Numerous studies have focused on the impact of social media on tourists decisionmaking regarding their travel destinations. These investigations shed light on how social media plays a part in shaping these choices. It has been found that social media platforms are frequently utilized for destination selection by people from various countries and cultural backgrounds. Social media not only aids in the decisionmaking process but also significantly influences the refining of options in tourists preliminary destination lists. The extent of this influence, however, tends to be minimal to very low. Additionally, some research suggests that social media more often reinforces tourists preexisting decisions, helping to alleviate doubts rather than being a primary factor in making the choice (Bakr Ali, 2013; Cox et al., 2009; Fotis et al., 2011).While these studies have provided insights, they often focused on a limited number of social media platforms, specific market segments, and single destinations (Simms, 2012). This narrow scope has restricted the depth of understanding regarding the influence of social media on tourist destination choices, thereby limiting the applicability of these findings to other scenarios. Since destination choices are influenced by a variety of factors and occur in diverse contexts, its crucial to investigate the situations where social media exerts more significant influence (Cheah, 2017 Lim, Ramayah, Teoh). This leads to several key questions. First, does the emphasis on a particular destination, as seen in most studies, hinder the ability to identify and comprehend broader influences? In some cases, the preexisting connection of respondents to a destination might overshadow any potential influence from social media or other channels (Namkung Kang, 2016). Second, is the concentration on certain social media platforms limiting the understanding of their potential roles in comparison to other platforms or channels? Considering that tourists decisions are often influenced by a variety of sources and channels (Xiang et al., 2018), focusing solely on one or two platforms might not fully capture the overall significance and combined effect of multiple interactions. Therefore, the context in which social media is used is vital to grasp its role in shaping tourists destination choices (Lee et al., 2018; Marder et al., 2019). To summarize, tourists frequently turn to social media for gathering information and reducing postpurchase doubts. Yet, the context in which they make destination choices has often been either neglected or deliberately downplayed. Research on destination choice suggests that social medias impact likely varies based on the specific context of the decisionmaking process (as also discussed by Lee et al., 2018; Marder et al., 2019; McCabe et al., 2016). Therefore, this study aims to fill these identified gaps by empirically investigating how, when, and why certain contextual elements either enhance or diminish social medias influence on tourists decisions regarding destinations. The goal is to develop more effective and tailored solutions.
VIETNAM GENERAL CONFEDERATION OF LABOUR TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES NGUYEN THE HAO THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON DESTINATION CHOICE INTENTIONS OF GENZ YOUTHS IN HO CHI MINH CITY, VIET NAM UNDERGRADUATE THESIS OF VIETNAMESE STUDIES MAJOR IN TOURISM AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT HO CHI MINH CITY, 2023 VIETNAM GENERAL CONFEDERATION OF LABOUR TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES NGUYEN THE HAO - 319H0151 THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON DESTINATION CHOICE INTENTIONS OF GENZ YOUTHS IN HO CHI MINH CITY, VIET NAM UNDERGRADUATE THESIS OF VIETNAMESE STUDIES MAJOR IN TOURISM AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT Advised by MSc Hoang Thi Van HO CHI MINH CITY, 2023 ACKNOWLEDGMENT I would like to thank the following people, without whom I would not have been able to complete this research, and without whom I would not have made it through my undergraduate degree First and foremost, I have to thank my research supervisors, MSc Hoang Thi Van Without her assistance and dedicated involvement in every step throughout the process, this paper would have never been accomplished I would like to thank you very much for your support and understanding over these past two months I would also like to show my gratitude to Ton Duc Thang University, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities and Department of Vietnamese Studies for letting me to be part of this incredible research and all the considerate guidance Besides, many thanks to all participants that took part in the study and enabled this research to be possible To conclude, I can not forget to thank my parents for all the unconditional support in this very intense academic year This dissertation stands as a testament to their unconditional love and encouragement Ho Chi Minh City, 10 November, 2023 Author Nguyen The Hao This thesis was carried out at Ton Duc Thang University Advisor: MSc Hoang Thi Van This thesis is defended at the Undergraduate Thesis Examination Committee was hold at Ton Duc Thang University on 23/11/2023 Confirmation of the Chairman of the Undergraduate Thesis Examination Committee and the Dean of the faculty after receiving the modified thesis (if any) CHAIRMAN ………………………… DEAN OF FACULTY ……………………………… DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby declare that this thesis was carried out by myself under the guidance and supervision of MSc Hoang Thi Van ; and that the work and the results contained in it are original and have not been submitted anywhere for any previous purposes The data and figures presented in this thesis are for analysis, comments, and evaluations from various resources by my own work and have been duly acknowledged in the reference part In addition, other comments, reviews and data used by other authors, and organizations have been acknowledged, and explicitly cited I will take full responsibility for any fraud detected in my thesis Ton Duc Thang University is unrelated to any copyright infringement caused on my work (if any) Ho Chi Minh City, 10 November, 2023 Author Nguyen The Hao THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON DESTINATION CHOICE INTENTIONS OF GENZ YOUTHS IN HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM ABSTRACT Nowadays, social media is one of the most preferred means of communication, especially among young people when deciding on a destination Ho Chi Minh City is a promising market with a large population of young individuals concentrated for both living and working Recognizing the lack of research on the impact of social media on tourists' destination choice intentions, this study collected data through an online questionnaire (Google form), with 325 responses obtained through the survey Demographic analysis of tourists and measurement results were conducted using SPSS 22 software The relationship between media, tourists' intentions, and usefulness was investigated using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling To assess the differences between gender and Generation Z, exploratory group analysis was used to examine the relationships between variables in all proposed groups In addition, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted The results show that various aspects of social media, such as advertising on social media and the usefulness of information, information quality, communities on social media, accessibility, and perceived usefulness, have a direct impact on tourists' intentions to choose a travel destination The results also indicate that males have a stronger influence than females in choosing destinations through media, with individuals aged 21-23 having a higher impact compared to other age groups in the survey Additionally, students as an occupation also have a higher impact compared to other professions Through the survey results, it can be seen that age and the generation of students currently living and working in Ho Chi Minh City have the highest influence on their choice of travel destinations through media Keywords: Social media, Choice intention, Moderating, Gender, Generation Z CONTENT LIST OF FIGURES .i LIST OF TABLES ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iii 2.1 Social media influence on tourist destination choice 2.2 Social media communication and social media factors influencing travel intentions 3.1 Research subject .6 3.2 Study population .6 3.3 Research scope 4.1 General objective 4.2 Specific objective Research hypothesis 7.1 Data collection .11 7.2 Quantitative research .12 7.3 Sampling collection 13 7.4 Designing a questionnaire 13 7.5 Methods to analyzing the data 17 7.5.1 Descriptive statistic analysis 17 7.5.2 Primary Data Processing Method 17 Research contribution .19 8.1 Theoretical contribution 19 Research Framework 20 CHAPTER THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 22