Impact of religious tourism in social media in the Andean region of Ecuador: The case of the pilgrimage of the virgin of El Cisne and the trade fair of Loja

Abstract

The pilgrimage of the Virgin of El Cisne and the Trade Fair of Loja are the two most significant events in Southern Ecuador. This study makes a documentary analysis on the online activity and reputation of Facebook pages from the bodies responsible for the pilgrimage of the Virgin of El Cisne and the Trade Fair in Loja. The assessment tool employed for analysing Facebook is Fanpage Karma, since it simplifies the retrieval of data. The research is further reinforced by the information available from Google Trends in relation to the recent surveys on these events. Finally, it is done a contrast work by analysing the influence of social media in the decision-making process in relation to the participation in these events. The measurement is carried out through an online survey using Google Docs-Drive, which was shared on social networks.