Journal of Tourism and Development

Journal of Tourism and Development

Restoring destination image and traveler trust with social media after a corona crisis (Study case: Yazd province)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Hamed Fallah Tafti 1
Maryam Roasaei 2
1 Management Department Associate Professor, Science and Arts university, Yazd, Iran.
2 Tourism Management Ph.D. Candidate, Science and Arts university, Yazd, Iran.
10.22034/jtd.2024.456967.2916
Abstract
Crises, including the Corona crisis, can have profound effects on societies and cause a loss of public trust. Therefore, it is very important to plan and implement appropriate strategies to restore the image of the destination and increase the trust of the organization using social media. Yazd is one of the provinces that may face various crises due to different climatic conditions. In such a situation, organizations need to present their information and actions to the public by using social media to increase people's trust. The present study was conducted with the aim of identifying the factors influencing the recovery of the destination image and the organization's trust in social media after the crisis in Yazd province. Descriptive research is a survey. The statistical sample of the research included 65 tourists from Yazd province, who were selected and interviewed non-randomly. Data and scenarios were analyzed using fuzzy cognitive mapping technique and the research model was designed using social network analysis. In this regard, several factors are involved, among which the factors emphasizing the importance of passenger safety and security, continuous and clear information regarding changes in passenger plans, and accurate and up-to-date information about the crisis situation were respectively the most important; Because they were more central. Emphasizing the importance of these three factors can have a significant impact on improving communication and creating a sense of trust among travelers through social media after the crisis and restoring the image of the destination from the perspective of travelers.
Keywords
Recovery
Destination image
Trust
Social media
Yazd province
After the corona crisis
نجارزاده، محمد، باقری قره‌بلاغ، هوشمند و عین علی، محسن (1400) تأملی بر راهبرد‌های بازاریابی پساکرونا در صنعت گردشگری و هتل‌داری در جهان. گردشگری و توسعه، 10(2) 1-2. https://doi.org/10.22034/jtd.2020.237219.2065
Aguiar-Castillo, L., Guerra, V., Rufo, J., Rabadan, J., & Perez-Jimenez, R. (2021). Survey on optical wireless communications-based services applied to the tourism industry: Potentials and challenges. Sensors, 21(18), 6282.‏ https://doi.org/10.3390/s21186282
Avraham, E. (2021). From 9/11 through Katrina to Covid-19: crisis recovery campaigns for American destinations. Current Issues in Tourism, 24(20), 2875-2889.‏ https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2020.1849052
Basouli, M., & Jabbari, G. (2021). The Relationship between Crisis Management and Community Resilience in Tourism Destination at Corona Crisis Case Study: Hamedan City. Urban tourism, 8(1), 33-48. https://doi.org/10.22059/jut.2021.318782.884 [In Persian]
Bassano, C., Barile, S., Piciocchi, P., Spohrer, J. C., Iandolo, F., & Fisk, R. (2019). Storytelling about places: Tourism marketing in the digital age. Cities, 87, 10-20.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2018.12.025
Razavizadeh, N., & Bostan, Z. (2023). Representation of the Destination Image of Iran on Social Media Case study: TripAdvisor. Geography and Development, 21(73), 70-96. https://doi.org/10.22111/gdij.2023.44427.3480 [In Persian]
Ghaderi, Z., Aslani, E., Beal, L., Dehghan Pour Farashah, M., & Ghasemi, M. (2022). Crisis-resilience of small-scale tourism businesses in the pandemic era: the case of Yazd World Heritage Site, Iran. Tourism Recreation Research, 49(5), 1197–1203.‏ https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2022.2119519
Jamal, T., & Budke, C. (2020). Tourism in a world with pandemics: local-global responsibility and action. Journal of tourism futures, 6(2), 181-188.‏ https://doi.org/10.1108/JTF-02-2020-0014
Jiang, Y., Ritchie, B. W., & Benckendorff, P. (2019). Bibliometric visualisation: An application in tourism crisis and disaster management research. Current Issues in Tourism, 22(16), 1925-1957.‏ https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2017.1408574
Ketter, E. (2016). Destination image restoration on facebook: The case study of Nepal's Gurkha Earthquake. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 28, 66-72.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2016.02.003
Khan, N., Hassan, A. U., Fahad, S., & Naushad, M. (2020). Factors affecting tourism industry and its impacts on global economy of the world. Available at SSRN 3559353.‏ https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3559353
Kim, M., & Sohn, J. (2022). Passenger, airline, and policy responses to the COVID-19 crisis: The case of South Korea. Journal of air transport management, 98, 102144.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2021.102144
Kovalenko, O. V., Yepyk, L. I., Yeromenko, A. Y., Kashynska, O. Y., & Bezruchenkov, Y. V. (2021). Training of the future tourist guides for intercultural communicative interaction within professional activity. Linguistics and Culture Review, 5(S4), 729-746.‏ https://doi.org/10.21744/lingcure.v5nS4.1712
Lau, Y. Y., Lu, C. S., & Weng, H. K. (2021). The effects of safety delivery and safety awareness on passenger behaviour in the ferry context. Maritime Policy & Management, 48(1), 46-60. https://doi.org/10.1080/03088839.2020.1750720
Li, H., Meng, F., & Zhang, X. (2022). Are you happy for me? How sharing positive tourism experiences through social media affects posttrip evaluations. Journal of Travel Research, 61(3), 477-492.‏ https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287521995253
Liu, L. W., Pahrudin, P., Tsai, C. Y., & Hao, L. (2024). Disaster, Risk and Crises in Tourism and Hospitality Field: A Pathway Toward Tourism and Hospitality Management Framework for Resilience and Recovery Process. Natural Hazards Research, 4(4), 653-668. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nhres.2024.06.001
Luo, Q., & Zhai, X. (2017). “I will never go to Hong Kong again!” How the secondary crisis communication of “Occupy Central” on Weibo shifted to a tourism boycott. Tourism Management, 62, 159-172.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.04.007
Shirkhodai, M. Shahi, M., Nejat, S., & Mahmudi Nasab, S. (2017). The Effect of Social Media on Trust and Brand Loyalty Formation in the Brand Community (Case Study: The Social Network of Instagram). New Marketing Research Journal, 7(3), 107-124. https://doi.org/10.22108/nmrj.2017.103055.1181 [In Persian]
Mazhande, P., Basera, V., Chıkuta, O., Tapfuma, M., Ncube, F., & Baıpaı, R. (2020). Perceptions and practice of tipping amongst domestic tourists in Zimbabwe. Journal of Gastronomy Hospitality and Travel, 3(1), 101-111.‏ https://doi.org/10.33083/joghat.2020.34
Mikac, R., & Kravaršćan, K. (2021). Croatian tourism sector and crisis management-a case study related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tourism: an international interdisciplinary journal, 69(4), 611-629.‏‏ https://doi.org/10.37741/t.69.4.9
Ghasemloi Soltanabad, J., Mirghafoori, S. H., Asadi, M. M., & Fallah Tafti, H. (2024). Presenting a Model of Organizational Crisis Management in Iran's Tourism Industry (with an Emphasis on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Journal of Tourism and Development, 13(1), 51-63. https://doi.org/10.22034/jtd.2024.410888.2812 [In Persian]
Najjarzadeh, M., Bagheri Garbollagh, H., & Eynali, M. (2021). A Reflection on Post-corona Marketing Strategies in theTourism and Hotel Industry in the World: A Review Study. Journal of Tourism and Development, 10(2), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.22034/jtd.2020.237219.2065 [In Persian]
Nguyen, T. T. H., Yang, Z., Nguyen, N., Johnson, L. W., & Cao, T. K. (2019). Greenwash and green purchase intention: The mediating role of green skepticism. Sustainability, 11(9), 2653.‏ https://doi.org/10.3390/su11092653
Nomnian, S., Trupp, A., Niyomthong, W., Tangcharoensathaporn, P., & Charoenkongka, A. (2020). Language and Community-Based Tourism in Thailand: Use, Needs, Dependency, and Limitations. ASEAS-Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies, 13(1), 57-79.‏ https://doi.org/10.14764/10.ASEAS-0029
Park, D., Kim, W. G., & Choi, S. (2019). Application of social media analytics in tourism crisis communication. Current Issues in Tourism, 22(15), 1810-1824 https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2018.1504900
Paulino, I., Lozano, S., & Prats, L. (2021). Identifying tourism destinations from tourists’ travel patterns. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 19, 100508 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2020.100508
Purnomo, A., Idris, I., & Kurniawan, B. (2020). Understanding local community in managing sustainable tourism at Baluran National Park–Indonesia. Geo Journal of Tourism and Geosites, 29(2), 508-520.‏ https://doi.org/10.30892/gtg.29210-485
Qiao, G., Song, H., Hou, S., & Xu, J. (2023). Enhancing Literature Review and Understanding Under Global Pandemic. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, 16, 143-158 https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S393293  
Rasoolimanesh, S. M., Seyfi, S., Rastegar, R., & Hall, C. M. (2021). Destination image during the COVID-19 pandemic and future travel behavior: The moderating role of past experience. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 21, 100620.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2021.100620
Rather, R. A., Tehseen, S., Itoo, M. H., & Parrey, S. H. (2021). Customer brand identification, affective commitment, customer satisfaction, and brand trust as antecedents of customer behavioral intention of loyalty: An empirical study in the hospitality sector. In Consumer behaviour in hospitality and tourism (pp. 44-65). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1080/21639159.2019.1577694
Saraei, M. H., & Shamshiri, M. (2013). Tourism situation study in the city of Shiraz towards sustainable development using the SWOT Technique. Geography and Environmental planning, 24(1), 69-88.‏ https://doi.org/20.1001.1.20085362.1392.24.1.7.2
Tshin, l. V., & ali, s. H. (2022). Study the factors affecting the cost of homestays in kundasang, sabah during malaysia government movement control order (mco). BIMP-EAGA Journal For Sustainable Tourism Development, 11(1), 107-117.‏ https://doi.org/10.51200/Bimpeagajtsd.V11i1.4117
Volgger, M., Taplin, R., & Aebli, A. (2021). Recovery of domestic tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic: An experimental comparison of interventions. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 48, 428-440.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2021.07.015
Wolter, J. S., Bacile, T. J., & Xu, P. (2023). How online incivility affects consumer engagement behavior on brands’ social media. Journal of Service Research, 26(1), 103-119 https://doi.org/10.1177/10946705221096192
Xu, X., & Cheng, G. (2024). Save the Day: How the Dissemination of Tourism Crises Can Reinvigorate a Tourism Destination Image after the Seoul Halloween Crowd Crush. Sustainability, 16(6), 2256.‏ https://doi.org/10.3390/su16062256
Yuan, Y., Chan, C. S., Eichelberger, S., Ma, H., & Pikkemaat, B. (2022). The effect of social media on travel planning process by Chinese tourists: the way forward to tourism futures. Journal of Tourism Futures.‏ https://doi.org/10.1108/JTF-04-2021-0094
Zhang, K., Chen, Y., & Lin, Z. (2020). Mapping destination images and behavioral patterns from user-generated photos: A computer vision approach. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 25(11), 1199-1214.‏ https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2020.1838586
Zou, Y., & Yu, Q. (2022). Sense of safety toward tourism destinations: A social constructivist perspective. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 24, 100708.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2022.100708