The Comparison of Destination Marketing Organizations’ Social Media Performance

Abstract

In contrast to the use of social media as an alternative marketing/promotion channel by Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs), number of the studies about social media performance of destinations are limited. In this study, performances of the top 10 cities in Europe, according to visitor numbers, are compared at Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and Instagram. Findings indicate that London is more active at Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram than other destinations. Istanbul and Antalya destinations which are visited by the greatest number of tourists in Turkey position at the latest ranks in these platforms. When compared to other platforms, Youtube is rarely used by DMOs. Moreover, there is a significant relationship between Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram performances and destination visitor numbers.

Keywords

• Social media
• Destination
• Destination marketing organisation
• Visitor number

Destinasyon Pazarlama Organizasyonlarının Sosyal Medya Performansının Kıyaslanması

Öz

Sosyal medya, Destinasyon Pazarlama Organizasyonları (DPO) tarafından alternatif bir pazarlama/tanıtım kanalı olarak kullanılmasına karşın, destinasyonların sosyal medya performansını ele alan araştırmalar kısıtlı sayıdadır. Bu çalışmada, ziyaretçi sayısı açısından Avrupa’da ilk 10 sırada yer alan şehirlere ait DPO’ların Facebook, Youtube, Instagram ve Twitter performansı kıyaslanmıştır. Bulgular Avrupa’nın en çok ziyaret edilen 10 destinasyonu içerisinde Londra’nın Facebook, Twitter ve Instagram’da diğer destinasyonlara kıyasla daha aktif olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Türkiye’nin en fazla turist çeken destinasyonları olan İstanbul ve Antalya, bu üç platformda son sıralarda yer almaktadır. Diğer platformlara kıyasla Youtube’un DPO’lar tarafından çok fazla kullanılmadığı tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca Facebook, Twitter ve Instagram performansı ile destinasyonların ziyaretçi sayısı arasında anlamlı bir ilişki tespit edilmiştir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Sosyal medya
• Destinasyon
• Destinasyon pazarlama organizasyonu
• Ziyaretçi sayısı

Kaynakça

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