish itself as the emerging standard for

benchmarking online influence. The Klout score is derived through using a formulae based on
over 25 variables covering things like reach, amplification ability and network strength.
89
Peer Index and Trackr all help you understand things like brand reach, influence, and
sentiment and are all free.
Hootsuite (www.hootsuite.com) - enables monitoring multiple social media channels and

supports a more integrated approach to social media analytics. It also allows users to schedule
posts across channels, which is particularly useful when conducting campaigns.
Although many free social media measurement tools are of high quality, it is worth remembering that
some can be unreliable and others are simply not supported by their developers.
Paid for tools and services often offer features such as tracking of literally millions of social media
sources including mainstream news sites, social networks, blogs, forums, photo and video sharing
sites
As a rough guide, paid social media measurement tools can cost between 400 and 650 a month, but
this figure will depend on factors such as the number of users, volume of search results, contract term
and popularity.
Examples of paid monitoring tools:
Radian6 is used for brand and PR measurement and workflow management. It provides
reasonably accurate, useful business reporting through an intuitive dashboard.
Meltwater Buzz, Alterian SM2, and Brandwatch - provide accurate results, and can be
considered to be one stop solutions.
Unilyzer - enables tracking of key metrics, and is generally reasonably well regarded in the
industry.
Sprout Social - provides marketers with a dashboard needed KPIs. The starting price is a
reasonable 7 a month.
Is audience size enough?

Although there is a multitude of KPIs and tools to measure social media success, still it seems that the
most common metric used is audience size. The question is whether the number of likes or
90
followers is actually more important than engagement. Also, is engagement growing with the
number of audience size?
First, it is important to know how many of the brands fans are passive, leaving apart the question of
fake fans which is a pointless practice in the long-term. Active fans are far more valuable as they
are more likely to engage with the brand and share content. Then, it is of great value to observe
where the fans come from and if they coincide with the brands target audience. Engagement comes
then as a proof that the fans are actually reading the content posted and interact with it. After all,
success in digital marketing often comes back to the marketers ability to produce useful and engaging
content that customers will share.
In the following subchapter I will observe the value different European NTOs place on audience size
and engagement and if engagement rates rise with the audience size.
3.2. Successful social media strategies
Curators of Sweden
Probably the boldest social media initiative to be undertaken by an European NTO, Curators of
Sweden embraced Visit Swedens core Communication values: progressive, open, authentic, caring
and innovative.
The first social media initiative was the Community of Sweden, which started in 2007 and ended in
April 2013. It was the only online community created by a NTO for travellers to share content
(pictures, videos, stories) and discuss topics of interest around Sweden in forums and groups. The
goal was to develop a digital channel for marketing Sweden as a destination for foreign visitors.
However, Visit Sweden is planning to move their focus towards social networks such as Facebook,
Twitter and Pinterest and close down the Community of Sweden. 210
210
Think Digital, The end of a successful community, 5 April 2013
http://thinkdigital.travel/knowledgestream/the-end-of-a-successful-community-2/ Last consulted on

10 April 2013
91
Key facts211:
Nb of members: 54 568
Nb of stories: 2113
Nb of photos: 28436
Nb of groups: 179
Following this initiative, VisitSweden started the Curators of Sweden project in December 2011 with
no end date at the moment.
It became the worlds first Tourist Board to hand over an entire
communication channel to Swedish citizens.212

At first, it looked like a rather risky PR campaign, considering the fact that VisitSweden let go of any
control of the content posted, except of two simple rules: not to break Swedish law and not to sell
anything. In the end, it proved to be an immense success, winning 21 international prizes.
211
Think Digital, Spotlights Sweden, http://thinkdigital.travel/spotlights/sweden/ Last consulted on

13 April 2013
212
IDEM
92
How did it work?

As most of the European NTOs, VisitSweden struggled with a lack of budget and human resources.
Therefore, new and creative ideas for promotion were needed. The idea was to encourage Swedish
citizens from different backgrounds to raise their voice and share any information about their
everyday life. Every week, a different person in Sweden was in control of the Tourist Boards Twitter
account @Sweden. Curators of the account have to be nominated by another person, they have to be
active tweeters and they have to be able to tweet in English.
Challenges
Not surprisingly, from time to time tweets can be highly controversial. For example, one of the
Curators, Sonja, made the famous comment What's the fuzz with jews which got immediate
negative reaction. Visit Sweden saw the comments as being politically incorrect, but not racist.
Removing her from the account was not seen as a democratic option.
213
In another comment, Sonja
writes Im sorry if some of you find the question offensive. That was not my purpose. I just don't get
why some people hates jews so much.
213
IDEM
93
What makes it so significant?

The innovative approach of this digital campaign inspired traditional media to quickly pick up the story
and feature it. Curators of Sweden appeared on international television, radio, newspapers and
blogs. It is seen as a good example of how social media can enable freedom of speech and increase
transparency of the country to the international community. Visit Sweden took Twitter to the next
level, revolutionising the way Tourist Boards use this channel worldwide, as other countries started
similar accounts on Twitter.
Results
The revolutionary idea of being first democratic Twitter account attracted over 65,000
followers from 120 countries.
The campaign started thousands of conversations around it
Retweet and reply rate of 553%
After only 6 months it had an estimated PR value of over $40 million
21 international prizes for campaign, including two Silver Lion awards as well as the Grand
Prix for the cyber category at the International Festival of Creativity in Cannes.
Flanders is a festival
The main challenge that Tourism Flanders faces is to create awareness, as Flanders is a relatively
unknown destination brand. In 2012, the project Flanders is a festival brought many bloggers
writing about travel and music to Flanders to experience the regions more than 260 festivals scene.
94
An important stakeholder, with highly engaged followers on Facebook, was Tomorrowland, the
largest festival in the world.
The goal of the project was to increase awareness of Flanders as a festival destination, to stimulate
conversation and to inspire people about Flanders. Flanders is a festival proved to be a huge
success, with the World Travel Market classifying it as the biggest Blogtrip in the world.
Bloggers selection process
Key influencers were chosen based on their online reach, page ranks and the quality and type of
content they are writing. Another important factor was that their personality and passion would match
Flanders branding strategy. The blogtrip participants started to share interesting stories about what
they experienced in Flanders, and then they talked to their communities on social media.
Flanders Tourism also created a Facebook page connected to the blogtrip. This contained a
competition having as a prize a trip to all the festivals in Flanders. Moreover, winners could see
Flanders from a hippy van. The second part of the competition was open to everyone with
knowledge and experience about social media and a passion for festivals and Flanders.214
214
Think Digital, Spotlights Flanders, http://thinkdigital.travel/spotlights/sweden/ Last consulted on

13 April 2013
95
Target Markets
The most important target group were music lovers, targeted through Facebook. In terms of markets,
Tourism Flanders focused on Europe (Denmark, Sweden, UK, The Netherlands, France, Spain,
Germany, Austria, and Italy), USA, China, Japan, Russia and India.
Results215:
100 key influencers from 13 countries
More than 250 blog posts
Number of unique visitors: 7.500.000
Total reach of blog posts: 11.500.000
Number of Facebook fans of all Bloggers: 300.000
Number of Twitter fans of all Bloggers: 550.000
279 people entered the competition
By turning travellers into ambassadors, Tourism Flanders experienced a high level of engagement,
succeeding in increasing awareness of Flanders as a festival destination. All authentic stories about
festivals and destinations in Flanders were brought together on a Pinterest board.
215
IDEM
96
Sebi & Paul and Holidays without Internet

In 2009, a campaign216 was launched on YouTube by the headquarter Switzerland Tourism office. The
protagonists were not actors, but two Swiss dairy farmers: Sebi and Paul. The campaign continued in
2010 and 2011. The videos featuring Sebi and Paul went so viral that in 2011 Switzerland tourism
office decided to launch an entire online campaign: Holidays without internet.
Developed by the creative agency Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett, the project was a contest to win a
trip to a cabin, somewhere in the Swiss mountains with no Internet or mobile reception. The winners
could bring 10 of their friends on the trip. The goal was to help people have a real break from
technology while on vacation and instead enjoy the lovely sights and activities that Switzerland has to
offer.
How did it work?
The campaign targeted heavy online users, online junkies. It took place on Facebook, as well as on
the website www.holidayswithoutinternet.com. On the site, users could see Sebi and Paul sit in front
of their laptops and chatting with each other. There was also a TV spot running in Switzerland,
Netherland, Germany, Italy, France, UK.
Connecting via Facebook, users could see Sebi and Paul analyzing their personal profile and
commenting on their photos and posts. They even made remarks on how much time the user spent on
Facebook. Then, the two recommended those Facebook junkies to diconnect from their intense online
216
We do whatever it takes to make your holidays perfect
97
life and spend more time with their real friends somewhere in a Swiss cabin: a 'holiday without
internet and no mobile phone reception'.
Results
After a few days, Facebook stopped the app, which ironically supported the projects message and
made major headlines. After a week, the campaign was back online.
the hits were overwhelming: Up to 16,000 hits daily
about 50,000 new fans on Facebook
a total of 398,500 visits in 5 weeks
What is interesting about the campaign of the Swiss Tourism Office is that they use mascots a
strategy normally reserved for traditional media, while at the same treating its clichs with humour.217
3.3. Future trends
The best way to predict the future is to invent it

Alan Kay
Personalized recommendations and travel guides

According to a recent report commissioned by Amadeus, a leading transaction processor for the global
travel and tourism industry, travel will become even more socially-driven than it already is. Travellers
will increasingly be influenced by their peers, as it will be easy to tag and recommend all aspects of
the travel experience. These, combined with internet search engines and expert advice will make it
easier for people to explor niche tastes or interests while travelling.
217
218
Young Digital Lab, Between Facebook and farmes: how Switzerland got ready for tourist invasion, 9
May
2012,
http://www.youngdigitallab.com/en/social-media/between-facebook-and-farmersswitzerland-gets-ready-for-tourist-invasion/ Last consulted on 14 April 2013
218
Andy Stubbings, Andrew Curry, From chaos to collaboration, The Futures Company, 2012,
commissioned by Amadeus and edited by Caroline Passmore, p.28
98
Even with the rise of flight search engines such as Skyscanner and aggregated recommendation
websites such as TripAdvisor, people will most likely not abandon the learnt behaviour of triangulating
information from search engines, expert reviews and advice, and opinion from friends and peers in
social networks.
Figure 23: The recommendation eco-system
However, the three will become more integrated, as websites
and social networking sites will interact with each other more
frequently. This will make it easier for users to cross-reference
information with the opinion and advice of their friends.
Practically, this also makes the possibility of niche travel
accessible to a wider group of people.219
According to the same report, we may see an eco-system in
which the most conscientious travellers are incentivised on the
quality of their recommendations. This is already done by Quora and expert question-answer
communities such as the Stack Exchange network. They offer reputation points or badges for high
quality content or answers. These are traded in for permissions on the community.
220
Augmented reality
Technology has not only practical purposes, but also has the power to entertain. Augmented reality
can significantly improve the travel experience from booking to gamification, reliving the historic life
and events or real-time immediate translation of written texts. A report written by Digital Tourism
Think Thank in partnership with Yahoo, identifies and explains ten unique augmented reality (AR)
applications.221
1. an enhanced booking experience
The most successful examples were developed by the Saint Petersburg Clearwater - Two Treasures
3D Tour. The experience consists of a virtual tour guide. At the same time, it offers an interactive
2.
museum interactivity
An example is the Digital Binocular Station (DBS), which makes the static contents of a museum come
to life. This leads to an interactive adventure which increases visitor learning process, retention time
219
220
IDEM, p.32
221
Digital Tourism Think Thank in partnership with Yahoo and Bournemouth University, Augmented
Reality in Tourism. 10 unique applications explained, 2013
99
and return visits. Augmented reality technology can also offer otherwise impossible experiences, such
as reviving extinct animal species.
3. AR browsers in the destination
AR browsers enjoy a big popularity. An AR browser is particularly useful when travelling to a new
destination as it allows visitors to identify points of interest and find information about their
surroundings. For instance, the stand-alone Smartphone application Yelp (shown below) added AR
view to provide an augmented view to its users.
Figure 27: The augmented view provided by the Smartphone application Yelp
4. location-based AR games
One interesting example is Time Warp which allows tourists to experience different historical and
future events, while walking around the city of Cologne in Germany.
5. augmented services in the restaurant
At the Inamo restaurant in London, customers are able to interact with the table top, consult the
multimedia menu or warch a video-feed from the kitchen.
100
Figure 28: The interactive AR experience at the Inamo restaurant in London
6. re-living historic life and events

Olympia in Greece was the first cultural heritage site offering an augmented virtual reconstruction of
an ancient temple, namely the Archeo Guide AR system. At the Berlin Wall, almost any tourist can see
its virtual representation as a realistic 3D model by using Layer on their phone.
7. the augmented reality hotel experience
The best practical example was developed by Holiday
Inn, where customers can use their Smartphone
devices to see the virtual Olympic and Paralympic
athletes at the reception, hall or in their own hotel
room as if they were right there.
Figure 29: The Holiday Inn AR experience
8. augmented transportation
101
TheSmartphonee application the Nearest Tube (below) displays the route to underground stations
from the current location of the user in London.
Figure 30: The Nearest Tube augmented reality application allows visitors to easily find the
nearest station in London
9. augmented reality translation
AR applications could provide real-time immediate translation of written text: from street signs to
dinner menus or train schedules. Applications such as Word Lens and Intelligent Eye overlay
translated text over the original text the device is pointed to.
10. participative destination marketing
Imagine seeing a city as it once was. This is now possible with the free Urban Augmented Reality
(UAR) application, available in 8 cities in the Netherlands. The app enables tourists not only to
experience the city as it was in the past, but also as it would be in the future. Users can add
comments thereby effectively soliciting public opinion. From a tourist perspective, this technology can
be used for example, for the construction of resorts and attraction sites or theme parks, therefore
effectively adapting them to consumer needs.
Google Glass
Developed by Google X Lab, Google Glass is a wearable computer with a head-mounted display
(HMD). The device displays information in a Smartphone-like hands-free format, interacting with the
Internet via natural language voice commands. By saying ok glass, users issue voice commands.
They can also scroll through the options using a finger along the side of the device. The device allows
102
users to use apps, capture images and video, use the internet and social networks while on the move.
The frames do not currently have lenses, so the device is now lighter than the average pair of
sunglasses. In the future, new designs may allow integration of the display into people's normal
eyewear. The product began testing in April 2012 and on February 2013, Google released a demo
video showcasing the voice-augmented display of the Glass filming various experiences in first-person.
222
Figure 31: Google Glass
Although this new technology brings with it a multitude of possibilities, it also generated fear and
concerns mainly regarding privacy issues. Imagine being filmed in a restaurant without knowing it and
then seeing yourself online. While currently Google Glass is easily recognisable because of its design
and lack of lenses, it will soon become possible to integrate the device in regular glasses. Therefore, it
will be difficult (if not impossible) to know who is wearing them or not.
The other big question about Glass is: how will we behave with each other? "Your one-on-one
conversation with someone wearing Google Glass is likely to be annoying, because you'll suspect that
you don't have their undivided attention. And you can't comfortably ask them to take off the glasses
222
Wikipedia, Google Glass, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Glass Last consulted on 20 April

2013
103
(especially when, as it inevitably will be, the device is integrated into prescription lenses). Finally
and here's where the problems really start you don't know if they're taking a video of you."223
However, the benefits of such a technology are huge for businesses. What Google Glass brings new to
the table is the ability to interact with data, in real-time and in a collaborative fashion. For instance,
supermarkets could be capturing data related to consumer behaviour and analyse their buying
patterns. Imagine having access to real-time information such as product reviews and comparative
prices while going to shopping: all these fast and hands-free.224
For a tourist perspective, wearing Google Glass can significantly improve the travel experience.
Imagine walking on the unknown streets of a new city and having directions on the move, asking
information about touristic attractions and recording or photographing all the nice moments by merely
blinking.
Automated surveillance powered by sophisticated artificial intelligence systems
The technology of a futuristic Big Brother watching and controlling us all is here, not only with CCTV
and mobile devices enabling us to leave digital footprints whenever we go, but now also in airports,
using artificial intelligence. Automated surveillance powered by sophisticated artificial intelligence
systems, facial recognition and ubiquitous sensor technologies can already effectively monitor flows of
people throughout an airport. This maks time consuming manual security checks the exception rather
than the norm.
225
Figure 32: 2011 Advanced Optical Systems, Source:

http://www.aosinc.com/index.php/products/airprint;http://www.technol
ogyreview.com/biomedicine/27052/
An
example
is
the
long-range
fingerprint
scanner
AIRprint, designed for security and military personnel.
223
The
Guardian,
Google
Glass
threat
to
our
privacy,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/mar/06/google-glass-threat-to-our-privacy
Last

224
The Guardian, Google Glass what it means for business, http://www.guardian.co.uk/media-
network/media-network-blog/2012/jun/28/google-glass-mobile-smartphones-tablets
Last
on 20 April 2013
225
104
consulted
The device is developed for rapid, long range collection of fingerprints and it can capture fingerprints
up to 6.5 feet away, in less than five seconds.
If the right infrastructure is ensured, a scenario where people could pay everything with a mobile
phone can be very plausible. This way, travellers could benefit from drawing out less foreign currency
while abroad. However, this also means that every payment comes with a record of who, when, and
where or digital breadcrumbs and that an integrated memory of payments can be built up over
time. This enables businesses to offer more personalised products and services based on information
provided by mobile data. Opt-in applications on travellers mobile devices could, for example, allow
expenditure data to be shared in return for loyalty points, making customised deals and cross-selling
more possible.
226
However, the most realistic scenario is that mobile payments will be used along with coins and notes
and not replace them. Firstly because of privacy concerns: many people prefer to keep a record of
payments off-grid. Secondly, because of the infrastructure: this technology will be difficult to
implement in remote areas, considering the fact that even today many stores do not accept credit
cards.
Figure
33:
Square
mobile
credit
card
reader,
Image:
https://squareup.com/square
Square is a plug-in device and software application that allows
anyone with a mobile device to accept credit cards, anywhere. The
The interface makes it easy for consumers to make payments and
save receipts, and for merchants to perform analytics on their sales
data.227
Over the next decade, travel is likely to become more collaborative, with both travellers and
businesses having to work more and more with data and to interact with each other. The paradox is
that by reducing the emphasis on selling, travel industry providers will have a deeper and more
profitable relationship with travellers.
228
Travelling became within the reach of more and more people. It is known that today people travel
much more than before. In this context, value will be derived from helping people see old places with
226
IDEM, p.25
228
IDEM, p.4
227
105
fresh eyes and finding new experiences. This can be done by facilitating the conversion among
travellers rather than businesses. This means being more of a stage manager rather than a director;
not necessarily selling a specific package or service, but taking more of a background role and
allowing for services to be co-created by the group.229
However, the main challenges remain improving the infrastructure so as to facilitate the transfer and
effective usage of data and adapting current business models to the technological advancements.
Conclusions
Social media is still a concept many organisations and businesses are struggling with. What is the
right tone to be used? How often should a brand post and on which channels? Which are the most
important KPIs to take into account when measuring success? How relevant are social media when it
comes to attracting more tourists? These are just a few of the questions tackled in the theoretical
framework.
As this is still a new field, there are still few studies available on how social media is used in tourism.
In markets such as the USA and Canada Facebook and Twitter still dominate, but there is an
increasing tendency to move on to niche social media sites. No doubt, this has consequences on the
way marketers target their audiences. In Brazil, social media users are very active and engaged,
mainly due to their extrovert culture. However, Orkut is one of the biggest players, meaning that
brands need to engage with fans on a different platform. China has a whole different set of social
media channels, but they are mainly copycats of popular Western channels. As the Chinese middle
class is rising, having more disposable incomes to spend on tourism, their expectations also increase.
While travelling they want to feel like at home, expecting for instance to find information in their own
language. Being present on the Chinese social media sites can thus only improve the relationships
with tourists and potential tourism, creating a positive customer relationship.
When it comes to the relevance of social media in attracting tourists, opinions are divided. Studies
show that family/friend recommendations and travel guides are the main factors influencing travel
decisions. However, social media is seen as an inspiration source for travel information search before
booking and is especially popular among the 35 year-olds and younger. As Digital Natives grow older,
they will expect to double-tap on everything to find out more information or engage with their friends.
In this sense, travel is likely to become more collaborative, with new technologies such as augmented
reality, Google Glass, automated surveillance systems becoming part of everyday life. Therefore,
229
IDEM, p.5
106
offline data can be combined with online data, creating a more comprehensive profile of the consumer,
which in turn allows brands to better target their audiences.
However, at the moment, social media is just one of the factors influencing travel decisions.
107
Part II: empirical research
108
Methodology
Expert interviews
For the purpose of this study I used the qualitative research method of interview in order to gain a
more in-depth understanding of the ways in which different European National Tourism Organisations
use social media to promote their destinations.
Minichiello et al (1990) provides a useful continuum of interviewing methods, based on the degree of
structure involved. Similarly, Fielding (1996) describes the types of interview using the terms
standardized, semi-standardized and non-standardized. Also, Fontana and Frey (1994) use a
three way classification of structured, semi-structured and unstructured interviewing, and they apply
that to individual and group interviews.230
As I wanted to allow the conversation to flow naturally in order to obtain qualitative answers, I chose
to use the semi-structured elite interview. This allowed me to have a defined set of interview
questions which I would sometimes change or even add new ones depending on the respondents
answers. As a semi-structured depth interviews focus mainly on attitudes and beliefs, there an
openness to change the order and the formulation of the questions, so as to follow up the answers
given by the interviewees. Other reasons for choosing this method were its interactive and flexible
nature which allowed me to gather information that could not be found in other sources.
I tried to avoid being directive and emotional so as not to influence the respondents answers. Also,
the time constraints (about 20-30 minutes per interview) made me conscious about the potential of
wandering away off-topic, so I kept the questions clear and moved to a different topic when the
previous answer was given. However, there were also 2 cases when respondent refused to give an
answer or provided a vague response.
230
Punchk, Introduction to social research. Quantitative and qualitative approaches,
Chapter 9. Collecting qualitative data, 2005, p.169
109
Advantages of elite interviews231:

1. Corroborating what has been established from other sources, thus contributing to the research
goal of triangulation. Interviewing elites can confirm/dismiss the accuracy of information
collected from other sources.
2. Establishing what a set of people thinks as opposed to quantitative methods such as the
survey which does not allow respondents to answer freely without being obliged to follow fixed
categories of answers.
3. Making
inferences
about
larger
populations
characteristic
decision.
4. Reconstructing an event or set of events. This is used mainly in policy research and to provide
a broader picture of a complex phenomenon by bringing together various testimonials.
Disadvantages of elite interviews:
1. The interviewer influencing the answers given by respondents by being emotional or directive
2. Asking closed (yes/no) questions is a method more suitable for quantitative methods such as
surveys. An elite interview should provide detailed, expert opinions on the themes in question.
3. Reversal of roles. The interview should be a conversation rather than a monologue. However,
the respondent should be given more time to speak than the interviewer.
4. Wandering away off-topic. The interviewer should stick to his/her set of themes even in the
case of a semi-structured interview. Talking about different topics than the ones previously
established can introduce bias in the research and lose time of both the interviewee and the
researcher.
5. Vague responses or no opinion. Questions should be formulated so to avoid non-responses or

answers without any content.
231
Oisn Tansey, Process Tracing and Elite Interviewing: A Case for Non-probability Sampling,
University of Reading, October 2007, p.767
110
The research focuses on how social media is used in the world of European tourism so as to promote it
better in overseas markets.
The purpose of the expert interviews had been to triangulate information already gathered from other
sources with the opinions of professionals working in the field of European tourism promotion. The
target population was thus marketing and tourism professionals working for European National
Tourism Organisations. In a perfect world, the sample population used would be representative of the
whole target population. However, due to time and cost restraints, this is a rather high ambition for
this study.
However, I received more positive replies than expected when I asked National Tourism Organisations
if they were willing to give an interview. The approach I used was to send an email to the sample
population, explaining the outlines of my research and the amount of time the interview should last. A
factor in my favour was that I was working for the European Travel Commission so many of the
contacts already knew me. I then received positive replies and scheduled the interviews. In some
cases, I was redirected to the persons responsible for social media in the National Tourism
Organisation.
In the case of this study, purposive sampling was, I believe, the best option. The set of actors was
rather visible: social media / online / PR / marketing managers working for European NTOs. Their
experience in this field was another criterion, as I was seeking expert opinions.
Even though I didnt encounter many difficulties in identifying the relevant actors to be interviewed, I
also used snowball sampling to find those marketers whose contact details were not available on their
websites or in the European Travel Commissions database, but were very relevant
for the study.
Therefore, at the end of some interviews I would ask the respondent to suggest other potential
subjects who share similar characteristics (e.g. Online marketing managers) or who have relevance in
some way to the object of study. However, I made sure that the respondents were sufficiently diverse
so as to avoid bias in the sample.
By interviewing marketers from various regions of Europe (Northern, Central, Eastern and Western
Europe) I believe that it is highly unlike that the sample was skewed excessively in any one particular
direction.
The interviews took place between January and February 2013. Due to the fact that the interviewees
were located in different regions of Europe and travelling to all those countries would have been too
expensive, the interviews were held on Skype. In order to maintain the accuracy of the responses, the
interviews were recorded. None of the participants refused to be recorded.
111
In some cases, the interviewee would provide some information off-the-record in which case I did
not include it in the interview transcripts. No cases of on background or not-for-attribution were
recorded, as the interviewee identity was confidential ex ante.
The questions asked were focused on experience/behaviour, such as:
-
Do you use different approaches for different channels or do you prefer to distribute the same
messages across channels?
How do you target your audience using different social media channels? Do you post different
types of messages according to the channel used or do you distribute the same messages
across platforms?
Other questions were focused on experience/belief, such as:

-
What KPIs are the most important in your opinion?
Do you think there is a risk of filter bubble effect now with the rise of social search,
personalized search results and targeted ads (Facebook new social graph etc.)?
Although I could interview experts from most of the European regions, it seemed difficult to get
professionals from Southern Europe involved. Countries with most tourist arrivals, such as France,
Italy, UK, Spain were not interested in giving an interview. My assumption is that countries which
record a high number of tourists do not feel that they need to make additional efforts such as
participating in research studies.
Survey
After conducting the expert interviews, I could establish a set of questions and set up an online
questionnaire. I used the survey so as to match the qualitative insights provided by the expert
interviews with a higher number of responses which is generally associated with quantitative methods.
I used esurveycreator (www.esurveycreator.com), a free software which allows creating a diverse
range of question types, as well as automatically interpreting the data and sending the survey to over
200 mailboxes.
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Advantages of web surveys232:

1. Extremely fast way of gathering responses
2. Low or no costs
3. A more appealing layout by using pictures, videos, different fonts etc. In this study I designed
a picture of various social media sites and the flags of overseas markets I was focusing on.
4. The ability to use a large sample and thus provide more representative results
5. The ability to use a graphical progress indicator to inform respondents of their progress and
decrease the drop-out rate.
6. No interviewer bias and less respondent time pressure
7. Availability of data in graphic and numerical format and simplicity of importing data into data
analysis programs.
8. Easy to send reminders to non-respondents to increase the survey response rate. In the case
of this study I sent reminders targeted only at those who have not yet participated in the
survey.
9. Required completion of answers so as to eliminate item non-response and the necessity to

throw out answers that have been entered improperly.
10. The possibility to tailor the survey according to respondents answers.
232
Joel R. Evans and Anil Mathur, The value of online surveys, Zarb School of Business, Hofstra
University, Hempstead, New York, USA, Internet Research, Vol. 15 No. 2, 2005, retrieved from
http://shlee.myweb.uga.edu/onlinesurvey/valueofonlinesurveys.pdf
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Disadvantages of web surveys233:

1. Exclusion of offline population. This is not applicable in the current study, as sample frame is
formed mainly by online/social media marketers who are generally connected to the internet
on a daily basis.
2. People quitting in the middle of the questionnaire. Talking to a good interviewer makes
respondents highly unlikely to quit in the middle of the questionnaire.
3. Perception as junk/spam mail.

4. Respondent's lack of online experience/expertise
5. Different configuration problems and surveys displaying differently according to the browser
used by the respondents
6. Unclear answering instructions might some people frustrated and determine them to exit a
questionnaire without nishing it.
7. Privacy and security concerns. In the case of this study, I set up the software to not record
any IP or email addresses of the respondents so as to keep the confidentiality of their
answers. However, in the last questions they were asked to provide their email address in
case they wish to receive the study.
8. Low response rate

Sampling
In case of the survey, I included a higher amount of respondents in the sample than in the case of
expert interviews. Therefore, the questionnaire was sent to 242 professionals working in the European
National Tourism Organisations. This included marketing/PR/social media managers as well as their
assistants and tourism researchers.
233
Joel R. Evans and Anil Mathur, The value of online surveys, Zarb School of Business, Hofstra
University, Hempstead, New York, USA, Internet Research, Vol. 15 No. 2, 2005, p.202, retrieved from
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The target was to obtain at least 20 responses. Achieving this goal had more chances in the case of
more people receiving the questionnaire. The sample must be large enough to yield the desired level
of precision (Salant & Dillman, 1994, p. 5).234
The survey containing 21 questions was active from 1 st of April to 39th of May 2013. During this time,
there were 45 respondents, out of which 27 fully completed the survey.
The questionnaire was distributed via email, explaining the outline of the study, the approximate time
it would take to complete it (10 minutes) and guaranteeing the anonymity of the responses. When
sending the email I used the European Travel Commissions signature so as to increase the response
rate and to the possibility of some respondents to recognize me from previous email exchanges. The
survey had no costs, as I used a free software: esurveycreator.
Type of questions used:
Online surveys are able to include a wide diversity of questions. Whereas many softwares such as
SurveyMonkey allow only premium users to use all types of questions, the software I used, was free
and allowed me to create exactly the survey that I had in mind.
Therefore, I used dichotomous and multiple-choice questions, both single-response and multipleresponse questions, as well as open-ended questions and Likert / semantic differential questions.
I started the questionnaire with rather light questions, tackling issues such as demographics, social
media investments, use of SM in overseas markets. I then used Likert scale to gain insight into the
most important social media sites used, as well as the frequency of posting and engagement. I then
continued with more specific questions such as those related to behavioural targeting and ways to
measure success. The last questions were more opinion-based, trying to assess whether respondents
find social media promotion worthwhile. Finally, there was one open-ended question, seeking opinions
on how social media impacts the NTOs marketing efforts. However, this was not an obligatory
question. In the end, those who completed the whole survey could type their email address in order to
receive a copy of the study.
Characteristics of non-respondents
Countries that score high in tourist arrivals tend to be less interested in participating in the study.
However, as opposed to the expert interviews, the countries of Southern Europe also participated (e.g.
234
IDEM, p.13
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Malta, Portugal). The highest number of NTOs who participated came from Western Europe (e.g.
Britain).
Interpreting the data
Interviews
Before conducting the survey, I used a qualitative method to discover trends and patterns in the
usage of social media for tourism promotion. For this purpose I conducted 5 expert interviews with
PR / marketing/ social media managers working for the European National Tourism Organisation. I
tried to have respondents from different European regions, so as to not skew the data in one direction
or another. Therefore, respondents were from Eastern Europe (Romania), Central Europe (Slovenia,
Switzerland, Monaco) and Northern Europe (Monaco).
With the purpose of identifying the best questions for the survey and to provide qualitative data on
social media trends, expert interviews aims are to provide a response to the studys research
questions, as follows:
media?
3. What are the most important KPIs of NTOs social media strategies?
General demographic data, such as age, gender and income of the respondents was irrelevant for the
purpose of this study. These experts came have between 5 and over 10 years experience with emarketing. As in the case of any expert in-depth interview, the validity of the responses depends on
the possibility of interviewer bias and effects, as well as on the respondents honesty and social
desirability.
The interviews were conducted via Skype due to cost and time constraints. Although it was not an
ideal method, the respondents had their cameras on, which allowed me to observe their bodylanguage as well as their responses.
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In the following rows, I will summarize the interviews, identifying common and particular themes. As
the interviews were semi-structured, the order of the questions differs for each respondent, according
to the flow of the conversations. For the full interview transcriptions, please consult Appendix 8.
1. First, can you tell me more about your National Tourist Organisation overall
marketing strategy and how your social media strategy is integrated?
No common themes have emerged but the following have each been mentioned:
Social media is mostly about creating a one-on-one relationship with your clients. We
have this idea of using SM as a customer service and PR tool.
We operate on a small budget, we are a small country and have a very targeted
audience.
A small country cannot speak to everybody. We are specifically geared
towards the luxury market..
Our social media and marketing activities should all be fine-tuned to achieve the
maximum possible results in terms of visitors' traffic, social interaction and brand
awareness.
We are looking to integrate marketing programs such as social and email marketing,
online media and other direct response marketing programs.
Our vision is that the social element has to be handled just as one aspect of an
integrated marketing strategy, requiring traditional media for support and awareness.
Our marketing strategy needs to be authentic, it needs to be open and it needs to be

innovative and caring. These are values that we have gotten from the Swedish
population. These are values that we think we can prologue by putting them in our
communications strategy. Not just in our communications, but even in the way we
communicate. So everything for us needs to be progressive.
These are values that
are grounded in the Swedish society, in our thoughts and our minds.
We have three main categories of activities: The most important one is the provision
of assistance and support for potential tourists who plan to visit Romania. The second
category refers to the activities of the mass media, opinion makers and leaders. So we
try to facilitate collaborative links between operators in the country and those from
North America. Basically we want to attract more tour operators in the U.S. and
Canada that provide tours in Romania.
We are thinking about a social media strategy, but we do not have the means to apply
it. At the moment, I think we have a decent presence in social media.
Social media, one cannot deny, is useful. The question is, to what extend? Everyone
talks about interaction, brand etc. With how many brands can one interact daily or
monthly? How many brands are relevant enough to consume you so many minutes
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every day or month or year? We talk about interaction, frequency or persistence in

SM for products of daily usage. Romania is not in any way a destination that
Americans think about every year, or every month. For many Americans, Romania is a
destination they visit once in their lifetime. There are some who return to Romania,
but when they've already contacted the destination, they probably do not even need
the NTO. They basically have local connections, friends, etc. Therefore, I believe it is
more important to be more relevant, than to try to load potential tourists with all kinds
of content which is more or less interesting for them.
There is however some agreement on how social media should be integrated in the overall
communications strategy, as it is seen as a customer service and PR tool.
Comment:
Social media is still a new form of promotion and countries have different approaches on how to
handle it. This is mainly due to their resources and target groups.
2. What are the social media channels you are focusing on?
We are a small office, but we try to experiment with every channel. We are on
Pinterest, Google+, Instagram. We try to see what works best for us. At the moment,
Twitter and Facebook are the ones that work the best for us. We use Flickr mostly
when we have events, we post images and we work with the PR department to make
sure we write the correct names and titles. At the end of the day, I think its the user
that shape the way social media is used.
Facebook and Twitter are the main channel we use. We also like Instagram, because it
is a mobile friendly channel. We use also YouTube, but we do not produce many
videos for distribution. But from a SEO perspective it is important to have an
optimized YouTube channel. Fourth quite important channel is Foursquare, where we
write tips or create lists of tourist attractions in Slovenia. The downfall is that it
doesnt cover every location and internet connections are quite expensive for
foreigners. Also we have just created a Pinterest account. Google+ is not our main
focus, as it is not as practical as Facebook. Flickr is not our focus at the moment.
However it is important for Asian countries. Regarding B2B channels, we are at the
stage to create LinkedIn groups. Weekly we try to motivate our colleagues to join
groups and find relevant materials. On the other hand, it is a personal decision if
somebody wants to be active. We once tried LinkedIn to advertise an event, but it was
not very effective.
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We get our content from all the departments and the content is mainly related to our
campaigns. We have 7 official languages, we have core markets we are focusing on,
but we also have developed markets. For every market we have an online responsible
which takes care of the online communications. For example in Russia, India, France
and other countries. But not every office has a social media strategy developed yet.
We are also on Weibo. We are actually part of the main big Chinese platforms. We are
not on the small local platforms, like Hyves, because we are focusing on reach and
professional work on the main platforms. You have a lot of investment with small local
platforms and there is a big risk that they will die soon. We want to keep it efficient.
We have well defined target groups within every market. In Europe this means 10
markets. So we know our target groups and we know how to reach them. In some
markets, social media is obviously a lot stronger than in other markets. So, we need
to direct the efforts in an efficient way. For instance in Holland, we know that the
social media for Twitter is very big, while still in other countries might not be as big,
therefore we need to look at other means of communications. So, social media for us
is not the stand-alone way of communication, but an integrated part of what were
doing.
The idea with social media accounts is to create different accounts for each market. If
I could and if I would afford it, I probably would divide it in even more accounts for
every market to direct certain target groups.
I think LinkedIn should be used only by professionals. We have a Pinterest account,

but no time to develop it. I am the only person who works for the Romanian NTO in
North America. We are relatively active on Twitter. I do not want to flood the people
with all kinds of irrelevant information. The idea was to send once a week or once
every two weeks a tweet that does only add to the table positive information about
Romania. There is a lot of negative information about Romania in social media and we
are basically trying to show the positive news.
Comments:
There is some agreement on which social media channels are the most important. Facebook and
Twitter are used the most by NTOs. In the case of NTOs with more resources, social media channels
are divided by markets so as to reach the most important target groups. In other cases, due to human
resources and money constraints, social media is a small part of the overall marketing activities with
just a few hours per month allocated to it.
3. Do you use different approaches for different channels or do you prefer to distribute
the same messages across channels?
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Different channels require different approaches, because followers and fans are
different and react in different ways. We post on FB mostly 2-3 times a day because
we do not want to be overwhelming for our fans. On Facebook, features work very
well. We also ask Instagram users permission to use their pictures. What we post on
FB goes automatically on Twitter.
On Twitter we have keyword searches that we
monitor so that we can jump into the conversation whenever a topic related to Monaco
is discussed. This is how we attract followers. For Pinterest we have boards and with
Google+ we havent done very well, but I think this is something everybody struggles
with. We post once or twice a week now because we do not have many followers. On
Instagram we have #VisitMonaco hashtag and we post every day. We monitor if
anyone is posting interesting pictures on a daily basis, we repost them and thats how
we gain followers. I am against buying followers. Having something like 50,000
followers and no interaction is not valuable for us. I know when marketers are
cheating from the interaction they have on the channel.
The message is not the same and it does differ after various social media channels.
Some years ago we have also checked if posting the same message across channels
could work, however no relevant results were reached.
Sometimes youll see that the same content is posted on both Twitter and Facebook
and YouTube. But they are slightly different in each country. So, its actually up to
each country to mould the messages and the communications in between these
channels. But normally we use Twitter for aims to reach people that are influential
when it comes to tourism and Sweden and that might have a journalistic approach.
YouTube is more a place where we connect with our fans basically.
We return again to the limited resources that we have. Of course, if we feel that the
Twitter account is followed by a segment of tourists and the other segment is on
Facebook it makes sense to differentiate the message and the tone etc. The question
is how well we know the audience for these channels.
Comments:
Opinions are divided with regard to whether to post the same message across channels or tailoring the
information according to the channel. However, there is some agreement on which channels are more
B2B oriented as opposed to B2C.
4. Do you use separate SM channels for each market?
Our headquarters is in charge of the social media strategy for different markets. They open a
Facebook page, for example and then they hand it in to the different markets. For instance in
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Russia social media are outsourced to a PR agency. It is the same for China and India. The
Chinese market is however a challenge as they use different platforms.
Not yet, since there is not enough human resource, we do not use separate social media
communications. Everything is managed by the social media manager. We try to focus only in
the markets that we can handle. The content is the key factor. In this respect we organize
annual meetings with colleagues and have special brainstorming sessions. Colleagues also
inform me, when they plan some fairs, events, and send us a photo/relevant text.
On Facebook we focus only on Slovenian and English. The second largest group on FB after
Slovenians are Italians, but it is difficult to find a good translation. On Twitter we also post in
Italian and Spanish if we find any blogs relevant to share.
I know that in some organisations they think its ok to just write in English or just write in
their original language, but you know, were not that corky. We think that we need to
communicate with our target groups in their own language. We think thats very important.
We have all the Chinese social media clones. We can obviously not measure Klout, but were
measuring involvement and followers and stuff like that.
China is another planet from my perspective.
But also in Europe you can see quite big
differences between different countries. Just look at the way were using Twitter for example.
In Sweden, Twitter is something that elites use. Youll find people from the media and
celebrities and stuff like that using Twitter. On the other hand, in Holland everybody is suing
Twitter. You can look at Germany for example, where Facebook is strong, but you know, the
social media is coming but it takes more time. The same goes for France. It takes more time
than in the Nordic countries for example; where you know, traditional press is still very strong.
So, we need to adjust the levels of involvement depending on the country were in. And the
best way to do that for us is actually to let our offices in each country deal with it. And of
course we aim to be a little bit ahead in each country.
Comments:
Again, there are quite some differences at the level of European NTOs, mainly due to the lack of
human resources. Even where different social media channels are used for each market, some NTOs
prefer to outsource this activity to a PR agency, while others consider it is very important to be done
in-house, by the NTO offices abroad.
5. What are the resources allocated to social media promotion?
The workload on a daily basis is really big to see results. The management of a government
office tends to be more conservative. They didnt yet grasp the power of social media and tend
to consider it among the same marketing bracket without giving it a dedicated budget.
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Italy and France have the support of a specialized agency when it comes to community
management. Countries like Germany do most of it by themselves. There is one monthly
conference call to discuss about social media activities in core markets. Content must be of
high quality and highly tailored to the markets.
I have a team of PR managers all over Europe. So, in each and every country everywhere we
have an account we have a PR and social media manager. This person manages the account.
Sometimes there might be two persons on one country; China for instance. Its up to them
actually, to get the account to make as much communication as possible from the staff that
we want to get out there. But some of these managers have chosen to copy or to deal in the
same manner as we did with the Curators of Sweden. They have chosen to do similar
activities: that from time to time they hand in the account to someone else, someone that,
you know, loves Sweden or has a lot to say about Sweden. That happened both in Twitter
accounts and Facebook accounts.
What we allocate for social media is basically man hours. We dont allocate money into it for
special campaigns on social media. For us the most important thing about social media is
actually to make them social. Theyre not channels for information, but for communication.
I am the only person who works for the Romanian NTO in North America.
Comments:
Rich countries like Sweden, Monaco or Switzerland have the means to allocate man-hours for social
media. On the other hand, countries like Slovenia and Romania still struggle with lack of resources.
However, even in the case of Monaco the government office tends to be more conservative without
dedicating a budget to social media.
6. What KPIs are the most important in your opinion?
Interactions are more important. We may have 2000 fans on Facebook, but maybe
half of them have hidden us. The same goes on Twitter, we measure reactions, for
example re-tweets.
Most important metrics are talking about, comments, retweets, favourite tweets. I also
check the quality of posts on Facebook. If I don't get a lot of likes and comments in 2
hours it means that the post was not very successful. This also depends on the time
you post. The most important time for us is Sunday late afternoon, as people are more
likely to respond then.
The viral reach is very important to all of us. We have positive figures, we are
growing. We are going away from the number of interactions and move to the number
of fans when reporting the stats internally. We need to identify who are our heaviest
user fans and to transform them into tourists.
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When were measuring these channels, were actually measuring engagement and
relationships with the persons that we need to have relationships with. Thats the
important thing for us. Were not measuring how many people are following us, thats
not so important to be honest. Weve put up goals together last year, so everybody
had their Klout Score to reach. That actually showed it was much more effective for
us, than any other measurements that we have ever done. Obviously were tracking
everything else as well, but to get my organisation going in the same direction, Klout
actually turned out to work just fine for us.
I have a very simple empirical method. Each news item is accompanied by a link. We
count the number of clicks on that link. We count the number of favourite tweets and
the re-tweets. There are companies that determine your social media reputation.
Again, we wonder how much effort we should put into social media, what is its role? It
is obvious that if I sent a tweet, probably not only that tweet will determine an
individual to go to Romania. With social media we try to create positive perceptions
about the country. However, when we count the number of tourists at the end of the
year, we need to ensure that we communicate with the right people.
I also check PEER & Klout Index. Social numbers for Facebook is a another useful tool,
as I can check what's going on within Slovenia on all Facebook pages in terms of size
and talking about. In terms of paid monitoring tools, we used Attentics last year, but
this year we will not extend the contract. We now focus on Crowdbooster for Twitter
and Facebook. No other paid tools are used now. We try to focus on free tools.
Comments:
In general, engagement seems to be the most important metric for the interviewed experts. They
mainly mention interactions, talking about, comments, retweets and favourite tweets. However, viral
reach is also seen as important by one expert. For VisitSweden KloutScore is seen as the most
effective way to monitor and reach their social media goals. Experts mostly use free, platform-based
monitoring tools.
7. Did you use sponsored stories on Facebook? Do you find behavioural targeted
campaigns effective?
We use targeted campaigns, but not very often. Last time we used Sponsored Stories
was in February for the tour that Monte Carlo Ballet had in America. The goal was to
sell tickets for the Ballet so it wasnt as successful as other campaigns we had. We
used Sponsored Stories also around big events like the Grand Prix and Tour de France
which started from Monaco. We targeted people with specific interest in those sports.
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We are also targeting specific areas in the US where our clients can be found. These
were very successful campaigns. Now it is more expensive, because the market is
saturated I think.
We used behavioural targeting before the winter campaign, targeting tourists from
European countries, by interest, focused on Slovenias main activities (fishing, hiking,
events etc.) We used Sponsored Stories, but no promoted posts, because we cannot
focus only on one attraction.
We support the Facebook page with like-ads and promoted posts. In one month we
cross all languages.
The budget is the same, but we redistribute it. I believe the
targeted ads have been effective so far. For example, with promoted posts, the
number of people talking about this is bigger.
No, we dont do that. Normally when we use Facebook in some types of campaigns,
its a part of another campaign. I think thats the normal thing to do.
Facebook ads are not well received by users. Less than 2% of the users pay attention
to ads displayed on Facebook. I, for instance, when I opened an account on Facebook
I wrote down a false Birthdate. So, it is very easy to lie on the internet and on
Facebook. We didnt use behavioural targeting.
Comments:
Opinions are divided with regards to whether Behavioural Targeting is effective or not. However,
Central European NTOs did use some types of BT, such as Sponsored Stories, Facebook Ads and
Promoted Posts. One expert believed that it is better not to use promoted posts as they cannot focus
only on one attraction. Also, interestingly, VisitSweden, which has a rather progressive approach to
social media does not use BT. Another expert believed that BT, specifically Facebook Ads are not well
received by users.
8. Can you tell me some success stories youve had using social media?
One of our successful campaigns was #winterslovenia, focused mainly on Twitter users
interested in winter sports. We contacted them directly to promote Slovenias ski
resorts and winter activities. We encouraged tourism industry DMOs and other tourism
industry professionals to join and to do some communication on their own channels or
to send us materials. This was intensively for 3 weeks before Christmas in 2011. We
have great feedback from the Slovenian tourism industry. It was a great success in
terms of virality.
We had a nice campaign, Where is Andrew? which was a collaboration between the
North America office and National Geographic. It was not something developed by the
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HQ office. Our main campaigns are the ones featuring Sebi and Paul. The characters
are not actors, but real traditional Swiss people. When we initially put it online,
Facebook took it off, because they changed their promotional guidelines. However, the
campaign was focused on travelling without internet, so the whole issue turned out to
support our message in a funny way.
Another successful campaign was the one
featuring Martin, the winter sniffer. It created a lot of reach and interactions.
We had a campaign, Curators of Sweden, where we hand in the account to someone

else, someone that loves Sweden or has a lot to say about Sweden. Its important for
us to showcase Sweden as it is, not as something that we would like it to be. Because
then it doesnt reflect well when people come here. We want to show the country as
close as possible to what it is. Because we think that the target groups we deal with,
theyre too smart to be fooled, theyre looking for authenticity.
Comments:
This question made sense only I the case of NTOs with a less conservative approach towards social
media. It was interesting to observe how an NTO can raise awareness using a small budget a lot of
creativity in social media.
9. Finally, what are your future e-marketing plans?
This year we have the 150 year anniversary of our main ballet company. They made
Monaco what it is today. We are going to use social media to promote all the events
relating to this.
Regarding our 2013 campaign I cannot say much yet, but it will be great. It will have
social gaming and will be connected to social media. In my opinion, it is very
important to have the right mix of platforms in place tailored to the specific campaign.
I can tell you this: that more and more of our attention go online. It goes faster than it
did before. But I cant tell you how much and what sort of campaigns go online. It all
depends on the markets.
We plan to build an app, but it's not a priority as desktop still dominates. My guess is
that in 5-10-15 years its clear that you need to be strong in mobile apps. For us, for
the Romanian NTO in North America, mobile apps are not a priority. This is mostly due
to the fact that, especially for us, the target-group is not 25-35-years-olds, but babyboomers, those who visited Europe a few times already.
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Comments:
The aim of this question was to be a general one, closing the discussion, as well as to observe if social
media occupies a role in the NTOs future e-marketing plans. However, answers were rather general,
as most campaigns were still in the design phase.
Survey
The survey was sent to 242 mailboxes during April and May 2013. The target was to receive responses
from at least half of the 36 European National Tourist Organisations. Although the questionnaire was
sent to over 200 mailboxes, usually tourism professionals worked in a team and submitted one
completed survey per country. There were in total 45 participants, out of which 27 completed the
whole survey. Professionals from at least 21 different NTOs responded, meaning that the target was
achieved. In order not to skew the data, I will solely analyse the data provided by the 27 respondents
who completed the entire survey.
General demographic data, such as age, gender and income of the respondents was irrelevant for the
purpose of this study. Therefore, the aim of the first question was to identify the European region of
the NTO represented by the participant. A positive sign is that all European regions were represented,
with Western Europe having the largest share (37.04%) meaning 10 participants. On the other hand,
the lowest participation came from northern countries with only 1 participant.
The second questions tackled the way NTOs structure their social media strategies.
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More than half (15 respondents) said that it was partly done by NTO offices in specific markets.
However, 37.04% (10 respondents) prefer to have a social media strategy all centralized in the head
office, probably in order to have more control about the type of information that is distributed and due
to time and cost constraints.
The following question aims to shed light on the way European NTOs promote their destinations in
overseas markets, trying to give a response to the second research question: are NTOs prepared for
markets such as USA, China, Brazil and Canada? One way of determining this is to find out if they
promote their destinations through social media in those markets. As expected, most NTOs (17
respondents) use social media promotion in the USA, while only 13.73% (7 respondents) use it in
Brazil. 10 Respondents said they use this type of promotion in China, while 9 said they use it in
Canada. Finally, 15.69% (8 participants) do not use any social media promotion in these markets.
Do you use social media promotion in the following overseas markets: *
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When it comes to spending money on social media promotion, almost half of the respondents (13
participants) said they spend less than 5% of their budget on this means of promotion. The second
largest group, 8 respondents spends slightly more of their budget, between 5-9%. Only one
respondent said they spend between 20-29% of their budget on social media promotion.
How much of your overall marketing budget is invested in social media? *
The next questions deal with social media usage, where responses were measured using a Likert
scale. The multitude of social media channels was divided into the following categories: networking,
content-sharing, opinion and location-based and regional. Not surprisingly, Facebook scored the
highest with 77, 78% (21 respondents) saying that they consider it the most important channel. In
the case of Twiter, 14 respondents considered it very important, while only 3 consider it the most
important channel.
Out of the content-sharing social media channels, YouTube is considered the most important by
44,44%. Pinterest follows, with the same percentage, namely 12 respondents, considering it
important. Flickr is considered somewhat important by 6 respondents. Digg and Tumbl are not used
by 16 respondents, while Vimeo and Picassa are considered the least important.
Most NTO respondents do not consider opinion and location-based social media channels very
important. However, TripAdvisor scores highest, with 6 respondents considering it important.
Foursquare and Wordpress are considered somewhat important, while Blogspot is not used by 16
respondents (59.26%).
The last category is regional social media channels. Through this question, I wanted to test if NTOs
use social media channels which are specific to overseas markets such as USA, Canada, China and
Brazil. The majority of respondents (66.67% -18 participants) does not use Tencent Weibo or Renren
in China. 16 said they do not use Sina Weibo and 20 of the participants do not use Orkut for the
128
Brazilian market. However, there were 6 NTOs stating they consider Sina Weibo the most important
regional channel.
The following question was an open-ended one, having as scope to fill in possible gaps between the
social media channels provided as response options and the ones that NTOs use, but were not
mentioned in the survey. Therefore, it was revealed that NTOs use Diandian and Weixin in China.
Other social media channels used are Instagram, Viadeo, XING, Slideshare, Quora, Scoop.it and
Wayne.com.
Using the same Likert scale, I tried to match the information provided in the previous questions (what
are the social media channels NTOs are focusing on) with their actual activity on those channels.
According to the survey, most of the NTOs post new content on Facebook and Twitter more frequently
than once a day. On YouTube and Pinterest, the majority of NTO respondents post content less
frequently than once a week, but more frequently than once a month.
When it comes to engagement, the trend is similar. Most of respondents engage with users more than
once a day on Facebook (20) and on Twitter (16). 9 of the NTOs engage with users on Youtube and 8
on Pinterest once every other week. More than half of respondents (14) said they never engage with
users on LinkedIn.
The following question is testing the third research question: What are the most important KPIs of
NTOs social media strategies? As shown in the graph below, engagement scores slightly higher than
audience size. 59.26% of the respondents consider engagement the most important KPI, while
44.44% consider audience size a very important KPI, but not the most important one.
129
The next two questions go deeper into the subject of social media promotion, looking to assess if and
which SM behavioural targeting NTOs are using. Before analysing the data, it is important to note that
an error in the answers occurred. Out of 27 answers give, 20 respondents said they used behavioural
targeting. However, the next question was addressed solely to those participants who said yes in the
previous question. Therefore, there should have been 20 responses given, instead of 22. One
respondent mentioned in the open question field that the NTO did not use any behavioural targeting,
so we can easily assume that there were actually 21 correct respondents for question #15, one of
which wrongly ticked no for the previous question (#14). I would then assume that 21 respondents
used SM behavioural targeting over three quarters of the total participants. Google Ads (19),
Facebook Ads (19) and Sponsored Stories (17) were the most popular ones. Twitter seems to be less
used with regards to BT, with 6 respondents using Promoted Accounts and only 4 Promoted Posts. No
other social media behavioural targeting techniques were mentioned.
130
After identifying the most important KPIs that tourism professionals take into account, the most
suitable step in the social media strategy is measuring success. Therefore, questions #16 and #17
identify the most popular social media monitoring tools. Platform-based analytics, such as Facebook
Insights and YouTube Analytics have the largest share, being used by 23 of the respondents.
Kloutscore follows by 19.30% (11 participants), while Hootsuite is used by 6 participants (10.53%).
Social mention, Tweetstats, PeerIndex are each used by less than 9% of respondents. Other
monitoring tools used are Tweetreach, Engagor and Meltwater. In the future, some NTOs plan to use
tools such as: Radian6, SocialBro, SocialBakers, PostHeads and Social Mention.
131
The following questions focus on the relevance of social media promotion when influencing travel
behaviour, namely the studys first research question. Using a rating scale, participants were asked
whether they think that the NTOs social media efforts have been successful in helping achieve the
business goals of 2012. The arithmetic average was 60.67%, meaning that social media efforts are
generally considered effective.
Question #19, is designed as multi-choice and measures opinions on whether resources invested in
social media are worthwhile. The results are surprisingly positive, with 74.07% saying yes, while only
one of the respondents said that no. However, 5 respondents stated that its too soon to determine,
while 1 mentioned that he/she doesnt know it the resources invested are worthwhile. This is an
interesting finding, considering that 48.15% of the respondents invest less than 5% in social media
promotion.
132
The last open question is an optional one, leaving room for participants to express their opinion on the
impact of social media on their NTOs marketing efforts.
Generally, respondents seemed optimistic about the future of social media, stressing the need to
invest more in this form of promotion.
Social Media have a fundamental role to play in our overall marketing efforts, a role which is destined
to increase in importance over the coming years.
I do believe that in the future resources will be re-allocated to give social media a more prominent
spot within marketing efforts.
(social media is) excellent advertising, even in some cases better than offline promotion.
Social is intrinsic to all activities now and is a default consideration when developing campaigns.
Other impacts of SM mentioned here:
-
active dialogue instead of push communication
active listening and thus market research opportunities; provides data capture opportunities
provides long term platform engagement
can be used as a customer service, PR tool
enables targeting of repeat visitors
provides a source of traffic for content marketing and for the NTOs website
Provides access to a larger "friends of" audience
enables richer interaction on topics
active storytelling instead of usual PR - message distribution
133
Finally, participants were asked to write their email addresses in case they wished to receive a copy of
the final study. For the complete answers of the survey, please consult Appendix 8.
Conclusions
The empirical research aims to shed some light on the three main questions of the study. I will discuss
them one by one in the rows below.
In order to properly answer this research question, I took into account the resources allocated by each
NTO for social media promotion, as well as opinions with regard to whether investing in SM is
worthwhile.
NTOs have a small budget for social media promotion. However, advanced economies invest slightly
more than emerging ones. Social media is seen as just one aspect of the overall marketing strategy,
being placed in the category of PR or customer service. The main distinction is in the case of
VisitSweden, as they are integrating core Swedish values into their social media communications in a
very democratic manner. On the other hand, Romanias NTO is slightly sceptical about the relevance
of social media for attracting tourists, as Romania is a one in a lifetime destination for many overseas
tourists.
As expected, Facebook and Twitter are the main social media channels NTOs are focusing on.
However, the case of advanced economies, NTOs built separate social media channels for each
market. In other cases, due to human resources and money constraints, social media is a small part of
the overall marketing activities with just a few hours per month allocated to it. When it comes to
distributing the same message across channels, opinions are divided, with no clear conclusion
reached.
The resources allocated to social media are mainly man hours, with PR managers dealing with this
type of promotion. In some cases, social media are outsourced to a PR agency. According to the
survey, more than half of the respondents said that social media activities are partly done by NTOs in
specific markets. Furthermore, 13 of the survey respondents spend less than 5% of their budget on
this means of promotion. The second largest group, 8 respondents spends slightly more of their
budget, between 5-9%.
However, when asked if they think that the NTOs social media efforts have been successful in helping
achieve the business goals of 2012, most of the respondents gave a positive answer. Also, when
134
asked whether resources invested in social media are worthwhile, more than half (74,07%) of the
respondents gave a positive answer. This is an interesting finding, considering that 48.15% of the
respondents invest less than 5% in social media promotion.
2. Are European NTOs prepared to promote their destinations to overseas markets
through social media?
Promoting European destinations in overseas markets largely depends on the budget of each NTO. As
Europe still faces economic difficulties, many NTOs do not have the means necessary to invest in
social media promotion worldwide. However, the USA market is still well represented, with 17
respondents using social media promotion there. According to the survey, SM promotion is used by 9
NTOs in Canada, 7 in Brazil and 10 in China. However, 8 NTOs do not use any social media promotion
in these markets. The majority of NTOs surveyed (66.67% -18 participants) does not use Tencent
Weibo or Renren in China. 16 said they do not use Sina Weibo and 20 of the participants do not use
Orkut for the Brazilian market. However, there were 6 NTOs stating they consider Sina Weibo the
most important regional channel. Other regional social media channels mentioned were Diandian and
Weixin in China.
Are European NTOs well represented through social media in overseas markets? I believe this largely
depends on the NTO and the market in question. North America is still the main overseas market
where European destinations are promoted, whereas China and Brazil are not a priority for most
NTOs. However, the market in Europe is fragmented and the approach NTOs use depends on the
economy and values of the country of origin.
3. What are the most important KPIs of NTOs social media strategies?
Facebook and Twitter have the highest posting frequency, while on YouTube and Pinterest, the
majority of NTO respondents post content less frequently than once a week, but more frequently than
once a month. When it comes to engagement, the trend is similar. Most of respondents engage with
users more than once a day on Facebook (20) and on Twitter (16).
According to the survey, engagement scores slightly higher than audience size. 59.26% of the
respondents consider engagement the most important KPI, while 44.44% consider audience size a
very important KPI, but not the most important one. In the case of the expert interviews, engagement
is also seen as the most important KPI for social media.
NTOs are still experimenting with behavioural targeting, such as Facebook Ads, Sponsored Stories. In
the case of Switzerland NTO for instance, the budget is the same but it is redistributed so as to cover
135
BT costs. Sweden NTO on the other hand does not use BT. In the case of Romania NTO, Facebook ads
are seen as being well received by users.
When it comes to monitoring the results, platform-based analytics, such as Facebook Insights and
YouTube Analytics have the largest share, being used by 23 of the respondents. Kloutscore follows by
11 participants. In the future, some NTOs plan to use tools such as: Radian6, SocialBro, SocialBakers,
PostHeads and Social Mention.
All in all, it can be said that engagement is valued slightly higher than audience size. However, there
is a need to repeat the study over a larger population in order to reach a clear conclusion.
136
Using social media to promote European tourism worldwide: a

conclusion
What is the right social media strategy for our brand? or What are the most important KPIs to take
into account when measuring success? are still questions with unclear answers. Europe is still the
number one tourist destination worldwide, but it has lost market share in recent years mainly due to
economic uncertainties on the continent. As tourism revenues account for an important share of many
European countries GDP, promoting European destination in a smart, efficient way has consequences
on job creation and economic growth.
In this study, I tried to assess the ways in which different European National Tourist Organisations
promote their destinations mainly in overseas markets such as USA, Canada, China and Brazil, and
whether this means of promotion influences travel decisions. Triangulating findings from other studies
with those from my own empirical methods, I will discuss the findings related to each of the research
questions proposed.
Studies show that social media do not have a prominent role in the future travel decisions, with only
6% of Americans saying that information from social media was the primary reason for choosing a
holiday destination. Family/friend recommendations and travel guidebooks are the most influential
when planning leisure travel. Other studies show that social networking sites are used for travel
information search before booking. However, younger travellers are more likely to use social media
than senior ones. According to a study by Stikky Media, only 47% of consumers trust traditional
media, compared to 70% trusting online travel reviews. Despite these numbers, the majority of the
marketing budget is spent on traditional media.235
Social media are extremely search engine friendly. The main reasons are the fact that they are
updated frequently and include numerous links and tags, which inuences their ranking within search
results in a positive way.
Throughout the empirical research, it was shown that tourism marketers see social media as a PR or
a customer service tool without dedicating a particular budget to it. The main investment is in man
hours and this largely depends on the NTOs country of origin economic situation. However, there were
some initiatives to invest in behavioural targeting campaigns, such as Facebook Ads or Sponsored
235
2102 Social Media and Tourism Industry Statistics, Stikky Media, http://www.stikkymedia.com/blog/2012social-media-and-tourism-industry-statistics
137
Stories. Interestingly, although most of the respondents indicate that their social media efforts were
worthwhile, less than 5% of their budget is dedicated to this means of promotion.
All in all, it seems that social media does not play a central role in future travel decision, but it is,
however, one of the sources that travellers take into account when choosing a destination.
media?
Brazil
In Brazil, data show that almost one third (31%) of the Brazilian outbound trips go to Europe. In
2012, Brazilian travel expenditure reached US 22.2 billion. Brazilians travel to Europe is affected by a
large and growing Brazilian diaspora, as well as by deep cultural and historical ties.
Brazil is the ideal target for online marketers, mainly due to the extrovert culture and the openness of
Brazilians towards brands. When it comes to travel planning, social media are a very valuable channel,
especially among the well-educated and higher-income groups. Research by ExactTarget shows that
42% of Brazilian consumers in the 25-44 age group have bought a product after receiving a marketing
message through social media.
236
However, the general awareness about Europe in Brazil is still low as the continent is competing with
closer and cheaper destinations such as Argentina and USA. Moreover, Google revealed that, in Brazil,
search queries such as "Where is Estonia located?" and "What is the capital of Norway?" are common.
Europe needs to establish smart strategies in order compete with destinations in Latin America and
USA, which have gained a significant share of Brazilian outbound travel in recent years. However,
NTOs still struggle with costs and few of them are represented in social media in Brazil (e.g. Orkut)
According to the empirical data gathered from the survey, social media promotion is used by 7 NTOs
in Brazil while 20 of the participants do not use Orkut for the Brazilian market.
236
E-commerce Brasil (2012), Estudo revela como consumidor brasileiro interage com e-mail, Facebook e Twitter
(Online), available: http://www.ecommercebrasil.com.br/noticias/estudo-revela-como-consumidor-brasileiro-interagecom-e-mail-facebook-e-twitter (27-09-2012).
138
Canada
Canada has strong cultural roots in Europe with 28% of the total population having British origins,
23% French and 15 other European.237 Long haul outbound from Canada is forecast to grow an
average of 2.2% per year through 2017.
According to the Internet World Stats, by June 30, 2012, there were over 28 million internet users in
Canada, representing 83% of the population.
238
In 2011, around 16.9 million Canadians were on
social networks. According to a ComScore study, Canadian users distinguish themselves by their high
engagement on social networks. In 2011 Canadians spent an average of 45 hours per month on social
media, almost double the global average. According to the same study, Canadians watched an
average of 300 videos per month. In this sense, YouTube was amongst the most important channels
with views increasing by a staggering 170% in 2011.239
When it comes to promoting European destinations in North America, some National Tourism
Organisations prefer having one office dealing with both the USA and Canadian market. This is mainly
explained by their need to reduce costs. The two countries also share many similarities. Countries like
Croatia, Sweden and Poland, chose to locate their offices in New York and work on promoting both
markets from USA. Also, Austria and Denmark National Tourist Organisations do not mention the
location of their offices on their websites but instead provide the contact details of the persons
responsible for the North America market.
China
Chinese arrivals in most European destinations at least doubled since 2005. China has the world
largest internet population, totalling 564 million Internet users as of December 2012.240 The top social
networking sites by registered users are QZone (712 million), Tencent Weibo (507 million), Sina
Weibo (400mln), PengYou (259 million) and RenRen (172 million).241 Moreover, each of Chinas social
237
CIA (2013), The World Factbook. Last retrieved on 15/05/2013 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/geos/ca.html
238
Internet World Stats, December 2012, http://www.newmediatrendwatch.com/markets-by-country/11-long-haul/45canada

239
240
Synthesio,
Social
Media
and
Censorship
in
China,
2013,
http://synthesio.com/corporate/wpcontent/uploads/2013/03/Social-media-and-censorship-in-China1.pdf
241
We are social, Social, Digital and Mobile in China, http://thenextweb.com/asia/2013/01/17/chinese-netizens-spentapproximately-19-million-years-on-social-media-in-2012-report/
139
media users follows on average 8 Brands and 80% of users care about commercial information on
social networking sites.
242
More than half of Weibo users access e-commerce sites after noticing relevant information on the
platform. Thus, there are more than 230,000 companies with
the presence on Weibo. However,
although the number of online travel bookings is increasing, most travellers still book their trips
offline. The internet is mainly used for searching travel related information.
As of January 2012, thirteen NTOs created their own simplified Chinese websites. Traditional Chinese
characters are used for the Hong Kong and Taiwanese markets while simplified Chinese characters are
used in mainland China and Singaporean Chinese.243 Some European NTOs have a presence on Sina
Weibo, such as Switzerland or Spain.
The first European country to open an office in China was Switzerland in 1998. Since then, 18 other
European countries have joined. Sweden, Norway and Denmark had a joint operation in Beijing and
Shanghai under the banner of the Scandinavian Tourist Board (STB). However, Visit Sweden left the
board in 2012 because of differences in strategic priorities and went alone. The Portuguese tourism
board, is represented abroad by ICEP, the Portuguese Agency for Foreign Trade and Investment. Two
other countries (Germany and Ireland) have local marketing representatives. Hungary is represented
by its embassy, and Italy by the Italian Chamber of Commerce.244
USA
Europe is the largest destination region of the US outbound travel. In 2012, 40% of US long haul
travellers chose to venture to Europe245 Long haul outbound from the US is forecast to grow 5.8% per
year on average through 2016.246
US is the market with probably the highest percentage of internet penetration. At the end of June
2012, there were 245 million internet users in the US (representing 78.1% of the population),
according to Internet World Stats. The use of social networks continues to rise in the US: from 79%
travellers active on social networks in 2011 to 83% in 2012.
242
We are social, Social, Digital and Mobile in China, http://thenextweb.com/asia/2013/01/17/chinese-netizens-spentapproximately-19-million-years-on-social-media-in-2012-report/

243
245
ETC European Tourism 2013 Trends and Prospects published 9 May 2013
244
246
ETC (2012). European Tourism 2012 Trends and Prospects (Q4/2012)
140
Most European NTOs have an office in the USA and promote their destinations through social media
sites, mainly on Facebook, Twitter and recently Pinterest. In some cases (e.g. Romania) their offices
deal with both the Canadian and the US market
All in all, it seems that European NTOs have a well established presence in the North American Market
while looking to invest more in emerging markets in the future. However, this largely depends on the
resources of each country and its cultural connections to overseas markets. For smaller countries such
as Estonia or San Marino, being part of Pan European routes is the solution for attracting more foreign
tourists. This can be because overseas tourists tend to visit popular destinations such as Spain,
France, Italy or UK when they first come to Europe. Creating routes which include smaller, lesser
known countries has the potential to increase tourist revenues.
3. What are the most influential KPIs of NTOs social media strategies?
Firstly, it is important to keep in mind that the social media KPIs need to follow clear business goals
and objectives. The ultimate goal for National Tourist Organisations is to increase the number of
tourists. However, it is difficult to measure to which extend the number of tourist arrivals were due to
their social media efforts and not other factors, such as appealing packages by travel agencies or
friends recommendations. In general, social media metrics marketers look at include audience size,
reach, engagement, sentiment and outcomes.
According to the empirical data gathered through the survey, engagement scores slightly higher
than audience size. In the case of the expert interviews, engagement is also seen as the most
important KPI for social media. However, no clear conclusion can be drawn from these data, as
engagement scores only slightly higher than audience size metrics.
Of course, neither social media nor tourism are standing still. Technologies evolve at a fast pace in the
interconnected world were living in.
141
Shortcomings of the thesis and recommendations for future research
A first major, but inevitable, shortcoming of this thesis concerns the time sensitivity of the topic.
Social media landscapes evolved at a fast pace. We can only predict so much when it comes to
consumer trends in social media.
A second shortcoming concerns my background. I have approached the social media issue from a
communications point of view. It would have been especially helpful to have more knowledge on
tourism and computer science.
A third shortcoming concerns the research. Although I had a response rate higher than expected for
the quantitative method, the data obtained cannot be extrapolated to all European National Tourist
Organisations. Additionally, more expert interviews should have been conducted.
My first recommendation for future research is to analyse the link between social media behavioural
targeting and tourism trends. Does BT actually increase tourist arrivals and can this be determined
accurately?
My second recommendation is related to promoting European destinations in China. As a rising power,
I believe China represents a huge opportunity for tourist revenues in the coming years. It would be
interesting to analyse NTOs initiatives regarding promoting European destinations in China and how
much they plan to invest in this market.
142
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to:

Prof. Dr. Pieter Ballon, my advisor, for his inspiring guidance.
Mrs. Valeria Croce, Head of Research Department at the European Travel Commission and all the
European Travel Commission team for their support and inspiration
Dad & Mom Antonescu, for their love and support.
143
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Appendix
Appendix 1: The Evolution of The Conversation Prism
Brian Solis, a digital analyst, sociologist, and futurist, introduced The Conversation Prism, a
representation of Social Media which evolve as services and conversation channels emerged, fused,
and dissipated.
Source: http://www.briansolis.com/2010/10/introducing-the-conversation-prism-version-3-0/
Version 1.0
154
Version 2.0
155
Version 3.0
156
Version 4.0 (to be released)

Source : http://www.briansolis.com/2012/07/please-help-us-update-the-conversation-prism-v4-0/
157
Appendix 2: Travel only social networks

The following rows provide an overview on travel related social networking sites and their features.
Source: 360i. (2009, February). 360i Point of View on Social Marketing Strategies for Travel.
Retrieved from: http://www.360i.com/reports/content/social-marketing-travel/
Dopplr Online travel service enables consumers to input their travel itinerary and see where
their friends around the world are going to be at that time.
Gusto! Online trip planning service and UGC reviews primarily focused on U.S. travel and
English speaking countries.
Trip Wolf Enables users to create user generated travel guides, travel scrapbooks, and blogs
as well as seek out advice from travel gurus, or consumers who are highly active content
creators for the travel site.
TripSay Provides trip recommendations based on suggestions from friends with similar
interests.
CouchSurfing.com Not enough money to stay in a hotel or want to be fully entrenched in

local culture? Travelers have formed a network of individuals willing to offer up some
hospitality and let folks crash on their couch.
Social mapping:
Googles MyMaps Googles custom mapping tools can be used to create maps of travel
routes and post them to blogs, social networking profiles and other sites.
TravelSkoot This site allows consumers to browse custom maps and itineraries and enables
them to create their own maps. Consumers can then rate, vote, comment and share the
maps.
Travel diaries and blogs:
Travel Pod Travel blogging community enables consumers to share travel experiencing on a
blogging platform. Features including mapping tools, photo/video sharing and forums.
Travelblog Collection of online travel diaries from around the world. Heavily focused on
offthe-beaten path travel.
RealTravel Review site featuring a robust network of travel bloggers.
Travel planning tools:
TripIt This tool allows consumers to email hotel and travel (train, plane, bus, etc.)
information to TripIt, which then automatically creates a suggested trip itinerary. The service
158
also allows members to see their friends travel plans in other environments beyond TripIt. For
example, the technology powering TripIt has been incorporated into LinkedIn, enabling
business travelers to connect with colleagues who may be traveling to the same cities.
Appendix 3: Europes share of Chinese market

Source: Tourism Economics
159
Appendix 4: China long haul outbound travel

Source: Tourism Economics
Appendix 5: Social, digital and mobile in China

The figures below show the social media trends and usage in China
Source : http://thenextweb.com/asia/2013/01/17/chinese-netizens-spent-approximately-19-millionyears-on-social-media-in-2012-report/
160
161
Appendix 6: A new framework for measuring social media activity

Richard Pentin proposes a new framework for measuring the effectiveness of social media, classifying
KPIs into one of the following categories: awareness, appreciation, action and advocacy.
Source: Richard Pentin, A new framework for measuring social media activity, IAB Social Media
Council, 2010, http://fr.slideshare.net/Ifonlyblog/iab-measurement-framework-for-social-media-final
162
163
Appendix 7: A demographic portrait of users of various social media services

Source: Maeve Duggan, Joanna Brenner, The Demographics of social media users, February 14,
2013,
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Social-media-users/Social-Networking-Site-
Users/Demo-portrait.aspx
Twitter users
The percentage of internet users who are on Twitter has doubled since November 2010, currently
standing at 16%. Those under 50, and especially those 18-29, are the most likely to use Twitter.
Urban-dwellers are significantly more likely than both suburban and rural residents to be on Twitter.
164
Pinterest users
Pinterest, the online pinboard, has attracted 15% of internet users to its virtual scrapbooking. Whites,
young people, the well-educated, those with higher income, and women are particularly likely to use
the site. Pinterest is equally popular among those 18-29 and 30-49 (19%). Women are about five
times as likely to be on the site as men, the largest difference in gender of any site featured in this
report.
165
Instagram users
Thirteen percent of internet users are taking and sharing pictures with Instagram. Women are more
likely than men to use the site, as are those under 50. African-Americans and Hispanics are more
likely than whites to use Instagram, along with urban residents.
166
167
Tumblr users
Tumblr is significantly less popular among internet users than the other social networking sites
featured in this report. Just 6% of those online use the site. It is much more popular, however,
among the youngest cohort 13% of those 18-29 are blogging on Tumblr.
168
Facebook users
Facebook remains the most-used social networking platform, as two-thirds of online adults say that
they are Facebook users. Women are more likely than men to be Facebook users, and Facebook use
is especially common among younger adults.
169
Appendix 8: Interview transcriptions

MONACO
Title: Senior Executive Trade, Web and Technology
Monaco Gevernment Tourism Office, New York
Date: 11 January 2013
10. First, can you tell me more about Visit Monacos overall marketing strategy and in
particular about your social media strategy and how you integrate it in the
communications strategy?
I have been in this position for a long time and I have seen a lot of changes in the digital
sphere. We used to have lots of brochures and requests via the phone. Now, DMOs need to
adapt. It is mostly about creating a one-on-one relationship with your clients. We operate on a
small budget, we are a small country and have a very targeted audience. A small country
cannot speak to everybody. We are specifically geared towards the luxury market.
Social media strategy is certainly integrated in our overall communications strategy to a
specific event for example. Last year we had Ballet de Monte-Carlo and we integrated social
media. We have this idea of using SM as a customer service and PR tool. We do not outsource
SM activities. I think it is difficult to outsource because you kind of lose control and it becomes
a mechanical thing. So we try to do everything in-house. B2B has not been so responsive on
social media, except on LinkedIn.
11. You are very active on social networking sites. ( you use separate Twitter &
Facebook accounts for markets) What social media channels are you focusing on?
We are a small office, but we try to experiment with every channel. We are on Pinterest,
Google+, Instagram.
We try to see what works best for us. At the moment, Twitter and
Facebook are the ones that work the best for us. We use Flickr mostly when we have events,
we post images and we work with the PR department to make sure we write the correct
names and titles. At the end of the day, I think its the user that shape the way social media
is used.
12. Do you use different approaches for different channels or do you prefer to distribute
the same messages across channels?
Different channels require different approaches, because followers and fans are different and
react in different ways. In the past we used Feedbarner on Facebook which was integrated
with our feeds on our website. So, automatically whenever we were posting something on our
website it automatically posted on Facebook. We post on FB mostly 2-3 times a day because
we do not want to be overwhelming for our fans. On Facebook, features work very well. We
170
also ask Instagram users permission to use their pictures. What we post on FB goes
automatically on Twitter. On Twitter we have keyword searches that we monitor so that we
can jump into the conversation whenever a topic related to Monaco is discussed. This is how
we attract followers. For Pinterest we have boards and with Google+ we havent done very
well, but I think this is something everybody struggles with. We post once or twice a week
now because we do not have many followers.On Instagram we have #VisitMonaco hashtag
and we post every day. We monitor if anyone is posting interesting pictures on a daily basis,
we repost them and thats how we gain followers. I am against buying followers. Having
something like 50,000 followers and no interaction is not valuable for us. I know when
marketers are cheating from the interaction they have on the channel.
13. Do you use separate SM channels for each market?
Our HQ are in charge for the SM strategy for different markets. They open A FB page, for
example and then they hand it in to the different markets. For example in Russia SM is
outsourced to a PR agency. It is the same for China and India.
The Chinese market is
however a challenge as they use different platforms.

14. What is the place occupied by SM in the overall marketing strategy? What are the
resources allocated to this type of promotion?
The workload on a daily basis is really big to see results. The management of a government
office tends to be more conservative. They didnt yet grasp the power of social media and tend
to consider it among the same marketing bracket without giving it a dedicated budget.
Interactions are more important. We may have 2000 fans on Facebook, but maybe half of
them have hidden us. The same goes on Twitter, we measure reactions, for example retweets.
campaigns effective or rather expensive?
We use targeted campaigns, but not very often. Last time we used Sponsored Stories was in
February for the tour that Monte Carlo Ballet had in America. The goal was to sell tickets for
the Ballet so it wasnt as successful as other campaigns we had. We used Sponsored Stories
also around big events like Grand Prix and Tour de France which started from Monaco. We
targeted people with specific interest in those sports. We are also targeting specific areas in
US where our clients can be found. These were very successful campaigns. Now it is more
expensive, because the market is saturated I think.
17. Finally, what are your future e-marketing plans? Any new mobile apps in plan?
This year we have the 150 years anniversary of our main ballet company. They made Monaco
what it is today. We are going to use social media to promote all the events relating to this.
Many thanks for your time!
171
SLOVENIA
Title: Social Media Manager
Slovenian Tourism Board
Date: 1 February 2013
1. First, can you tell me more about Slovenia Tourist Board overall marketing strategy
and in particular about your social media strategy and how you integrate it in the
In 2011 STB has adopted a new Social Media Strategy focusing on communication and online
marketing via SM. At this section it is essential to clarify our vision of social media used as a
marketing & communications tool. We believe that the social element has to be handled as
one aspect of an integrated marketing strategy requiring traditional media for support and
awareness. The goals and objectives of Slovenia's marketing strategy have been clearly stated
throughout the tender's specifications and the Marketing Plan for Slovenian Tourism
(2007/2011) as well as during the inception meetings where the picture was formed of how
the marketing strategy is translated into practice and actual activities. Concluding that STB's
marketing activities were in need of a more focused direction. Regarding digital marketing we
focused our efforts on specific digital media strategies and fine-tuning Slovenia's brand
identity and targeted positioning with contemporary digital marketing applications. Moreover,
we have approached this project in terms of Slovenia's overall digital presence and strategy by
carefully reviewing www.slovenia.info, STB's social media channels and any other type of
digital marketing activity taken by STB since all these should be fine-tuned to achieve the
maximum possible results in terms of visitors traffic, social interaction and brand awareness.
We are looking to integrate marketing programs such as social and email marketing, online
media and other direct response marketing programs.
Our vision is that the social element has to be handled as just one aspect of an integrated
marketing strategy, requiring traditional media for support and awareness.
The purpose, has been to develop a holistic digital marketing strategy targeting the decisionmaking process of planning a trip to Slovenia, providing useful visitor info while being in
Slovenia and utilizing attractive social media tools for sharing their memorable experience
upon their return home.
2. What are the main social media channels you are focusing on?
Facebook and Twitter are the main channel we use. We also like Instagram, because it is a
mobile friendly channel. We use also YouTube, but we do not produce many videos for
distribution. But from a SEO perspective it is important to have an optimized YouTube
channel. Fourth quite important channel is Foursquare, where we write tips or create lists of
tourist attractions in Slovenia. The downfall is that it doesnt cover every location and internet
connections are quite expensive for foreigners. Also we have just created a Pinterest account.
172
Google+ is not our main focus, as it is not as practical as Facebook. Flickr is not our focus at
the moment. However it is important for Asian countries.
Regarding B2B channels, we are in the stage to create LinkedIn groups. Weekly we try to
motivate our colleagues to join groups and find relevant materials. On the other hand, it is a
personal decision if somebody wants to be active. We once tried LinkedIn to advertise an
event, but it ws not very effective.
3. How do you target your audience using different social media channels? Do you post
different types of messages according to the channel used or do you distribute the
same messages across platforms?
The message is not the same and it does differ after various social media channel. Some years
ago we have also checked if posting the same message across channels could work, however
no relevant results were reached.
6. Youre offices are spread worldwide. Do you use separate social media sites for each
market? E.g. German Facebook and Twitter page etc
Not yet, since there is not enough human resourses, we do not use separate social media
communications. Everything is managed by the social media manager. We try to focus only in
the markets that we can handle.
The content is the key factor. In this respect we organize annual meetings with colleagues and
have special brainstorming sessions. Colleagues also inform me, when they plan some fairs,
events, and send us a photo/relevant text.
7. What are the key performance indicators you take into account when measuring
social media effectiveness (ROI)?
Most important metrics are talking about, comments, retweets, favourited tweets.
I also Check the quality of posts on Facebook. If I don't get a lot of likes and comments in 2
hours it means that the post was not very successful. This also depends on the time you post.
The most important time for us is Sunday late afternoon, as people are more likely to respond
then.
I also check PEER & Klout Index. Social numbers for Facebook is a another useful tool, as I
can check what's going on within Slovenia on all Facebook pages in terms of size and talking
about.
In terms of paid monitoring tools, we used Attentics last year, but this year we will not extend
the contract. We now focus on Crowdbooster for Twitter and Facebook. No other paid tools are
used now. We try to focus on free tools.
8. Can you tell me some success stories youve had using social media?
One of our successful campaigns was #winterslovenia, focused mainly on Twitter users
interested in winter sports. We contacted them directly to promote Slovenias ski resorts and
winter
activities.We
encoureged
tourism
industry
DMOs
and
other
tourism
industry
professionals to join and to do some communication on their own channels or to send us
173
materials. This was intensive for 3 weeks before Christmas in 2011. We have great feedback
from the Slovenian tourism industry. It was a great success in terms of virality.
More information here: http://aboutourism.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/destination-marketing-socialmedia-campaigns-that-work/
9. Did you use targeted ads? Do you find behavioural targeted campaigns effective or
rather expensive?
We used behavioural targeting before the winter campaign, targeting tourists from European
countries, by interest, focused on Slovenias main activities (fishing, hiking, events etc) We used
Sponsored Stories, but no promoted posts, because we cannot focus only on one attraction.
You were mentioning that you were targeting tourists by country. Did you use also
different languages?
On Facebook we focus only on Slovenian and English. The second largest group on FB after
Slovenians are Italians, but it is difficult to find a good translation. On Twitter we also post in
Italian and Spanish if we find any blogs relevant to share.
SWITZERLAND
Title: Social Media Marketing Manager
Switzerland Tourism
1. First, can you tell me more about Visit Switzerlands overall marketing strategy and
in particular about your social media strategy and how you integrate it in the
We started with a hotel rating system, which will be replaced with another one. Our official
social media platforms are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr. Pinterest is not our official
platform yet, although it looks like it. Its just a test balloon. I am very convinced that every
platform has a specific task to fulfil. On Twitter we have more of an information focus, instead
of a socializing focus. Pinterest is in-between of all the platforms. We dont spread the same
content across platforms -we tailor the content to the channel used. There is no posting on
Facebook and automatically on Twitter for us.
2. You are very active on social networking sites. ( you use separate Twitter &
Facebook accounts for markets) Do you think using local social media networks like
174
Hyves in Holland is effective or are giants like Facebook better? Are you a Facebook
/ Twitter optimist?
We get our content from all the departments and content is mainly related to our campaigns.
Im in the e-marketing team with my 3 colleagues. We have 7 official languages, we have core
markets we are focusing on, but we also have developing markets. For every market we have
an online responsible which takes care of the online communications. For example in Russia,
India, France and others. But not every office has a social media strategy developed yet.
We are also on Weibo. We are actually part of the main big Chinese platforms. We are not on
the small local platforms, like Hyves, because we are focusing on reach and professional work
on the main platforms. You have a lot of investment with small local platforms and there is a
big risk that they will die soon. We want to keep it efficient.
3. What are the resources allocated to Switzerlands social media promotion in terms of
human resources and costs? Do you outsource social media activities?
Italy and France have the support of a specialized agency when it comes to community
management. Countries like Germany do most of it by themselves. There is one monthly
conference call to discuss about social media activities in core markets. Content must be of
high quality and highly tailored to the markets.
The viral reach is very important to all of us. We have positive figures, we are growing. We are
going away from the number of interactions and move to the number of fans when reporting
the stats internally. We need to identify who are our heavy users fans and to transform them
into tourists.
5. Do you use social media monitoring?
No, that it something that we do ourselves. That will be something that will be updated in the
future. We plan to use Wildfire or other specialized collaboration software.
We support the Facebook page with like-ads and promoted posts. In one month we cross all
languages. The budget is the same, but we redistribute it. I believe the targeted ads have
been effective so far. For example, with promoted posts, the number of people talking about
this is bigger.
7. Can you tell me about success stories youve had using social media? E.g. targeted
campaigns, contests etc
We had a nice campaign, Where is Andrew?
which was a collaboration between the North
America office and National Geographic. It was not something developed by the HQ office.
Our main campaigns are the ones featuring Sebi and Paul. The characters are not actors, but
real traditional Swiss people. When we initially put it online, Facebook took it off, because they
changed their promotional guidelines. However, the campaign was focused on travelling
175
without internet, so the whole issue turned out to support our message in a funny way.
Another successful campaign was the one featuring Martin, the winter sniffer. It created a lot
of reach and interactions.
8. Do you think there is a risk of filter bubble effect now with the rise of social search,
personalized search results and targeted ads (Facebook new social graph etc)?
Actually, from the users point of view the theory is not well known to me. From my own
experience, yes, my search results are much more targeted to my needs, which is positive,
except that I dont know what Google and Facebook keep away from me.
From a marketer point of view I can see that the main platforms are important and stay
important. So the niche marketing will be more important in the coming years. There is no
real strategy yet, but to listen carefully. From a marketers perspective, if people go to niche
groups, to specific platforms, it will be a real challenge for many marketers to target these
people. From a users perspective, indeed you need to consult more sources, like in the case
of traditional media, in order to have a more valid perspective.
9. Finally, what are your future e-marketing plans? Any new mobile apps in plan?
Regarding our 2013 campaign I cannot say much yet, but it will be great. It will have social
gaming and will be connected to social media. In my opinion, it is very important to have the
right mix of platforms in place tailored to the specific campaign.
SWEDEN
Title: (former) Head of PR and Social Media (current: Social Media Manager EMEA Electrolux)
Organisation: Visit Sweden
1.
First, can you tell me more about Visit Swedens overall marketing strategy and in
particular about your social media strategy and how you integrate it in the
It needs to be authentic, it needs to be open and it needs to be innovative and caring. These are
values that we have gotten from the Swedish population. These are values that we think we can
prologue by putting them in our communications strategy. Not just in our communications, but
even in the way we communicate. So everything for us needs to be progressive. These are values
that are grounded in the Swedish society, in our thoughts and our minds.
hand them out there.
176
So we basically just
2.
You are very active on social networking sites. (you have 9 different Twitter
accounts divided by markets) do you use the same approach for other social media
sites? E.g Facebook? Is this approach more efficient than having a centralized social
media activity?
We have well defined target groups within every market. In Europe this means 10 markets. So we
know our target groups and we know how to reach them. On some markets, social media is
obviously a lot stronger than in other markets. So, we need to direct the efforts in an efficient way.
For instance in Holland, we know that the social media for Twitter is very big, while still in other
countries might not be as big, therefore we need to look at other means of communications. So,
social media for us is not the stand-alone way of communication, but an integrated part of what
were doing.
The idea with social media accounts iswere trying to create accounts that get as close as possible
to the target groups for each markets. The way for us to do that is to create different accounts for
each market. If I could and if I would afford it, I probably would divide it in even more accounts for
every market to direct certain target groups.
Its a good project, because its the language barrier thats the main obstacle in social
media.
I know that in some organisations they think its ok to just write in English or just write in their
original language, but you know, were not that corky. We think that we need to communicate with
our target groups in their own language. We think thats very important.
3.
Also, what markets are you mainly focusing on? Do you plan to target BRIC tourists
in the future?
We have a whole department looking at things like that, but would obviously be something
that we would keep for ourselves for now.
4.
What are the resources allocated to Swedens social media promotion in terms of
human resources and costs? Do you outsource social media activities?
I have a team of PR managers all over Europe. So, in each and every country everywhere we
have an account we have a PR and social media manager. This person manages the account.
Sometimes there might be two persons on one country; China for instance. Its up to them
actually, to get the account to make as much communication as possible from the staff that
we want to get out there. But some of these managers have chosen to copy or to deal in the
same manner as we did with the Curators of Sweden. They have chosen to do similar
activities: that from time to time they hand in the account to someone else, someone that,
you know, loves Sweden or has a lot to say about Sweden. That happened both in Twitter
accounts and Facebook accounts.
Isnt this a rather risky approach considering the fact that people can post anything
they want, including offensive remarks?
177
Yes, obviously, but we have big faith in our followers and in the people around us. Its also
important for us to showcase Sweden as it is, not as something that we would like it to be.
Because then it doesnt reflect well when people come here. We want to show the country as
close as possible to what it is. Because we think that the target groups we deal with, theyre
too smart to be fooled, theyre looking for authenticity.
What are the resources that you allocate for social media?
What we allocate for social media is basically man hours. We dont allocate money into it for
special campaigns on social media. For us the most important thing about social media is
actually to make them social. Theyre not channels for information, but for communication.
5.
What KPIs are the most important in your opinion?

So when were measuring these channels, were actually measuring engagement and
relationships with the persons that we need to have relationships with. Thats the important
thing for us. Were not measuring how many people are following us, thats not so important
to be honest. Weve put up goals together last year, so everybody had their Klout Score to
reach. That actually showed it was much more effective for us, than any other measurements
that we have ever done.
Obviously were tracking everything else as well, but to get my
organisation go in the same direction, Klout actually turned out to work just fine for us.
6.
How do you target your audience using different social media channels? Do you post
different types of messages according to the channel used or do you prefer
distributing the same messages across platforms?
Sometimes youll see that the both material is posted on both Twitter and Facebook and YouTube.
But they are slightly different in each country. So, its actually up to each country to mold the
messages and the communications in between these channels. But normally we use Twitter for
aims to reach people that are influential when it comes to tourism and Sweden and that might have
a journalistic approach. YouTube is more a place where we connect with our fans basically.
You were mentioning China. I was wondering if you have social media channels there as
well?
Yes, we have all the Chinese social media clones. We can obviously not measure Klout, but were
measuring involvement and followers and stuff like that.
In your opinion, what are the differences about the various markets you are focusing on?
For instance China compared to Europe?
China is another planet from my perspective. But also in Europe you can see quite big differences
between different countries. Just look at the way were using Twitter for example. In Sweden,
Twitter is something that elites use. Youll find people from the media and celebrities and stuff like
178
that using Twitter. On the other hand, in Holland everybody is suing Twitter. You can look at
Germany for example, where Facebook is strong, but you know, the social media is coming but it
takes more time. The same goes for France. It takes more time than in Nordic countries for
example; where you know, traditional press is still very strong . So, we need to adjust the levels of
involvement depending on the country were in. And the best way to do that for us is actually to let
our offices in each country deal with it. And of course we aim to be a little bit ahead in each
country.
No, we dont do that. Normally when we use Facebook in some types of campaigns, its a part of
another campaign. I think thats the normal thing to do.
8. Finally, what are your future e-marketing plans?
I can tell you this: that more and more of our attention goes online. It goes faster than it did before.
But I cant tell you how much and what sort of campaigns go online. It all depends on the markets.
ROMANIA
Title: Director
Romanian National Tourist Office North America
1. First, can you tell me more about the marketing activities of the Romanian National
Tourism Office?
We have three main categories of activities: The most important one is the provision of assistance
and
support for potential tourists who plan to visit Romania. I think it is more important than anything
to take care of those who think about visiting Romania. Firstly because we want them to have a
very
good experience in the country and secondly so that when they return to their countries, through
WOM and social media they tell good things about Romania.
The second category refers to the activities of the mass media, of opinion makers and leaders. So
we
179
try to facilitate collaborative links between operators in the country and those from North America.
Basically we want to attract more tour operators in the U.S. and Canada that provide tours in
Romania. However, this is a very difficult task.
We had advertising and publicity campaigns in 2008. That was the last year when we had
funds and we had a campaign in print and online. There is a plan now for a campaign in 2013-2014
regarding advertising in traditional media, tourism magazines and 3 U.S. television channels.
There will probably be a separate online campaign. The management of the campaign will
be probably centralized in Bucharest. They want to hire a global marketing and advertising agency.
I do not know if it's the best idea. I think it's easier to work with local agencies who have better
contact
With the local market and who know it better, but that's another topic.
In your point of view, what would be Romanias positioning in the tourism market? Is it
seen
mainly as a cheap destination?
Yesterday, the New York Times placed Romania on the 2nd place among the most affordable
European destinations. But we in no way position ourselves as a cheap destination. It is curious
that
many Americans visiting Romania were surprised by how good the prices for hotels are, how cheap
the restaurant meals are, etc.. However, when you buy a ticket that cost $ 1200-1400 in the high
season period, you can not talk about a cheap destination.
Many Americans associate Romania with castles, mountains, and Transylvania of course. Some of
Nadia, with Ilie Nastase, with Brancusi. However, it's very difficult to generalize about American
tourists. Canadians, as a percentage of the population, visit Romania twice as much as the
Americans. They are slightly more adventurous and their economy is better.
2. Your offices are spread all over the world, but especially in Europe and North
America. Do you plan on expanding on other continents? For ex. Asia (China, India
have a high tourism potential)
There were offices in Japan and China. Romania had also an office in Brussels and in Tel Aviv. Two
years ago, costs have been reduced and both the number of offices and the number of staff were
reduced for each office. Unfortunately there is a lack of continuity in decisions taking.
For Romania, I think that China is not a top-priority market. It is highly unlikely that the Chinese will
180
visit Romania when they first come to Europe. Like for US citizens, Romania will probably be the
destination that they visit on the occasion of the third or fourth trip to Europe.
Visits from Brazil are very low. There is a demand from Brazil, but not enough to justify a massive
investment in marketing programs. Again, we must think here about the time needed to travel from
Brazil to Romania, about the air connections and costs. Asia and South America are major markets in
terms of the number of potential tourists and money spent, but it depends on their preferences.
3. How have you integrated the social media strategy in the overall communication
strategy?
I cannot speak in the name of the Romanian NTO. We are thinking about a social media strategy, but
we do not have the means to apply it. At the moment, I think we have a decent presence in social
media.
However, I have a very strong personal opinion regarding the role of social media for a National
Tourist Organisation. Social media, one cannot deny, is useful. The question is, to what extend?
Everyone talks about interaction, brand etc. With how many brands can one interact daily or monthly?
How many brands are relevant enough to consume you so many minutes every day or month or year?
We talk about interaction, frequency or persistence in SM for products of daily usage. Romania is not
in any way a destination that Americans think about every year, or every month. For many Americans,
Romania is a destination they visit once in their lifetime. There are some who return to Romania, but
when they've already contacted the destination, they probably do not even need the NTO. They
basically have local connections, friends, etc. Therefore, I believe it is more important to be relevant,
than to try to load potential tourists with all kinds of content which is more or less interesting for
them.
4. What are the main social media platforms that you focus on?
First we need to ask ourselves what we want to achieve with social media. We want to communicate
on various channels with potential tourists and the media; we want to make ourselves known. The
objectives of Romanian NTO are: 1. you can get in touch with those who would like to get in touch
with you
2. You can respond to crisis situations in relation to Romania and 3. You can help shape a positive
image about Romania.
I think LinkedIn should be used only by professionals. I made a Pinterest account, but I didnt have
time to develop it. I am the only person who works for the Romanian NTO in North America. We are
181
relatively active on Twitter. Again, I do not want to flood the people with all kinds of irrelevant
information. The idea was to send once a week or once every two weeks a tweet that does only add to
the table positive information about Romania. There are a lot of negative information about Romania
in social media and we are basically trying to show the positive news.
5. How do you segmented the audience using various social media channels? Do you
place different types of messages across the channels used?
We return again to the limited resources that we have. Of course, if we feel that the Twitter account
is followed by a segment of tourists and the other segment is on Facebook it makes sense to
differentiate the message and the tone etc.. The question is how well we know the audience for these
channels.
6. What are the key performance indicators that you take into account when measuring
the performance of social media promotion (ROI)?
I have a very simple empirical method. Each news item is accompanied by a link. We count the
number of clicks on that link. We count the number of favourite tweets and the re-tweets. There are
companies that determine your social media reputation. Again, we wonder how much effort we should
put into social media, what is its role? It is obvious that if I sent a tweet, probably not only that tweet
will determine an individual to go to Romania. With social media we try to create positive perceptions
about the country. However, when we count the number of tourists at the end of the year, we need to
ensure that we communicate with the right people.
7. Did you use sponsored stories on Facebook? Do you think that behavioural targeted
campaigns are effective?
Facebook ads are not well received by users. Less than 2% of the users pay attention to ads displayed
on Facebook. I, for instance, when I opened an account on Facebook I wrote down a false birthdate.
So, it is very easy to lie on the internet and on Facebook.
We didnt use behavioural targeting. Two years ago, there was an initiative at the ministerial level and
there was even a meeting with Facebook representatives. It was announced with great fanfare.
However, no campaign materialized.
182
8. What are your future e-marketing plans? For example, mobile applications, viral
videos, etc.
Applications are used mostly locally. Different screens pose limits. You need to reconstruct a website
for mobile devices. Our website is accessible on mobiles, but it is a condensed version of it. We plan
to build an app, but it's not a priority as desktop still dominates. My guess is that in 5-10-15 years its
clear that you need to be strong in mobile apps. Already, the opening rate of emails on mobiles is
bigger than for desktop. But still, the desktop remains the main tool for gathering information and for
planning trips. However, this situation will not remain the same over the years.
For us, for the Romanian NTO in North America, mobile apps are not a priority. This is mostly due to
the fact that, especially for us, the target-group is not 25-35-years-olds, but baby-boomers, those
who visited Europe a few times already.
Many thanks !
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Appendix 9: Survey
https://www.esurveycreator.com/s/285a383&preview=1&do-not-send-this-link-its-only-preview
184
185
186
187
188
Appendix 10: Social media timeline247
248
1971 First Email. Researchers at ARPA (The Advanced Research Projects Academy) sent the first
email
1980 The World Wide Web is created.
1991 First Personal Blog. Swarthmore College student Justin Hall published his blog Justins links
from the underground and becomes known as the founding father of personal blogging.
1994 One of the first social media sites is launched: Geocities. The concept was for users to create
their own websites, categorized by one of six cities known for certain characteristics.
247
Visual Academy, The History of Social Media, http://www.onlineschools.org/visualacademy/history-of-social-networking/ Last consulted on 12 December 2012
248
Copyblogger. Social media image via Shutterstock, http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/historyof-social-media_b30226 Last consulted on 12 December 2012
189
1995 the Globe.com gave users the freedom to personalize their own experiences by publishing
their content and interacting with others with similar interests. The Globe.com posted a record IPO
that fell from $850 million to $4million in less than 3 years.
Classmates.com is launched a social service that allows former elementary, high-school
and college students to reconnect.
1996 Search engine Ask.com allows users to ask questions in natural language, rather than
keywords.
1997 AOL instant messaging in launched. AIM lets users talk to each other in real time.
Social network site Sixdegrees allowed users to create proles, list their friends, and add
friends-of-friends to their own lists249
1998 Open Diary is an online diary community which enables users to publish public or private
journals without having HTML knowledge. For the first time, users can also comment on other users
diaries.
1999 Live Journal and Blogger are launched
2000 .COM Bubble bursts
Wikipedia is launched by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger. It is the worlds first open source,
online collaborative encyclopaedia. It created over 20.000 articles in the first year.
According to Wikipedia, the DotCom Theory states that an Internet companys survival depended on
expanding its customer base as rapidly as possible, even if it produced large annual losses. The exit
strategy used was to get bought by a bigger DotCom business. After the DotCom bubble burst, Yahoo
lost $102 billion, AOL $92 billion and the Bloomberg US Internet Index lost $1.755 trillion.250
2001 Meetup.com helps people organise face-to-face gatherings, based on common interests.
-
StumbleUpon discovery engine uses a member voting system and allows users to discover
content relevant to their interests.
2002 Friendster is launched, pioneering the online connection of real world friends. It reaches 3
million users in the first 3 months
249
Boyd & Ellison,2008

Evans, Mike, The Evolution of the Web From Web 1.0 to Web 4.0, School of Systems
Engineering, University of Reading: http://www.cscan.org/presentations/08-11-06-MikeEvansWeb.pdf
250
190
2003 MySpace is launched, first conceived as a Friendster clone. It was created by an internet
marketing firm which coded the first version in only 10 days. Especially popular among youngsters, it
reached 1 million users in the first month.
-
LinkedIn is launched on May 5. It is a platform used mainly for professional networking.
2004 Facebook is launched, originally designed for U.S. college students. It was first launched at
Harvard, where more than half of the students signed up in the first month.
Flickr is launched a stand-alone browser based photo sharing application.
2005 YouTube a sharing platform for uploading and distributing videos.
2006 Twitter is launched, allowing quick and easy communication for large groups.
Spotify allows users to share playlists and collaborate with other users.
2007 Tumblr.s short form blogging and social networking platform allows users to quickly and
easily share pictures, texts, quotes and links with their online communities.
2008 Groupon is launched by Andrew Mason, to leverage the collective power of large groups.
2009 Foursquare, a local-based social networking site, allows users to check-in at locations all
over the world as well as to keep track of friends location.
2010 GoogleBuzz is created an attempt to merge the Gmail product with micro blogging and
other communication tools.
2011 Google + is launched a full-features social networking tool allowing users to group contacts
into Circles and communicate in video chat room, called Hangouts
2012 Pinterest scrapbooking site attains 10 million users faster than any other standalone site in
history.
191

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Student: Alexandra Antonescu

The use of social media to promote European

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Author: Alexandra Antonescu

The use of social media to promote European

Dear Alexandra Antonescu,

The US Outbound Travel Market

The E-Marketing Handbook vol 2.

The use of social media to promote European tourism worldwide: an introduction11

Using social media to promote European tourism worldwide: a conclusion .........137

List of figures and appendices

The use of social media to promote European tourism worldwide: an

Part I: theoretical framework

1.1. What is social media?

From Web 1.0 to the social web and beyond

The writing style is mostly impersonal, professional and

Web 1.0: Content distribution and consumption

information sharing, interoperability, and collaboration

Web 3.0: Semantic Web, machine-to-machine communication

Web 4.0: Web services integration, Web 3.0 + Artificial Intelligence

Visual.ly, Social media vs. traditional media, http://visual.ly/social-media-vs-traditional-media, last

Defining social media

Tools and services for creating social media applications.

Tool or service built on social media content

Social media as a delivery channel14

Collaborative projects (e.g. Wikipedia)

Blogs and microblogs (e. g. Twitter)

Content communities (e. g. YouTube)

Social networking sites (e. g. Facebook)

Virtual game worlds (e. g. World of Warcraft)

Virtual social worlds (e.g. Second Life)

Figure 2: The Conversation Prism, Source: http://www.theconversationprism.com

1.2. Social media in tourism

ETC, UNWTO, E-Marketing Handbook, 2nd Edition (study in progress)

Figure 6: Composition of social media represented in Google

media communities for travel

More than a billion monthly active users

82% of monthly active users are outside the US and Canada

618 million daily active users

Stikky Media, 2102 Social Media and Tourism Industry Statistics,

LinkedIn is currently available in 19 languages39

Approx. 2 new Professionals are signing up to LinkedIn every second.

64% of LinkedIn members are located outside of the United States

More than 2.7 million companies have LinkedIn Company Pages.

50M+ EMEA as of June 30, 2012

39M+ Europe as of June 30, 2012

37M+ Asia and the Pacific as of January 7, 2013

4M+ Southeast Asia as of January 29, 201240

300,000 new visitors every day

Top countries: USA, UK, Australia, Brazil, Canada

Twitter is available in more than 20 languages

34% of marketers have generated leads using Twitter

55% of Twitter users access the platform via their mobile

11 accounts are created every second

750 tweets are shared on Twitter every second

Approx 80% of Pinterest users are female45

Most popular age group is 25-35 year olds46

5.8% of the most popular boards are travel related boards47

Over 800 million unique users visit YouTube each month

Over 4 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube

72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute

70% of YouTube traffic comes from outside the US

YouTube is localized in 53 countries and across 61 languages