'Couchsurfing is one of my favorite websites. It's a location where you can connect with people and receive a place to stay, a friend to show you around, and information about the area. I utilized it the first time I stayed at this beautiful property in Athens. I have loved it even more since they introduced "Hangouts" capabilities so you can locate folks to meet for drinks, a museum visit, or a bite of anything to eat.
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'However, Celinne built and used her unique social network. When she traveled, she exclusively stayed at the homes of friends and acquaintances of those people. She discovered strangers eager to welcome her into their homes after putting out a call on the internet.

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'As a bonus, she got to meet some lovely, engaging, and generous individuals as a result of saving money on her travels. I think the journey is all about the people you meet along the route, and she found a way to build some great connections.

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'How Tourists Utilise Social Media On A Trip

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'To better understand how 'social media' impacts traveler behavior before, during, and after a trip, let's take a closer look at five themes.

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'Travelers Get Ideas From Social Media.

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'According to an infographic, about 30 percent of American visitors rely on Facebook for 'travel' inspiration, while 52 percent of Facebook users rely on friends' images for ideas. Since social media is where their friends and influencers post their travel experiences, people are turning to it for advice on where to go on vacation.

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'This type of material is becoming increasingly popular with travelers since its unedited and unbranded. So why not seek methods to utilize the images that resonate powerfully with your target audience in your marketing?

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'The use of social media photographs in tourist guides is becoming increasingly common among destination marketing organizations (DMOs). Many DMOs currently use social media images for their website galleries, reposting visitor photos to social media.

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'Travelers Book On Their Phones

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'As can be seen from the infographic, mobile devices account for 40% of all internet 'holiday bookings'. This has taken up a sizable portion of the market. A record $86.2 billion will be spent on mobile travel bookings in the United States in 2018. Regarding booking travel arrangements, today's travelers increasingly rely on their mobile devices.

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'Ensure your website and online marketing materials are entirely responsive to mobile devices. Because 42 percent of customers use their phones to get travel inspiration, you risk missing out on this market.

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'However, while most DMOs use a mobile-friendly template, many fail to examine the many aspects of their website and the additional channels via which users get their content. Even your mobile site's user-generated content (UGC) galleries must appear and function flawlessly.

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'Travelers Adore Sharing Photographs

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'The most common form of social media interaction among tourists is posting images and videos. In addition to the 60% of tourists who upload pictures to social media, 90% of millennials do the same when they're away from home. It's no secret that your site's users love to upload images to social media and are constantly on the hunt for an Instagram-worthy shot.

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'You can see they've already had their phones out and are on the lookout for exciting stuff to snap a picture of. Make it easy for tourists by creating picture possibilities they can't refuse. Visit Indy's humorous "NDY" signage, which encourages visitors to step up and become the "I" in Indy, is an excellent example.

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'These signs are so prominently featured on Visit Indy's website, and social media accounts that posing for a picture with them has become an iconic activity for visitors of Indianapolis.

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'Travelers Return Home With Loads Of Images To Share.

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'It's an excellent opportunity to submit evaluations of the locations and services you visited while on vacation. Visitor evaluations of hotels, restaurants, attractions and activities account for 46% of all reviews on the site. As a tourist attraction, ensure you're encouraging and enticing people to actively upload their trip images rather than just storing them on their phones.

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'A good example is Conner Prairie, which encourages visitors to use the hashtag #discoverCP when posting images of their experiences at the park's numerous displays, such as the 1859 Balloon Voyage.

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'Inspire And Connect With More Visitors Via Social Media

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'Modern travelers' journeys are typically centered on the visual narrative they see on social media. Social UGC not only inspires people to travel, but they also use it to plan their vacations, find activities, and share their memories.

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'How do you plan on using social media in your marketing strategy? We've collaborated with Skift to provide a new eBook that includes suggestions on leveraging traveler-generated content to enhance your social media feeds and community.