Digital Marketing and its Importance in Tourism Promotion: Case of Southern Albania

The advent of new technologies such as social media have penetrated many households and have made it possible to change the way consumers seek information as a basis for their purchasing decisions. As the number of users escalates, companies are advised to take advantage of the development of these marketing channels and effectively communicate with customers. Meanwhile, the hotel industry is growing rapidly and hoteliers in general have actively tried to pursue marketing strategies that remained competitive. However, with the large number of competitors and the increase in the bargaining power of consumers, hoteliers must rethink their strategy to manage, among other things, marketing communication channels that include social media (Hennig-Thurau et at., 2010). This paper seeks to examine the relationship between social media use, and the role of social media in tourism promotion and the related consumer behavior. Primary data were collected through questionnaires. The results showed that there is a positive correlation between the research variables.   Received: 29 December 2023 / Accepted: 25 February 2024 / Published: 6 March 2024