Social Media Usage by Generation Z in Pre-trip Planning

Tourism marketing practices have gradually changed into more digital, thanks to the invention of the Internet and Communication Technology. It alters the notion of word of mouth to electronic word of mouth through social media applications. This study aims to investigate the Generation Z perceptions toward the usage of social media and its features in the pre-trip planning decision-making process. Why Generation Z? The reason is this generation is raised in the Internet era and they never experienced non-Internet era. For the purpose of this research Generation Z are those who were born in 1995-2000. The study applied a qualitative approach by administered questionnaires for data collection to Generation Z and analysed employing the descriptive method. The results suggest that Generation Z used the Internet mostly for accessing photo and video sharing sites by 70% and 68% respectively. Generation Z took into account mostly the content of social media, online review groups, and online recommendation from friends and relatives in the information search stage. Interestingly, they trust positive comments in the online travel community for granted and willing to share their travel experiences on community sites. The fake social media content is undeniably existing and future researchers should pay attention to this negative side of social