Regional Differences of the Impact of International DMO Social Media Campaigns in China. The Case of Canary Islands

Abstract

The previous research on China’s outbound tourism was based on the assumption that the national and regional outbound markets are homogenous. Because China’s outbound travel is connected to its economic and social development, the country’s rapid economic growth has shifted the source of Chinese tourists. The objective of this study is to measure the variations in engagement with international DMOs social media campaigns among Tier level tourist residences in China. We have applied a Tobit regression model to determine the linear relationships between the Tier level of the city and the number of users who interacted in the foreign DMO campaigns on Sina Weibo, the second most influential social network in China. The results confirm that, in terms of geographical segmentation, Tier 2,3 and 4 cities are associated with higher interaction with international destination campaigns compared to Tier 1 locations. According to the findings of this study, lower Tier localization is a significant factor in increasing the number of users who interact with the promotional messages of foreign DMOs. Consequently, it demonstrates big opportunities to engage with potential outbound tourists coming from these locations. These findings may help international Destination Marketing Organizations to create effective geographic segmentation for their social media campaigns in China.