Social Media in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality

Social media is fundamentally changing the way travellers and tourists search, find, read and trust, as well as collaboratively produce information about tourism suppliers and tourism destinations. Presenting cutting-edge theory, research and case studies investigating Web 2.0 applications and tools that transform the role and behaviour of the new generation of travellers, this book also examines the ways in which tourism organisations reengineer and implement their business models and operations, such as new service development, marketing, networking and knowledge management. Written by an international group of researchers widely known for their expertise in the field of the Internet and tourism, chapters include applications and case studies in various travel, tourism and leisure sectors.

Marianna Sigala, Assistant professor, University of the Aegean, Greece, Evangelos Christou, Professor, Alexander TEI of Thessaloniki, Greece and Ulrike Gretzel, Associate Professor, University of Wollongong, Australia

Introduction; 1: Web 2.0: Strategic and Operational Business Models; 1: Introduction to Part 1; 2: Web 2.0 and Networks in Wine Tourism: The Case Studies of www.greatwinecapitals.com and www.wineandhospitalitynetwork.com; 3: Web 2.0 and Customer Involvement in New Service Development: A Framework, Cases and Implications in Tourism; 4: 'Creating the Buzz': Merchant City (Glasgow) Case Study; 5: Examining Hotel Managers' Acceptance of Web 2.0 in Website Development: A Case Study of Hotels in Hong Kong; 2: Web 2.0: Applications for Marketing; 6: Introduction to Part 2; 7: Theoretical Models of Social Media, Marketing Implications, and Future Research Directions; 8: Riding the Social Media Wave: Strategies of DMOs Who Successfully Engage in Social Media Marketing; 9: National DMOs and Web 2.0; 10: Arizona Meeting Planners' Use of Social Networking Media; 11: Web 2.0 and Pricing Transparency in Hotel Services; 12: Blogs: "Re-inventing" Tourism Communication; 3: Web 2.0: Travellers' Behaviour; 13: Introduction to Part 3; 14: Travellers 2.0: Motivation, Opportunity and Ability to Use Social Media; 15: Use and Creation of Social Media by Travellers; 16: Users' Attitudes Toward Online Social Networks in Travel; 17: An Exploration of Wine Blog Communication Patterns; 18: The Effect of E-Reviews on Consumer Behaviour: An Exploratory Study on Agro-Tourism; 4: Web 2.0: Knowledge Management and Market Research; 19: Introduction to Part 4; 20: Knowledge Management and Web 2.0: Preliminary Findings from the Greek Tourism Industry; 21: Analysing Blog Content for Competitive Advantage: Lessons Learned in the Application of Software Aided Linguistics Analysis; 22: Social Media Monitoring: A Practical Case Example of City Destinations