The Impact of Social Media Platforms in Choosing Vacation Destination Among Selected Tourism Students Towards a Guide

Vol.4, No.1

Abstract

Social media has significantly changed many facets of life, including the travel and tourist
industry. We don't know where we'll go on vacation, when we'll have free time, or how much
money we'll have in the current world. Today, social media platforms like Facebook and
YouTube allow us to use them to research affordable travel options. Now, we have access to
information on the numerous things in our nation. This study will demonstrate how social
media influences the decisions of Bachelor of Science in Tourism Management all-year
students at Bestlink College of the Philippines-Bulacan on their planned vacation destination.

The study revealed that almost all BSTM students are using social media platforms as a guide
for choosing their own tourist vacation destination; the majority of them are using Facebook as
their primary social media platform to guide them on what the best vacation spot is. However,
despite the slow internet they encountered, they managed to continue surfing. Tourism
students believe that social media can benefit them because it reduces the amount of money
they spend since they stay at home and watch certain videos that can give them information
about a certain place. The researcher concluded that in this modern age, using social media
can give a lot of advantages to marketing different vacation destinations.

Due to its influence on traveler behavior, studies about destination image have been covered
extensively in the literature. Despite the substantial quantity of contributions, the globalization
setting renders the current models obsolete. Social media is recognized as a significant
informational resource that affects travelers' decisions. However, there is little qualitative
research that uses an inductive method to examine how social media influences travelers' trip
decisions in order to determine the functions of social media.