A Study of the Benefits of State Tourism Organization Community Engagement and Its Impact on Awareness and Visit Intention

Abstract

Destination marketing pertain to the development of networking on internet using various social media platforms. It proposes both prospects and challenges for the state tourist corporations (STCs). To boost their marketing adequacy and meet the demands of their partners, STCs should promote increased social-media (SM) marketing activities. The scope of the study is limited to the web page of Uttar Pradesh State Tourism Corporation. The objective of this study is to gain an insight into the benefits of page following as indicators of involvement and engagement. The study explores and investigates social-media (SM) marketing effects in terms of creating awareness and visit intention of those following the web page of STC of Uttar Pradesh Tourism, India. The sample size included visitors of official Facebook page of UP Tourism and 393 followers’ responses were chosen for this study. The results of this investigation demonstrate that social-media (SM) advantages and community engagement have a statistically significant impact on followers' knowledge and visit intentions. The study has implications for both policy and practice wherein the state tourist corporations can utilize the existing platform to assist them in developing a marketing and promotion strategy for their diverse tourist locations.