International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM) – eISSN: 1865-7923 – Vol. 15, No. 20, 2021 Short Paper—Social Networks Apps and their Role in Tourism Marketing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Social Networks Apps and their Role in Tourism Marketing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v15i20.23743 Nabil Mohemmed Al-Hazmi() Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University-Kingdom, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia n.alhazmi@psau.edu.sa Abstract—This study aimed at investigating the role of social networks apps in tourism marketing for travel and tourism organizations in Al-Kharj City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study used the descriptive and analytical approach to achieve its objectives and test its hypothesis. The study found that social networks apps play a vital role in marketing the tourism product in Al-Kharj City as well as communicating effectively and cheaply with the customers. The study recommended nominating and training some workers in tourism organizations to deal with social media networks and design websites and applications for these organizations. Keywords—social networks apps, mobile, tourism marketing, tourism organization 1 Introduction Marketing through social networks apps is regarded as an influential tool to get poten- tial customers for all businesses of any sizes. Customers interact with brands through these platforms. Social networks apps marketing is a form of internet marketing, which includes creating and sharing the content on social media platforms to achieve market- ing objectives and the brand names. Social media marketing contains activities such as posting updates, photos, videos, and other content, which encourages audience’s participation. In addition to paid advertisements to platforms to reach customers in automatically without the constant need to update or publish the content manually. Social networks apps, allow individuals to interact with each other and build social relationships on the Internet [11]. When a prominent channel joins a social networking site, this provides it with a great possibility to directly communicate with its audience around the world. This makes it easier for them to promote their products rather than what they will exhibit and guarantee reaching a big number of followers. There is a very significant feature, which makes social networking sites one of the most efficient means of marketing, which is the feature of “sharing” or “retweeting” the posts that the marketer issues if the customer is interested in this post. This allows the marketer’s message to spread widely in a short time if these sites are used accurately. Social media iJIM ‒ Vol. 15, No. 20, 2021 161 https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v15i20.23743 mailto:n.alhazmi@psau.edu.sa Short Paper—Social Networks Apps and their Role in Tourism Marketing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also contains a great deal of information about services or products, which potential customers may desire to have. This gives the ability to easily analyze the market, reach customer’s desires, and target them through the product being marketed. The current development of social networks has had a direct and clear impact on different fields and business sectors in general and on tourism and travel organizations in particular [12]. Activities and means have changed from being slow and needs a large numbers of human resource to faster and more precise and do not need human resources because they are automated. Marketing, either goods or services, has witnessed a great develop- ment in light of social media networks in terms of product presentation, specifications, prices, and even the way of delivering it to the customer in a short time, reducing efforts and cost. Considering that tourism and travel organizations are one of the commercial institutions aiming at achieving profits and reducing the costs to the possible range to display their services, tourism programs and offers, especially on occasions and holi- days, they must take advantage of social networks apps to communicate with their cus- tomers directly. Travel and tourism organizations in the Kingdom began to use social networks apps as a marketing tool for their different tourism services and programs. 1.1 Study problem The study problem is based on the following questions: 1. Do the operating travel and tourism organizations in Al-Kharj use social networks apps to market their tourism programs? What are the most used social networks apps by travel and tourism organizations? 2. Do social networks apps have an impact on marketing tourism services? Did social networks apps contribute to increase the number of customers who deal with tourism organizations? 1.2 Study significance The study significance is represented in the following: 1. Clarifying the significance of social networks apps in E-marketing for tourism orga- nizations in Al-Kharj City, as well as decreasing marketing costs represented by decreasing effort and time in marketing tourism products. 2. Highlighting the most widely used social networks apps in online tourism marketing for services. 1.3 Study objectives This study seeks to achieve the following objectives: 1. Identifying the extent of social networks apps use in tourism companies in Al- Kharj city. 2. Identifying the impact of social networks apps on marketing tourism services. 162 http://www.i-jim.org Short Paper—Social Networks Apps and their Role in Tourism Marketing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 1.4 Study hypothesis The study seeks to test the following hypothesis: There is a significant correlation between social networks apps and marketing tour- ism product in travel and tourism organizations in Al-Kharj city. 1.5 Study population and sample The study population is represented by all the operating tourism and travel organi- zations in Al-Kharj city, which number 16 companies. The study sample was randomly selected from workers in these organizations. The study sample reached 60 workers from travel and tourism organizations in Al-Kharj city. 1.6 Study methodology The study is based on the descriptive and analytical approach by collecting sec- ondary data from books, Master’s & PhDs Theses, researches and periodicals, and collecting primary data by preparing a questionnaire to collect the opinions of the sam- ple respondents. In addition, the five-year Likart scale was used (strongly disagree- disagree-neutral-agree-agree strongly). 1.7 Study tool A questionnaire was designed including the study variables and it was distributed to the study sample based on [6]. The questionnaire contains two parts, a part for social networks apps, and a part for marketing the tourism product. In order to test the inter- nal consistency of the questionnaire, it has been presented to a number of special- ists at Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, King Abdulaziz University and Taiz University. To test the stability of the questionnaire paragraphs, the alpha correlation coefficient (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient) was used. The social media axis reached (0.875), and marketing the tourism product axis reached (0.916), and for the scale in general reached (0.896). Table 1 represents Stability coefficient, alpha cronbach of the study tool. Table 1. Stability coefficient, alpha cronbach of the study No. Study Variables Paragraphs Cronbach’s Coefficient Alpha 1 Social Networks 8 0.875 2 Tourist Product 4 0.916 Total 12 0.896 1.8 Study limitations Objective limitations: This study seeks to investigate the issue of the relationship between social networks apps and the marketing of tourism products in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. iJIM ‒ Vol. 15, No. 20, 2021 163 Short Paper—Social Networks Apps and their Role in Tourism Marketing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Time limitations: This study was conducted in the period from 1-9-2020 to 12-31-2020. Human limitations: This study was conducted on workers in travel and tourism orga- nizations in Al-Kharj city. 2 Literature review There are few related studies to the topic of this study. Among which is; the study [6] which aimed at studying the impact of social networks on marketing the tourism prod- ucts in Iraq. The study recommended the necessity to use social media sites to attract customers, serve them better, and nominate staff to deal with these sites. The study [3, 4] recommended the importance of using social media networks to communicate with customers in tourism and travel organizations in Al-Kharj to ensure fast commu- nication with them and meet their desires. While the study [1] recommended the impor- tance of marketing via social media networks. The study [12] recommended studying the importance of managing the relationship with customers to achieve their satisfac- tion in travel and tourism organizations. The study also recommended the necessity to communicate with customers using modern technologies and social media. The study [12] aimed at studying the importance of managing the relationship with customers to achieve their satisfaction in travel and tourism organizations. The study also recom- mended the necessity to communicate with customers using modern technologies and social media. The study [10] aimed at determining the role of social networking sites in the marketing of handicrafts. It also recommended the necessity to use social media sites intensively in marketing handicrafts. The study [8] recommended the importance of using social media sites to market the products of modern organizations. The study [2] recommended the importance of using social networks and websites in marketing tourism products and training workers in dealing with these networks. The study [9] aimed at studying the importance of social networks in determining customers’ pur- chasing decision, and recommended the organizations to activate using social networks to market their products. The study [5] recommended the importance that the compa- nies should adopt social media in their business, especially in the field of marketing and focusing their efforts on improving the efficiency of their content on social media. The study [7] aimed at studying the role of social media in supporting marketing commu- nication. In addition, the study recommended using social networks due to their role in supporting marketing communication with customers and gaining their loyalty to the organization. Through reviewing the previous studies, we find that most of them dealt with different topics and were conducted in rather different areas. Hence, this study is distinguished from other previous studies that were conducted on travel and tourism organizations in Al Kharj Governorate. Moreover, this study addressed the topic of social networks and their role in tourism marketing in Saudi Arabia. 164 http://www.i-jim.org Short Paper—Social Networks Apps and their Role in Tourism Marketing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 3 Analytical side The questionnaire was distributed to the study sample individuals from the travel and tourism companies in Al-Kharj city. 3.1 Results of the descriptive statistical analysis of the characteristics of the individuals of the study sample According to the gender, the samples are distributed as shown in Table 2. According to age, the samples are distributed as shown in Table 3. Table 2. Distribution of the sample items according to gender Percentage 100%RepetitionSex 73.33344Male 26.66616female 10060Total We notice from the previous table that (73.333%) of the sample were males, and (26.666%) were females. Table 3. Distribution of the sample individuals according to age Percentage 100%RepetitionAge 26.66616Less than 20 years 16.66710From 21 to 30 years 25.00015From 31 to 40 years 16.66710From 41 to 50 years 15.0009Greater than 51years 100.00060Total From the previous table, we also noticed that most of the sample individuals were less than 20 years old (26.666%). This indicates that most of the workers in travel and tourism organizations are of young ages, and the lowest percentage was for the age group 50 years and up, which reached (15%). Table 4. Distribution of the sample individuals according to experience Percentage 100%RepetitionYears of Experience 58.33335Less than 5 years 21.66713From 6 to 10 11.6677From 11 to 15 08.3335More than 16 years 100.00060Total iJIM ‒ Vol. 15, No. 20, 2021 165 Short Paper—Social Networks Apps and their Role in Tourism Marketing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia From the previous table, we noticed that most of the research sample individuals are less than 5 years’ experience, which reached (58.333%). This is consistent with the age characteristics of the study sample in Table 4, and the lowest category of work experience in travel and tourism organizations was more than 16 years, which reached (08.333%). According to the academic qualification, the sample individuals are distrib- uted as shown in Table 5. Table 5. Distribution of the sample individuals according to academic qualification Percentage 100%RepetitionDegree 58.33335Secondary 21.66713Diploma 20.00012Bachelor 10060Total From the previous table, we notice that most of the sample individuals are those who hold a high school certificate, which reached (58.333%), and those who hold a diploma certificate reached (21.667%), compared with those with a bachelor’s degree, which reached (20%). 3.2 The results of the analysis for the response of the study sample individuals in the travel and tourism organizations in Al-Kharj city Table 6 represents the results of the statistical analysis of the independent variable social networks apps. Table 6 represents the results of the statistical analysis of the independent variable social networks apps. Table 6. The results of the statistical analysis of the independent variable social networks apps DegreeSt Dev.MeanParagraphNo. High0.8914.539The company has an official Twitter, Facebook and Instagram account. 1 High0.7783.674The company mainly depends on the marketing of its services via social networks. 2 High1.2043.492The company has employees whose main tasks are to publish via social networks for the services provided by it, flight schedules and departure slots. 3 High0.7493.489The company’s official website is periodically updated to cope up with the latest developments and technologies in this field. 4 High1.0033.210The company has a special application via which the customer can learn about the most important services provided by it. 5 High0.6923.537The company’s employees have sufficient awareness and knowledge about what social networks are. 6 High0.7893.720The company has a big number of friends & followers of its social media account. 7 High0.7993.587Total 166 http://www.i-jim.org Short Paper—Social Networks Apps and their Role in Tourism Marketing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia From the previous table, it is clear that the results of the statistical analysis of the related paragraphs of the questionnaire are the first variable (social networks apps); the paragraph with the highest value was the first paragraph with an arithmetic mean (4.539) and a standard deviation (0.891). This indicates that travel and tourism orga- nizations in Al-Kharj have an official account on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram. Paragraph No. 5 was ranked the lowest with an arithmetic mean (3.210) and a standard deviation (0.692). This indicates that travel and tourism organizations in Al-Kharj have a special application through which the customer can be familiar with the most important services provided. The attitude of the study sample were positive towards all paragraphs, as the mean of all paragraphs reached (3.587), and the standard deviation for all paragraphs reached (0.799), and the response level that represents the sample’s agreement and consistency. Table 7 represents the results of the statistical analysis of the variable (tourism product approved marketing). Table 7. Results of the statistical analysis of the variable (tourism product approved marketing) DegreeSt Dev.MeanParagraphNo. High0.8623.952Marketing the tourism product via social networks has significantly increased profits in the company. 1 High0.9504.601Marketing the tourism product via social networks facilitates the process of communication between the customer and the company. 2 High0.9164.304Using social networks in marketing the tourism product has improved the promotional process of the services provided by the company. 3 High0.9043.896Marketing the tourism product via social networks has reduced the time needed to introduce the customer to the tourism services and programs provided by the company. 4 High0.8693.708Marketing tourism products via social networks has reduced the cost of marketing. 5 High0.8723.754Marketing the tourism product via social networks helped the company to build its brand name. 6 High0.8593.697Using social networks has contributed to increasing the number of customers dealing with the company. 7 High0.8974.014Total From the previous table, it shows the results of the statistical analysis of the ques- tionnaire paragraphs which are related to the second variable (marketing the tourism product), the highest ranked paragraph was paragraph No.(2) with an arithmetic mean (4.601) with a standard deviation (0.950). This indicates that marketing the tourism product through social networks apps facilitates the contacting between the customer and the company. The lowest ranked paragraph was No. 7, with an arithmetic mean (3.697) and a standard deviation (0.859). This indicates that the use of social networks apps contributed to increase the number of customers dealing with the company. The attitudes of the study sample were positive towards all paragraphs, as the arithmetic mean of all paragraphs is (4.014) with standard deviation for all paragraphs is (0.897), and the response level represents the sample’s agreement and consistency. iJIM ‒ Vol. 15, No. 20, 2021 167 Short Paper—Social Networks Apps and their Role in Tourism Marketing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 3.3 Testing the study hypothesis In order to measure or test the strength of the correlation between the study vari- ables, the simple correlation coefficient (Pearson Correlation) was used, as Table 8 shows the simple correlation between the study variables (social networks apps s and tourism product marketing). Table 8. Test the study hypothesis - simple correlation between the study variables Correlations Y( Social Networks apps) X (Marketing the Tourism Product) −0.1561Pearson Correlation X (Marketing The Tourism Product) 0.000Sig. (2-tailed) 60N 1−0.156Pearson Correlation Y (Social Networks apps) 0.000Sig. (2-tailed) 6060N It is clear from the results in Table 8 that there is a negative correlation between social networks apps and the marketing of the tourism product and the type of this rela- tionship is contrary. This leads us to accept the study hypothesis, which states; there is a significant correlation between social networks apps and tourism product marketing, and rejecting the alternative hypothesis, which states: There is no significant correlation between social networks apps and marketing of the tourism product. 4 Conclusion Through analyzing the study results, we find that travel and tourism organizations in Al-Kharj city have an official account on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram, and heavily count on social networks apps to market their services. In addition, we find that marketing the tourism product through social networks apps has reduced the time required to familiarize the customer with tourism services and programs and facilitated the process of contacting customers and increasing their number. Consequently, it is important to excel and concentrate on the use of social networks apps and to develop their marketing activities for the purpose of benefiting and obtaining a competitive advantage. Also, to nominate an employee in every tourism organization, whose main task is to follow up and maintain the company’s account on social networks apps and respond to customers’ questions at the soonest time possible to facilitate contacting with the customer to win him, and to design special applications for the company to contact with customers and serve them better, which leads to save time, effort and cost. 168 http://www.i-jim.org Short Paper—Social Networks Apps and their Role in Tourism Marketing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 5 Acknowledgment The researcher extends his sincere thanks to the Deanship of Scientific Research at Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University for its continuous support and contributions in the field of scientific research. 6 References [1] Abonaser, S. (2020). Social networks and their role in achieving the effectiveness of elec- tronic marketing for technical colleges Technology and Science Journal 2(2021), 247–252. [2] Alajjal, A. (2019). 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International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies, 15(6), 193–2021. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v15i06.20635 7 Author Dr. Nabil Mahemmed Al-Hazmi, Associate Professor of Marketing and Head of Marketing Department - College of Business Administration, Prince Sattam bin iJIM ‒ Vol. 15, No. 20, 2021 169 https://doi.org/10.5267/j.msl.2020.8.009 https://doi.org/10.12816/0033321 https://doi.org/10.12816/0033321 https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v13i05.9791 https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v13i05.9791 https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v15i06.20635 Short Paper—Social Networks Apps and their Role in Tourism Marketing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Abdulaziz University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 2015 until now, Professor of Tourism Marketing and Head of the Department of Tourism Management at Taiz University in the Republic of Yemen from 2008 to 2015. He published many research papers and studies in the field of tourism marketing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Yemen. He has authored a set of books in the field of Marketing Man- agement and Tourism Marketing. One of the trainers accredited by the International Finance Organization (IFC), a certified trainer at the International Labor Organization, and a member of the Board of Directors of the International Business License (IBDL). Article submitted 2021-05-04. Resubmitted 2021-06-29. Final acceptance 2021-06-29. Final version published as submitted by the authors. 170 http://www.i-jim.org