Guidelines for Promoting Tourists’ Use of Social Media to Support Travel in Songkhla Province

Abstract

This study aimed (1) to examine how social media exposure influences tourists’ decisions to use social media, and (2) to investigate tourist behaviors that affect the use of social media for tourism activities. The sample consisted of 400 tourists traveling in Songkhla Province, selected through convenience sampling. A questionnaire was employed as the research instrument, and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and multiple regression analysis to assess the influence and relationships among the variables.

The results indicated that the regression model was statistically significant (F = 122.428, p < 0.05), with the two independent variables explaining 38.1% of the variance in tourists’ decisions to use social media for tourism (R² = 0.381). Tourist social media usage behavior exerted the strongest positive influence (β = 0.384, p < 0.05), followed by social media exposure, which also demonstrated a positive influence (β = 0.275, p < 0.05). Based on the findings, five strategic guidelines were proposed to promote the use of social media in supporting tourism in Songkhla Province: (1) developing emotionally engaging and inspirational content, (2) encouraging user-generated content (UGC) and online reviews, (3) implementing influencer-based marketing, (4) enhancing accessibility to tourism information on popular platforms, and (5) supporting local tourism entrepreneurs in adopting systematic social media practices.