Electronic word of mouth toward the choice of tourism products: a recovery strategy from COVID–19 in Tanzania

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to test the impacts of electronic Word of Mouth (e-WOM) toward the choice of tourism products in Tanzania and proposes a recovery strategy from COVID – 19. Structured questionnaire was administered to 101 respondents selected through a simple random sampling technique, Data collected were focused on social media usage extent, e WOM tool used when choosing the site, willingness to share their experience, posting on their experience and when they use e-WOM tools mostly as source of travel ideas, when they planning tour, during the tour and after tour. Quantitative data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics presented through tables and figures. The results show the big numbers of tourists are willing to share the positive experience. And also, 93% of tourists used their social media mostly after they have visited the site and the extent of usage are on Instagram followed by WhatsApp which raise roadmap on tourist destination on how could they market. The research has confirmed that e-WOM shares direct positive and significant influence on visitors’ interest, though e-WOM also has indirect positive and significant influence on tourist interest through destination image and trust. A general conclusion is that; tourism destination should develop an integral way to reach customers as the technology influence the change on consumer’s behaviors which can be carried out by improving the quality of services for tourists. Furthermore, better promotion can be carried out by optimizing the use of Websites and social media such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook as promotional media.