Emerging social media and social networks analysis transforms the tourism industry: Living green smart tourism ecosystem

Abstract

Using the smart tourism ecosystem model as its framework as well as the strength of ties theory and the SNS social computing formula as a theoretical basis, this study establishes the Living Green tourism ecosystem to improve connections between businesses and the smart travel itinerary recommendation mechanism to promote the development of the entire industry. The Living Green tourism ecosystem has two major innovative features. (1) Visualizing industrial activity intensity and social connection intensity between businesses can not only help clearly understand the development of local businesses and assist in evaluating the effectiveness of industry development but also provide a reference for destination marketing organizations or relevant government agencies in terms of supporting the development of disadvantaged business segments. (2) The application of social media and social networks analysis helps implement the travel and tourism industry’s development strategies. Based on businesses’ social behaviors and interaction modes on social platforms, the tourism ecosystem calculates industrial connection intensity, uses it as an index for smart travel itinerary recommendations, and further enhances the overall promotion and development of the travel and tourism industry network.