Social media has transformed countless aspects of today’s world. In the matter of minutes people have the ability to easily select where they want to go, how they want to get there, where to stay and what they wish to do upon arrival, and all with a simple click of a button. Numerous industries, in addition to the travel industry, are struggling due to the evolution of social media sites including Facebook, Pinterest, Yelp and many more are amongst those being afflicted. Corporations are realizing now that the demand for “in office” agents are (minimal)(insignificant)(declining). Online travel agents (OTA) are one example of how powerful and influential the internet can be. OTA’s have affected an entire industry and in doing so has
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Buzzfeed reaches over 23.7 million users and provides quizzes like “Where should you travel this summer?” This plants the idea in their heads that their results are the exact vacation they are looking for. Another quiz might be “What type of vacation suits you?” this would provide results telling someone where to go based on weather they are looking for a romantic setting, adventurous to hike or snowboard or a relaxing atmosphere. Facebook and Twitter are discussion and sharing based. These are the largest of the social media sites; “Facebook having 864 million daily users and Twitter at 100 million daily users” (Smith). The way people are influenced by these websites is that users see a photo of a place their friend traveled or read some posts on the perfect vacation, because of this other users get hooked making them think about what its like to be at that destination. Now after planning where to go people start researching what to do and where to eat. Yelp is where people go for the best recommendations around town. There are reviews for the best local restaurants and local views people must check out. These reviews are very helpful and “users purchase or book 98% of the time after seeing positive feedback on Yelp” (Smith). Yelp holds the key to all the do’s and don’ts of your travel …show more content…
Sites such as these make it easy for people to book vacations themselves. Online travel agents compare all the best deals on hotels in a desired area and also provide the option to book hotels and flights at the same time with a discounted price. These features have led to “19.5% of travelers booking through online travel agents” (Statistic Brain) and out of those users “47.2% purchase the package deal” (Schaal). Why wouldn’t travel agencies be going under; when websites are laying out the deals and making it possible for people to book their vacation in
Buzzfeed reaches over 23.7 million users and provides quizzes like “Where should you travel this summer?” This plants the idea in their heads that their results are the exact vacation they are looking for. Another quiz might be “What type of vacation suits you?” this would provide results telling someone where to go based on weather they are looking for a romantic setting, adventurous to hike or snowboard or a relaxing atmosphere. Facebook and Twitter are discussion and sharing based. These are the largest of the social media sites; “Facebook having 864 million daily users and Twitter at 100 million daily users” (Smith). The way people are influenced by these websites is that users see a photo of a place their friend traveled or read some posts on the perfect vacation, because of this other users get hooked making them think about what its like to be at that destination. Now after planning where to go people start researching what to do and where to eat. Yelp is where people go for the best recommendations around town. There are reviews for the best local restaurants and local views people must check out. These reviews are very helpful and “users purchase or book 98% of the time after seeing positive feedback on Yelp” (Smith). Yelp holds the key to all the do’s and don’ts of your travel …show more content…
Sites such as these make it easy for people to book vacations themselves. Online travel agents compare all the best deals on hotels in a desired area and also provide the option to book hotels and flights at the same time with a discounted price. These features have led to “19.5% of travelers booking through online travel agents” (Statistic Brain) and out of those users “47.2% purchase the package deal” (Schaal). Why wouldn’t travel agencies be going under; when websites are laying out the deals and making it possible for people to book their vacation in