Travel agencies, hotels urged to utilise social media

AMMAN — As Jordanians are increasingly using social media networks for feedback when planning a trip, travel agencies and hospitality sector businesses should provide proper online content to attract customers, according to sector experts.

In Jordan, where there are over 3 million Facebook users and more than 70 per cent of smartphone holders access Facebook through their devices, people ask their friends on social media for suggestions when planning a vacation, the experts said at the MediaME Forum 2014, which concluded Wednesday.

“People resort to social media for reviews… travel agencies and businesses in the field need to give the right message and proper content for those planning to travel,” Omar Koudsi, co-founder of Jeeran.com, said at a session during the event.

Rajaie Haddad, digital marketing manager at the Sheraton Amman Al Nabil Hotel, had similar views.

“Hotels need to keep fresh content on their websites and social media pages to keep customers informed,” Haddad said during the session.

“About 74 per cent of social media users ask their friends for an opinion or advice before they buy a service or a product. Social media is important for people and hospitality businesses need to increase their presence on such networks,” he noted.

The experts said social media users can determine the strength or weakness of a certain brand through the feedback they receive.

“If businesses in the field want to succeed, they need to focus on social media users as well as make their pages and sites easy to access by smartphone users,” Haddad said.

According to estimates by social media experts, some 100,000 Jordanians are on Twitter.

Telecommunications Regulatory Commission figures indicate that Internet penetration in Jordan reached 73 per cent at the end of 2013 with 5.3 million users.