The Influence of Electronic Word of Mouth (e-WOM) on Travel Decision in Bandung City

Abstract

This research is motivated by data from We Are Social, a social marketing agency in the world, stating that Indonesian people who use social media amount to 130 million people, and the most frequently used social media in Indonesia are YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. This study aims to determine does e-WOM influences the decision on travel in Bandung and on which social media e-WOM most influence the travel decision in Bandung.  The data collection method of this study was a questionnaire that distributed to 120 respondents, who had traveled in Bandung and actively used social media (YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram) and then processed and analyzed using multiple linear regression. The results of this research state that intensity and WOM content influences travel decisions in Bandung, while positive valence and negative valence are not approved, as well as simultaneously electronic word of mouth influences the decision to travel in Bandung, and the most popular social media is Instagram. The result of this research may emphasize about creating an innovative product and technology development through e-WOM, but this could also be the big idea to be implemented in the heritage site because the word heritage is not necessarily opposite of innovative and technology but how to embrace innovation and technology to preserve heritage, therefore further study regarding how e-WOM could contribute to Heritage Site will be very much needed.