The effects of online social media on tourism websites

Abstract

Web 2.0 and online social networking websites heavily affect today most of the online activities and their effect on tourism is obviously rather important. This paper aims at verifying the impact that online social networks (OSN) have on the popularity of tourism websites. Two OSNs have been considered: Facebook and Twitter. The pattern of visits to a sample of Italian tourism websites was analysed and the relationship between the total visits and those having the OSNs as referrals were measured. The analysis shows a clear correlation and confirms the starting hypothesis. Consequences and implications of these outcomes are discussed.