Factors Influencing of Social Media on Tourism Decisions of Generation Y Tourists: A Case study of Phu Pha Man National Park, Na Nong Thum Subdistrict, Chumphae District, Khon Kaen Province

Abstract

This research study: Factors influencing Social Media on Tourism Decisions of Generation Y Tourists: A Case study of Phu Pha Man National Park, Na Nong Thum Subdistrict, Chumphae District, Khon Kaen Province. The objectives have: 1) To study the behavior of using social media for obtaining travel information and the factors affecting the use of social media for travel information at Phu Pha Man National Park; 2) To compare the travel behavior at Phu Pha Man National Park with the factors influencing social media information retrieval for travel at the same park among Gen Y tourists, categorized by usage, content, perception, and actions; and 3) To compare social media channels with the factors influencing the retrieval of travel information via social media at Phu Pha Man National Park. The researchers used a quantitative research method, surveying 400 Gen Y tourists, and employed statistical methods including frequency distribution, mean, percentage, standard deviation, and inferential statistics such as One-Way ANOVA and Chi-Square analysis.       The hypothesis testing results indicate that Generation Y tourists predominantly use mobile phones as a device to access online media, with a tendency to perceive and share image-based information via Facebook. The behavior of using social media for travel, the frequency of travel experiences, and tourism activities show a significant relationship with information seeking through social media. Additionally, the comparison of social media channels impacts the factors influencing information gathering, revealing that the channels of social media significantly differ in their effectiveness for information seeking across various aspects.