SOCIAL MEDIA AS A CATALYST FOR TOURISM ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN PAKISTAN: A STUDY OF DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47781/asiapacific.vol43.Iss43.7771Keywords:
Social Media, Entrepreneurship, Tourism, Technology, PakistanAbstract
The purpose of this study is to show how social media helps Pakistani tourism entrepreneurs, boosting the exposure of tourist attractions and their own activities. Thanks to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, entrepreneurs can easily reach tourists from all over the globe by sharing user content, which affects the destinations’ tourism image. Though social media marketing is useful, there is not much information on how Pakistani tourism companies apply it in their business. To deal with this gap, the study carries out qualitative interviews with purposely selected business owners, who rely on social media to market their products. The study is looking for strategies in digital marketing that encourage tourists to take part and help businesses expand. It also analyses the issues that entrepreneurs encounter, for example, having limited digital abilities, having financial challenges and creating content. The research likely gives important guidance for using social media well in the tourism sector of Pakistan.
References
Ahmad, S., & Salam, M. (2021). The challenges of implementing social media marketing in the tourism industry of Pakistan. e-Society Conference Proceedings (pp.1-15). Retrieved form: https://www.esociety-conf.org/wp-content/uploads/ 2021/03/02_202101L001.pdf
Bögenhold, D., & Klinglmair, A. (2016). Independent work, modern organizations and entrepreneurial labor: Diversity and hybridity of freelancers and self-employment. Journal of Management & Organization, 22(6), 843-858.
Bögenhold, D., Klinglmair, R., & Kandutsch, F. (2017). Solo-Self-Employment, human capital and hybrid labour in the gig economy. ???????, 11(4 (Eng.)), 23-32.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology, Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101.
?
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. SAGE Publications.
Datareportal (2020). Digital 2020: Pakistan. Retrieved form: https://datareportal.com /reports/digital-2020-pakistan
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2018). The SAGE handbook of qualitative research. SAGE Publications.
Gretzel, U. (2020). The changing landscape of tourism marketing: Harnessing digital transformation, Tourism Management Perspectives, 35, 100676.
Guest, G., Bunce, A., & Johnson, L. (2006). How many interviews are enough? Field Methods, 18(1), 59-82.
Hajli, N. (2015). Social commerce constructs and consumer's intention to buy, International Journal of Information Management, 35(2), 183-191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2014.12.005
Hudson, S., & Hudson, L. (2017). Marketing for Tourism, Hospitality & Events: A Global & Digital Approach. SAGE Publications.
Hussain, K., & Khan, M. (2023). The role of digital marketing in promoting Pakistani tourism: Insights from social media and destination marketing. Journal of Business Strategies, 17(1), 15-44.
Khan, S., & Khan, R. (2022). Adoption of digital marketing strategies in tourism industry: A case study of Pakistan, Journal Cendekia Ilmiah, 1(3), 190-200.
Marques, S. H., & Almeida, N. (2021). The impact of influencer marketing on consumers’ purchase decision: A study in tourism, Journal of Marketing Advances and Practices, 3(2), 42-54.
Sigala, M. (2018). Social media and customer engagement in the context of tourism and hospitality. In The Routledge Handbook of Consumer Behaviour in Hospitality and Tourism (pp. 272–282). Routledge.
Tunio, M. N., & Tunio, S. (2024). Green Entrepreneurship Craving for the Green Finance. In The Palgrave Handbook of Green Finance for Sustainable Development (pp. 237-262). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Tunio, M. N., Sabir, I., Rashid, A., & Gilal, F. G. (2024). Factors Affecting CSR Practices in Entrepreneurship: Case of Female Entrepreneurs in Pakistan. In E. Shaikh & K.Singh Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Governance and Business Ethics in Tourism Management: A Business Strategy for Sustainable Organizational Performance (pp. 37-47). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Tunio, M. N., Shaikh, E., Katper, N. K., & Brahmi, M. (2023). Nascent entrepreneurs and challenges in the digital market in developing countries. International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management, 12(1-2), 140-153.
Tussyadiah, I. P. (2020). A review of research into automation in tourism: Launching the Annals of Tourism Research Curated Collection on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics in Tourism, Annals of Tourism Research, 81, 102883.
Verhoef, P. C., Reinartz, W. J., & Krafft, M. (2010). Customer engagement as a new perspective in customer management, Journal of Service Research, 13(3), 247-252. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/1094670510375461
Xiang, Z., Du, Q., Ma, Y., & Fan, W. (2021). A comparative analysis of major online review platforms: Implications for social media analytics in hospitality and tourism, Tourism Management, 83, 104245.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Area Study Centre, Far East & Southeast Asia
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
