Facebook to boost tourism

       Tourism should take advantage of social networking as a tool to attract new visitors while carefully monitoring bad corporate image, said the president of the Tourism Technology Association (TTA).
       Apichai Sakulsureeyadej, president of the TTA, said that the increasing popularity of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter as well as using YouTube and blogs as marketing tools allows tourist to share their experiences and suggestions about the country.
       Currently, at least 50 percent of travellers do their research over the Internet prior to embarking on their trip. Many of these travellers also plan, book, and pay through various websites. The rate of online information for users and buyers of tourism products is increasing at an alarming rate. Around 80 percent of those tourists who use the Internet use social network sites.
       Use of social networking sites is going beyond normal e-marketing that uses the Web as a new channel to sell or send email marketing. So if the country uses networking sites it will be easier to reach those travellers and have a beneficial effect on Thai tourism.
       For example, if a tourist takes pictures of a beautiful place and posts the photos on Facebook and connects with their network of friends, those pictures may be more effective than if the TTA or the hotel operators had posted them.
       There are successes in some countries that already use social networking sites such as Australia. Activities on Twitter and Facebook are getting those who have visited Australia to talk and tweet about their experiences.
       Moreover, new research by academics at Bournemouth University in the UK showed that Information Acquisition obtaining up-to date information - was found to be the most influential factor for users of tourist social networks, followed by Social-Psychological factors such as seeking identity, forming relationships and seeking a sense of belonging, and hedonistic benefits including having fun with content, entertainment and being amused.
       The research was carried out on Internet users in South Korea, which has one of the largest populations of Internet users in the world.
       However, the country and tourism operators should be aware of carefully monitoring feedback and responding to negative opinions rather than ignoring and deleting negative views.
       Early next year the TTA will collaborate with the National Statistics Office (NSO)on the first "National ICT for Tourism Survey" done within Thailand. Apichai believes that the information will give the ICT industry a better idea on which areas of technology to focus when catering to the tourism industry.
       It will be easier to transform the tourism industry to become a knowledge and information rich industry, giving the operators in Thailand the edge over competition from other countries in marketing, internal management, service levels and technology-savvy staff.
       "In today's economic environment,the tourism industry relies heavily on Information Technology. Technology is embedded within every stage of the travel life-cycle. It is important that the tourism operators have the knowledge of how technology can empower their businesses to do better,"Apichai said.