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An Exploratory Study on Social Media in China

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Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2015

Abstract

The research explores the use of three most popular social media (SM) websites in tourism-related activities in China. It identifies how Chinese use SM to share information about, and personal evaluation of, destinations, tourism products, itineraries of travel, visa and currency exchange. The SM sites provide Chinese users a space for open communication and freely exchange of ideas, emotions and cognitive insights into travel, life and being. The technology also offers them a new way of socialising with each other. The paper argues that SM should not be only regarded as information communication channels, but also a creator and a shaper to forge what tourism is in the contemporary societies.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Surrey International Institute - DUFE, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK

    Li Li

  2. Surrey International Institute - DUFE, Dongbei University of Economics and Finance, Dalian, P. R. China

    Siming Zheng & Zihao Wang

Authors
  1. Li Li
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  2. Siming Zheng
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  3. Zihao Wang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Li Li .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Hospitality Business Management, Carson College of Business, Washington State University, Vancouver, Washington, USA

    Iis Tussyadiah

  2. Faculty of Management, Bournemouth University, Poole, Dorset, United Kingdom

    Alessandro Inversini

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Li, L., Zheng, S., Wang, Z. (2015). An Exploratory Study on Social Media in China. In: Tussyadiah, I., Inversini, A. (eds) Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2015. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14343-9_19

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