The Effect of Social Media Marketing on Tourism

Lebanon’s location is ranked 170th in the globe (CIA, 2014). It is smaller than the measurement of Connecticut, 1 of the smallest states in in The us. In addition, Lebanon is one particular of the number of democratic nations in the Center East area. Relating to its economic system, Lebanon is a cost-free market economic climate and has a really lengthy custom of laissez-faire economics. In addition to its coastal area on the Jap Mediterranean coastline, Lebanon is regarded as as the central ‘window’ of the Center East to Europe, North Africa, and the rest of the planet. Simply because of this, its economic climate has absent by means of some quite prosperous moments and was even after called the ‘Paris’ of the Center East ahead of the nation’s fifteen calendar year-long bloody civil war which ended in 1990.

Also, although Lebanon is tiny, it is also one of the most various nations in the globe. www.ourcommonplace.co , Muslims, Druze, and other minority sects are spread all above the small nation and even Lebanon’s political technique is primarily based on sectarian power sharing.

Even so, this diversity experienced played a pivotal position in the nation’s problems. This range was a necessary condition of the country’s sectarian civil war and presently performs an essential function in its political paralysis, although other aspects (largely foreign) are to blame as properly. There is presently no performing President and the country’s rival political functions hold bickering and stopping instead than facilitating the country’s advancement.

Additionally, Lebanon’s proximity to Israel has produced it a international policy/proxy battleground for overseas nations, each and every using Lebanon for its own selfish ends.

The sad political realities of the country have drastically hurt the country’s financial system. Also, since Lebanon is a provider-based economic system, this distinct sector has taken the biggest strike.

Tourism plays a considerable position in the nation’s financial system. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Economy & Trade (MOET), “Tourism has long been a single of Lebanon’s foremost financial sectors” (Economic Investigation Unit, 2010).

Furthermore, The World Travel & Tourism Council approximated that the travel & tourism sector in Lebanon contributed above $4 billion dollars in 2013 (Entire world Journey & Tourism Council, 2014).

The travel & tourism sector made up about 10% of the economy in 2012 but that share dropped to 9% in 2013 (ibid, p. 14). This is because of to the political situation in the region as nicely as some other aspects. In addition, the number of tourist arrivals in the nation stored reducing from 2011 to 2013.

Given that the tourism business has been considerably floundering in the past few several years, the place for mistake becomes quite small for companies in this business. The political & economic situations are squeezing tourist-related (TR) businesses in Lebanon. This means that these firms are forced to do far more to make up for escalating losses (or lowering profits) and with less methods. There is no telling when the political & economic predicament in Lebanon will enhance especially since the civil war in neighboring Syria exhibits no signs of abating.

There are a lot of approaches that Lebanese TR businesses can adapt in the course of these times this sort of as applying downsizing procedures and chopping again on advertising and marketing & advertising budgets. When economic recessions and difficult times affect businesses, the 1st things to get removed are usually advertising budgets. But particularly given that TR firms need to have to do more marketing and advertising to make up for missing firms, this could not be a good thought.

One particular answer to this problem is to take gain of Social Media Marketing methods since they value tiny to no assets, excellent for the current economic scenario in Lebanon. Social media advertising makes it possible for TR businesses to conquer obstacles of minimal budgets and reduced business.

Problem Assertion

In the course of the earlier number of years, the optimistic impact of social media on business has been incredibly high (Kaplan et al., 2010 Stelzner, 2010 Treem & Leonardi, 2012, p. 143 Baker & Green, 2014).

In addition, Fb and Twitter fans of a distinct brand name are much more probably to advise and buy from these brand names than non-followers (Cruz & Mendelsohn, 2011). But, we don’t need to have to make positive of social media’s affect on business through investigation studies. For social media customers, which contain in excess of thirty% of the world, this truth is acknowledged. Far more and more businesses are inserting Social Media marketing and advertising resources into their advertising approaches and, in some instances, have even become an integral element of their all round organization approach.

By natural means, one particular would anticipate that Lebanese firms would speedily adopt Social Media Marketing as a essential role in their all round advertising approaches but this is not the scenario. When it will come to the Center East and particularly Lebanon, the area is much guiding the West in social media usage. Not only that, when it will come to firms included in the tourism business, there is considerably room for growth. Small expense in technologies is maintaining tourist firms absent from maximizing marketing opportunities presented by social media.

The Lebanese tourism sector is not using advantage of social media marketing and advertising methods even though the rewards of undertaking so are apparent. This provides a fantastic dilemma specially considering that the economic system is likely by way of a really tough time.