摘要：Tourism is one of the largest sources of economic activity in the world, travel and tourism generates economic activity worldwide. The industry also provides millions of jobs direct and indirect. Tourism is not only one of the world's largest, but also one of its fastest growing industries. The importance of tourism and the entry of many new tourist destinations into the market have forced many countries all over the world to go for promoting tourist places in their respective countries. The promotion of tourism also requires the usage of marketing mix. Tourism marketing is the application of marketing concepts in the travel and tourism industry. Tourism marketing refers to the organized, combined efforts of the national tourist bodies and/or the businesses in the tourism sector of an international, national or local area to achieve growth in tourism by maximizing the satisfaction of tourists. In doing so, the tourist bodies and businesses expect to receive profits. As in case of any marketing mix, promotion of the product (destination in case of tourism marketing) places a major role. Promotions are activities such as advertising, personal selling, and sales promotion which communicate the merits of the product and persuade target customers to buy it. Tourism promotion can benefit more from word-ofmouth marketing and viral marketing but not on other forms of promotion like advertising. Word of mouth (WOM) communication is a major part of online tourists interactions, particularly within the environment of online communities. Both scholars and practitioners of tourism marketing are particularly interested in WOM communication behavior in the context of online communities because of the extraordinary popularity, growth, and influence of such communities. Tourism industry is benefiting from Web 2.0. "Web 2.0" describes a growing trend towards online content made by web users, rather than traditional publishers. It is an umbrella term used to describe online technologies and medias that facilitate interaction and exchange of information online. ICT technologies and use of the Internet has been changing the way tourism businesses operate. Electronic intermediaries are emerging dynamically and challenge traditional distributors. Thus all tourism players are forced to rethink their business models. The present study focuses on issues relating to using social media marketing as a means of promoting tourism.
