Use of social media communication tools for the main tourist attractions in the Cape Town area

Abstract

The tourism industry, like many industries, previously relied on traditional marketing methods. Consequently, tourist attractions were no different. The introduction of social media has revolutionised marketing. Social media has given a voice to both the consumer and organisations, which can no longer only utilise one-sided communication when engaging with customers. This research was undertaken to ascertain the role of social media as a communication and marketing tool for Cape Town tourist attractions via the analysis of tourists’ cognitive, affective and behavioural attitudinal responses. The fusion of the living internet and social networking has reformed the manner in which tourists engage and interconnect with each other. User-created content on social media continues to expand, which has resulted in a decrease of conventional media techniques used by tourism bureaus. User-created content influences the purchasing behaviour of prospective travellers, which might in turn influence the buying decisions of other tourists. This study was conducted in order to show how social media communication has become a key element in forming perceptions among travellers, as well as the attitudinal influence on these travellers. Presently, social media is one of the best options to generate awareness among prospective consumers regarding travel destinations. Tourists source opinions and guidance from others when arranging a journey. The influence of social media on the tourism sector is applicable both before and after travel, the former mainly involving looking for information and the latter mainly focussing on the dissemination of the travel experience. This study ascertained the use of social media by tourist attractions as these are part of the travel experience, and form part of the destination and are highly likely to be visited by tourists once at the destination. Tourists are likely to share their experiences on social media channels either when they are at the attractions or after visiting them. A quantitative research design via an empirical survey technique was applied to collect data at the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway. The first section of the research instrument ascertained the Cape Town tourist attraction social media sites that tourists had been exposed to, as well as the social media used to access these Cape Town tourist attractions. The next sections considered the tourists’ attitudes towards social media (via a Likert scale), usage and demographic characteristics. Trained field workers collected data from 457 respondents using a structured questionnaire and SPSS (version 23) was to code and analyse the data. The five main Cape Town tourist attractions considered in the study were the Table Mountain Aerial Cable Way, V&A Waterfront, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Groot Constantia Wine Estate and Cape Point. The main social media networking sites used by tourists were identified as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Analysis of the data disclosed that tourists generally displayed positive cognitive, affective and behavioural attitudinal responses towards the social media usage of Cape Town tourist attractions. Furthermore, a number of demographic and usage characteristics resulted in the most favourable attitudes regarding Cape Town tourist attraction social media sites. These were South African and African tourists; mobile device access; new social media users; daily log-ons; Black, Indian and Coloured tourists; and tourists who used the local ZAR currency. Therefore, it is recommended that Cape Town tourist attractions leverage the positive attitudes displayed by tourists towards social media utilisation. Social media communication has become a necessity for tourist attractions and forms an integral part of their marketing plans. Additionally, taking cognisance of the way in which tourists use social media channels prior to visiting destinations, as well as relying on what the online communities say, it is vital that the Cape Town tourist attractions stay engaged on these social media networking sites. Social media marketing costs are relatively low in comparison with traditional marketing methods, which is advantageous for the tourist attractions especially because marketing communication budgets are tight since South Africa was downgraded to junk status and because of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic (the impact on the tourism industry due to the pandemic is yet to be fully established, which serves as a topic for future research).