Social Networks, tourism, and experiences Content analysis on tourist motivations for sharing content

Resumo

Objectives | The use of social media by tourists in the context of experiences is a topic that has gained recent importance. There are different motivations or factors that lead individuals to share this content on Social Networks (Arica et al., 2022). Some of the motivations that drive tourists to share these experiences have been classified under different principles. A first criterion distinguishes between self-centered motivations and those related to belonging and interaction with the community (Liu, Moyle, & Kralj, 2022). Another uses the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivations (Wang, Qiu, & Ren, 2022). (Zhang, Yang, & Bai, 2022) combine the two mentioned criteria to obtain four types of motivations. Among these, we can highlight those related to self-development (self-centered and extrinsic). The aim of this work is, on one hand, to analyze the evolution of research regarding tourists' use of social networks in their experiences. On the other hand, it aims to determine which of these motivations are the most studied, focusing particularly on those related to self-development.

Methodology | To carry out this analysis, a set of 60 articles indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) was extracted. No filters were applied to limit the publication date or the type of scientific document. Texts explaining tourists' behavior on social networks and the aspects and motivations most involved in analyzing tourism experiences were selected. After obtaining the articles, the VOSViewer program was used to analyze the contents.

Main results and contributions | As a result, a conceptual map showing the relationships among the most relevant content in these studies has been obtained. Specifically, considering the content analysis conducted, three significant aspects are differentiated in the study of social media usage, motivations, and experiences. Firstly, concerning factors and motivations, self-congruence stands out as the main intrinsic factor studied in the field of experiences. This aspect is the most utilized and is part of the self-development motivations mentioned earlier. Self-concept and self-image are also related to congruence. Other important intrinsic variables include self-esteem or narcissism. To a lesser extent, self-presentation stands out as an extrinsic factor. Secondly, regarding the experience, satisfaction is the variable that stands out among others. Recent studies emphasize its relationship with memorable tourist experiences. Thirdly, concerning social networks, the analyzed texts focus on tourists' behavior regarding these platforms, eWOM (electronic Word of Mouth), and intentions to share content. Connections between these aspects and extrinsic and intrinsic motivations are also highlighted. The most studied social media platforms are Instagram and Facebook. Among these, the three main concepts that capture the authors' interest are self-congruence, satisfaction, and social media behavior, being the most frequently used terms in the documents. Specifically, the most repeated words, in this order, are: Social Media, WOM, satisfaction, behavior, self-congruence, tourism, and destination image. These words are repeated at least 10 times. Although the number of word clusters is higher, the analyzed terms can be grouped into three semantic groups: congruence, satisfaction, and social media. It can be observed that the connection between self-congruence and social media behavior occurs through satisfaction. 

The analyzed texts span a period of publications between 2007 and 2023. However, 65% of the analyzed texts have been published since 2019. Specifically, 16 studies on tourism and social media were published in 2022, accounting for 27% of the total. According to the temporal overlap map, one of the topics that has gained more relevance in recent years is the study of the relationship between satisfaction and social media behavior concerning experiences and the intention to travel or visit. Recent documents also highlight the connection between memorable tourist experiences, satisfaction, and self-congruence.

Limitations| The main limitation of this study lies in the use of a single document database for content analysis. Although the Web of Science database has international prestige, the study could be enhanced by analyzing other relevant scientific databases. It is also suggested as an improvement to expand the research with a quantitative study supporting the proposed conceptual relationships and delving deeper into the connection between congruence, satisfaction, and experience. Lastly, since the realm of memorable experiences has been highlighted as one of the areas of interest in recent years, it is proposed to study the relationship model proposed in this context.

Conclusions | This study presents a content analysis of motivations and personal factors that are influenced in the context of tourist experiences, along with the use of social networks in these experiences. A total of 60 studies conducted between 2007 and 2023 were examined. The main findings indicate that the most analyzed content revolves around three major conceptual groups: social media behavior, satisfaction, and tourist self-congruence. Specifically, congruence is linked to social media usage through satisfaction. The majority of studies related to this topic have been published in the last year.

References

Arica, R., Cobanoglu, C., Cakir, O., Corbaci, A., Hsu, M. J., & Della Corte, V. (2022). Travel experience sharing on social media: effects of the importance attached to content sharing and what factors inhibit and facilitate it. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 34(4), 1566-1586. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-01-2021-0046

Liu, B., Moyle, B., & Kralj, A. (2022). When and how sharing tourism experiences on social media backfires: TMSP model of sharing driven outcomes. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 53, 155-159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2022.10.006

Wang, G., Qiu, H., & Ren, L. (2022). Determinants of tourists’ intention to share travel experience on social media: an fsQCA application. Current Issues in Tourism, 26(16), 2595-2612. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2022.2091428

Zhang, H., Yang, Y., & Bai, B. (2022). The effects of photo-sharing motivation on tourist well-being: The moderating role of online social support. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 51, 471–480. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2022.05.004