CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction New technologies continue to significantly impact the way people communicate with each other lately, this is stimulating a rapid cultural shift and changing the way organisations interact with consumers (Tiago & Verissimo, 2014). The Internet has changed from a world of information to world of influence in the same time, and its elements such as social media, start to revolutionize the state of marketing, advertising and promotions (Sahin & Sengun, 2015). One of the common channels of communication that companies have recently applied in marketing activities is social media. Social media can be interpreted as a mass media vehicle for consumer-sponsored communications (Kumar, & Ganapathi, 2018). Content in social media can be generated by consumers and also by an organisation. Consumer-generated content is rapidly gaining traction as an input into the consumer purchase decision-making process (Kumar, & Ganapathi, 2018). Today, social media allows consumers through electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) to share information, opinions and purchase experiences about a brands products and services, and consumers trust more often information that has been published by previous consumers on social media (Varkaris & Neuhofer, 2017). The main objective of e- WOM includes passing or forwarding information about the characteristics of a brand for social media users that are related to opinion-passing behaviour. Therefore, e-WOM could have a crucial role in the user's purchase behaviour and could be an important factor in the decision-making processes especially in a social media environment (Prasad, Gupta & Totala, 2017). After examining the implications of the developing Internet phenomenon for travel businesses, this article focuses on online travel networks, displaying detailed rich data that can be used in travel planning (Pesonen & Pasanen, 2017). Recent studies in tourism concur on the influence of online travel review sites on tourism e-WOM. Online platforms are contributing to information overload, to add to existing survey-based databases (Moro & Rita, 2018). 1.2 Background of the Study The tourism system mainly relies on information and communication technologies for promotional activities, sales and developing relationships with customers (Ozuem & Bowen 2016). Today's travellers are more enlightened and need newly developed media when finding or communicating with tourism service providers. Zivkovic, Gajic and Brdar, (2014), assert that the new tourist is strongly influenced by social media as they use information posted on social media to guide the decision-making process, especially when making travel decisions. Consumers have evolved and no longer make purchasing decisions in a linear approach; rather at various points, dependent on engagement with a brand (Tafveez, 2017). The travel-related content that travellers create and upload on social media is termed "Tourist-Generated Content" (TGC) and can both shape the overall image of a destination and raise its profile among prospective travellers and thereby motivate travel (Gavilan, Avello, & Martinez-Navarro, 2018). Social media is, therefore, changing the decision-making processes of tourism consumers and opening new opportunities for business model transformations in influencing the consumer's decision-making process (Srivastava & Rai, 2015). When a traveller is making the final decision on destination choice, the most important information comes from online interpersonal influence - eWOM, (Hajli, Sims, Zadeh & Richard, 2017). Since people trust the word of mouth when making important decisions, social media sites have become another avenue in which people can share vital travel information. In short, social networks have become highly influential sources of information to consumers and have influenced how travellers search, collect and disseminate travel information and experiences. Researchers reviewed how consumers use social media when planning a trip and concluded that different types of social media are playing an important role in planning the trip (Fotis, 2015), however, not as the only source and not at each stage of the travel planning process (Carnoy 2017). Travellers can be influenced to change holiday plans before making a final decision due to content posted on social media sites (Roque & Raposo, 2016). 1.3 Purpose of the study This study aims to contribute to the current body of knowledge in strategy and innovation through analysis of the potential impact of social media marketing strategies on consumer behaviour, (Srivastava & Rai, 2015). The theoretical framework rests on the literature of the consumer decision-making process, social media, and previous studies relating to social media marketing concerning the tourism industry all based around the Social Exchange theory. This research, therefore, aims to examine the information sourcing behaviour of travellers on social media and get a deep understanding of consumer decision-making paying attention to the factors that influence the consumers' buying decisions. 1.4 Problem statement 1.4.1 Main problem The problem of the study is focused on the relative lack of information regarding the impact of social networks on consumer's purchasing decisions. After reviewing the context of the study and its implications, the problem statement is proposed as follows: A need to evaluate how social media influences the consumer's decision-making process in the travel Industry. 1.4.2 Research Questions Understanding what impact travel reviews have had on the decision-making process is a key element in determining what influences the consumer purchasing decision. The following Research Questions will guide the research based on the highlighted research objective: i. Research Question 1: What is the relative influence of social media in providing online travel information to users? ii. Research Question 2: How does the information on travel review platforms influence consumers purchasing decisions? iii. Research Question 3: At what stage has eWOM the greatest influence? iv. Research Question 4: What factors influence the credibility of online travel reviews? 1.5 Contribution and Significance of the study Social media has enabled travellers to communicate and interact directly with travel suppliers through the use of the Internet (Minazzi, 2015). As a result, travellers increasingly desire travel information and interaction before, during, and after a trip (Gretzel, Kang and Lee, 2008). While previous research has shown the impact and importance of communication and interaction between tourism suppliers and travellers, very little is known about how both use social media concerning travel (Buhalis & Law, 2008; Gretzel, Kang & Lee, 2008; Pontano & Pietro, 2013). CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction The purpose of this study is to evaluate the information sourcing behaviour of travellers on social media and get a deep understanding of how this influences the consumers' buying decisions regarding travel planning. With the research topic in mind, the Social Exchange Theory shall guide this paper, paying attention to the influence on the Consumer Decision making process. 2.2 Tourism To deliver a travel experience, an entire range of individuals, businesses, organizations and places need to be combined in some way. The wide variety of competing definitions of tourism touches on many different aspects. The World Tourism Organization (WTO) defines tourism as a social, cultural and economic phenomenon, which includes the movement of people to countries or places outside the usual environment to complete some personal or professional activities. (UNWTO, 2013). The tourism system mainly relies on information and communication technologies for promotional activities, sales and developing relationships with customers. As such today's travellers are more enlightened and need newly developed media when finding or communicating with tourism service providers. Consumers have evolved and no longer make purchasing decisions in a linear approach; rather at various points, dependent on engagement with a brand (Tafveez, 2017). Many consumers consult social media platforms for information and recommendations before making travel arrangements. Yet, little is known about the impact of online reviews and therefore managing on-line reviews has been widely neglected by the tourism industry (Kemp, 2019). 2.3 Social Media Social media has been defined as the internet-based networks that enable users to resourcefully interact and self-present, both in real-time and asynchronously, with an audience through user-generated content (Carr & Hayes, 2015). It refers to all the online platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, that permit the creation and sharing of user-generated pictorial and textual content with other users, creating a radical evolution in interaction tools. (Orabi, Mouheb, Aghbari & Kamel, 2020). Social media has brought many changes in communication with customers and scholars have interpreted it as a mass media vehicle for consumer-sponsored communications (Kumar, Bezawada, Rishika, Janakiraman & Kannan, 2016). In line with this, Saiphoo and Vahedi (2019) argue that social media is rapidly becoming a central aspect of business and daily life for many, with Chu (2020) adding that has not only transformed the way people connect but also invaded almost every aspect of daily life. Social media channels are evolving, and consumers are now utilising these networks to research brands and products (Saiphoo & Vahedi, 2019). Social media platforms have created opportunities for consumers to gain brand knowledge and to research products before making a purchase (Kumar, & Mishra, 2015). Research has shown that social media has the potential to be useful in several including health, disaster management, tourism and recreation, environmental monitoring, crime, civil unrest, marketing and disease 2.4 Electronic word of mouth (eWoM) The growth in e-commerce platforms and online reviews has become a significant part of the eWoM (Zhang, Zhao, Cai & Xiao, 2020). eWoM relates to all the informal communications done through internet-based technology and are targeted at consumers and relate to product usage or characteristics or sellers (Litvin, Goldsmith, & Pan, 2008). Hennig-Thurau, Gwinner, Walsh and Gremler (2004:39) compliment the definition by stating that eWOM is "any positive or negative statement made by potential, actual, or former customers about a product or company, which is made available to a multitude of people and institutions via the Internet". With the rising usage of social media platforms, eWoM has become a popular source of dependable information from influencing consumers (Nam, Baker, Ahmad & Goo, 2020). Given the dynamism in the business environment brought about by today's digital era, more and more people now heavily depend on eWOM when planning travel (Zhang, Zhao, Cheung, & Lee, 2014). It has exhibited a great influence on the selection of goods and services, especially those that depend on user experience (Srinivas & Rajendran, 2019). Consumers who make use of eWoM tend to regard the information as persuasive and trustworthy (Li, Zhang, Meng, & Janakiraman, 2017). This is supported by Akhtar, Kim, Ahmad, Akhtar, Siddiqi and Riaz (2019) who argue that the use of eWoM information helps in developing significant levels of trust between the contributor and the beneficiary (Li, Zhang, Meng, & Janakiraman, 2017). 2.5 User-Generated content UGC and eWOM must not be confused, as UGC is the Internet content published by everyday consumers, not media or communication professionals, while in the eWOM category any statement, positive or negative, made by potential, actual or former consumers about a product or a brand posted online and made available to a wide public can be included (Salem & Twining-Ward, 2018). The information that is shared in UGC is usually based on consumers' own experience and as a result, it has become to be regarded as more dependable, useful and balanced (Mir & a result, potential consumers tend to trust UGC when it comes to brands and products also because they believe the users who bring out the content have no commercial interests (Mir & Rehman, 2013). According to Cheung, Lee and Thadani (2009), UGC has become a dominant channel that influences buying decisions of consumers in the online environment as well as offline. 2.6 Consumer behaviour Consumer behaviour involves all activities directly involved in obtaining, consuming and disposing of products and services, including the decision processes that precede and follow these actions (Engel, Blackwell, & Miniard, 1995). When travellers search for information, they are typically faced with several messages, from numerous sources, giving different and often varying views of the same product or service (Bigne, Chatzipanagiotou & Ruiz, 2019). During the consumer decision-making process, opinions and experiences of others always play a significant role (Tsai, Hung & Yang, 2020). Nowadays, customers interact more quickly and more often via Web 2.0 technologies and collaboration and participation of consumers have become more imperative (Kotler & Keller, 2012). In social media, understanding consumer behaviour is key for marketing success as consumers have embraced utilising the Internet and online socialising tools. Being a new tool for interacting with consumers, organisations must be cognisant of how social media has impacted consumer buying behaviour (Rasool, 2015). Consumer behaviour is the study of how individuals and groups select preferences; make purchase decisions, use products, services and experiences to satisfy needs (Kotler & Keller, 2012). The robustness in the reviews and recommendations informs users of the experiences other consumers have had with the recommended products (Zhang, Zhao & Gupta, 2018). Consequently, consumers are better positioned to understand and evaluate the quality and performance of product based on the recommendations and this helps them in purchase decision-making (Mudambi & Schuff, 2010).

Question 1 Your study guide mentions that a PESTLE framework could be applied to the study context as a way to assist in bringing to the surface issues to be aware of prior to the launch of the research project. 1.1 Consider the literature review provided above and do a PESTLE framework application focusing on the travel industry. Use STATS SA and other available sources to find reliable sources for providing the issues you mention in your PESTLE framework as relevant issues. (25) 1.2 With the PESTLE analysis framework applied to the situation, what is the most important single insight you have gained? Provide reasons for selection of the insight. (5) (30)