Promoting Sustainable Tourism in Maldives through Social Media: A Review

  • Aminath Raushan Imad Postgraduate Student, Faculty of Business, Accountancy, Communication and Hospitality Management, SEGi University, 47810, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Tak Jie Chan Lecturer, Faculty of Business, Accountancy, Communication and Hospitality Management, SEGi University, 47810, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Keywords: Sustainable Tourism, Social Media, Green Marketing Practices, Sustainable Development Goals, Maldives

Abstract

Purpose: The archipelago of the Maldives is the main source of attraction to many tourists worldwide, making tourism the largest sector of the country’s economy. However, global challenges have become increasingly visible and remote countries like Maldives is facing extreme challenges economically as well as environmentally. With the advancement of the technology, social media marketing being the worthwhile strategic positioning tool. This review article aimed to discuss global tourism industry, the practice of sustainable tourism in the Maldives, followed by the literature incorporates social media marketing in the context of tourism promotion in Maldives.

Design/Methodology/Approach: The study is a review paper on sustainable tourism in Maldives context, by focusing on global tourism industry, the practice of sustainable tourism in the Maldives, followed by social media marketing in the context of tourism promotion.

Findings: The review of the sustainable tourism literature found that Maldives as an island are practicing and incorporated green and sustainable practices.

Implications/ Originality/Value: The study provides a prodigious scope for marketing practitioners of tourism industry and provides insights on building a successful social media marketing strategy that may lead to enhance the green image and tourist’s intention to revisit.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Author Biography

Aminath Raushan Imad, Postgraduate Student, Faculty of Business, Accountancy, Communication and Hospitality Management, SEGi University, 47810, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Faculty of Business, Accountancy, Communication and Hospitality Management

References

Ahmed, M. (2018). Guest houses in the Maldives: Current integration and proposal towards community based tourism. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). L'Universite de Nantes Comue Universite Bretagne Loire.

Asian Development Bank, (2020). Maldives economic update. ADB. https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/institutional-document/674971/maldives-economic-update-2020.pdf

Aydın, B. & Alvarez, M.D. (2020). Understanding the tourists’ perspective of sustainability in cultural tourist destinations. Sustainability, 12(21), 8846. doi:10.3390/su12218846 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218846

Buhalis, D. (2019). Technology in tourism-from information communication technologies to eTourism and smart tourism towards ambient intelligence tourism: A perspective article. Tourism Review, 75(1), 267-272. doi:10.1108/TR-06-2019-0258 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-06-2019-0258

Chaffey, D. (2021). Global social media research summary 2021. Smart Insights. https://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/

Collado, R. (2016). Vanishing island nations: The case for the Maldives. Geopolitical Monitor. www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/vanishing-island-nations-the-case-for-the-maldives

Cowburn, B., Moritz, C., Birrell, C., Grimsditch, G., & Abdulla, A. (2018). Can luxury and environmental sustainability co-exist? Assessing the environmental impact of resort tourism on coral reefs in the Maldives. Ocean & Coastal Management, 158, 120-127. doi: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2018.03.025 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2018.03.025

Dam, M. X., Sabacan, R. F. J., Sim, K. S., & Thirumaran, K. (2021). Geophysical and cultural realities: Tourism policy of Bhutan and Maldives. In Azzali, S., & Thirumaran, K. (Eds.). Tropical Constrained Environments and Sustainable Adaptations, Managing the Asian Century, 115-130. doi:10.1007/978-981-33-4631-4_7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4631-4_7

DeMers, J. (2014). The confluence of content and social media: Insights for success in 2014. Forbes.www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/02/04/the-confluence-of-contentand-social-media-insights-for-success-in-2014/2/

Eiseman, D. (2018). Marketing sustainable tourism: Principles and practice. In Camilleri, M. A. (Ed.) Tourism Planning and Destination Marketing, Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, 121-140. doi:10.1108/978-1-78756-291-220181006 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78756-291-220181006

Fardeen, M. (2019). Climate change and it's effects on the Maldives. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/a8f8b5b0477f458ea70826756b46a275

Giampiccoli, A., Muhsin, B. A., & Mtapuri, O. (2020). Community-based tourism in the case of the Maldives. Geojournal of Tourism and Geosites, 29(2), 428-439. doi: 10.30892/gtg.29204-479. DOI: https://doi.org/10.30892/gtg.29204-479

Gössling, S. & Stavrinidi, I. (2016). Social networking, mobilities, and the rise of liquid identities. Mobilities, 11(5), 723-743. doi: 10.1080/17450101.2015.1034453 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17450101.2015.1034453

Gulati, S. (2021). Social and sustainable: Exploring social media use for promoting sustainable behaviour and demand amongst Indian tourists. International Hospitality Review. (Vol. No. ahead-of-print), doi: 10.1108/ihr-12-2020-0072 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IHR-12-2020-0072

Hardeman, G., Font, X., & Nawijn, J. (2017). The power of persuasive communication to influence sustainable holiday choices: Appealing to self-benefits and norms. Tourism Management, 59, 484-493. doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2016.09.011 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2016.09.011

Kietzmann, J., Hermkens, K., McCarthy, I., & Silvestre, B. (2011). Social media? get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media. Business Horizons, 54(3), 241-251. doi: 10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.005

Kim, M. & Thapa, B. (2018). Perceived value and flow experience: Application in a nature-based tourism context. Journal of Destination Marketing and Management, 8, 373-384. doi: 10.1016/j.jdmm.2017.08.002. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2017.08.002

Layne, D. (2017). Impacts of climate change on tourism in the coastal and marine environments of Caribbean small island developing states (SIDS). Caribbean Marine Climate Change Report Card: Science Review 2017, 174-184.

Li, F., Larimo, J., & Leonidou, L. (2020). Social media marketing strategy: definition, conceptualization, taxonomy, validation, and future agenda. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 49(1), 51-70. doi: 10.1007/s11747-020-00733-3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-020-00733-3

Luck, E. & Ginanti, A. (2013). Online environmental citizenship: Blogs, green marketing and consumer sentiment in the 21st century. Electronic Green Journal, 1(35), 1-26. doi:10.5070/G313512901 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5070/G313512901

Marcus, L. (2021). How the Maldives became the biggest 2020 international tourism success story. CNN Travel. https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/maldives-tourism-arrivals-coronavirus-intl-hnk/index.html

Niñerola, A., Sánchez-Rebull, M., & Hernández-Lara, A. (2019). Tourism research on sustainability: A bibliometric Analysis. Sustainability, 11(5), 1377. doi: 10.3390/su11051377 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su11051377

Perrin, A., & Anderson, M. (2019). Share of U.S. adults using social media, including Facebook, is mostly unchanged since 2018. Pew Research. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/10/share-of-u-s-adults-using-social-media-including-facebook-is-mostly-unchanged-since-2018/

Sae-Tang, N., & Yamchuti, H. (2020). Relationship between sustainable tourism and environment: Case studies of Maldives and Amphawa floating market, Thailand. Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 15(1), 149-160.

Sathiendrakumar, R., Jaffur, Z. K., & Seetanah, B. (2021). The role of international tourism in the Maldives. CAB International. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1079/9781789246698.0008

Scott, D., & Gössling, S. (2015). What could the next 40 years hold for global tourism?. Tourism Recreation Research, 40(3), 269-285. doi: 10.1080/02508281.2015.1075739 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2015.1075739

Stukalo, N. V., Krasnikova, N., Krupskyi, O. P., & Redko, V. (2018). Fostering sustainable tourism in global economy. International tourism and tourism business, 39(42), 27.

Stylos, N. (2020). Technological evolution and tourist decision-making: A perspective article. Tourism Review, 75(1), 273-278. doi:10.1108/TR-05-2019-0167 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-05-2019-0167

The World Bank (2020). Maldives development update: unprecedented crisis presents ‘green growth’ opportunities. Maldives Development Update. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2020/06/18/maldives-development-update-covid-coronavirus-green-growth-opportunity

Triarchi, E., & Karamanis, K. (2017). Alternative tourism development: A theoretical background. World Journal of Business and Management, 3(1), 35-54. doi: 10.5296/wjbm.v3i1.11198 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5296/wjbm.v3i1.11198

United Nations World Tourism Organization (n.d.). EU Guidebook on Sustainable Tourism for Development. UNWTO https://www.unwto.org/EU-guidebook-on-sustainable-tourism-for-development

United Nations World Tourism Organization (2021). 2020: Worst year in tourism history with 1 billion fewer international arrivals. UNWTO. https://www.unwto.org/news/2020-worst-year-in-tourism-history-with-1-billion-fewer-international-arrivals

Waseema, M. (2017). Enhancing destination competitiveness for a sustainable tourism industry: The case of Maldives. OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development, 10(2), 11-24.

World Tourism Organization (2018). International tourism highlights, 2018 edition. UNWTO, Madrid. https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/pdf/10.18111/9789284419876

World Tourism Organization (2017). UNWTO tourism highlights: 2017 edition. UNWTO, Madrid, https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284419029 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284419029

Zhang, T. (2020). Co-creating tourism experiences through a traveller’s journey: A perspective article. Tourism Review, 75(1), 56-60. doi:10.1108/TR-06-2019-0251 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-06-2019-0251

Zubair, F., & Bouchon, F. (2014). Maldives as a backpacker's destination: Supply and demand perspectives. Social and Behavioral Sciences, 144, 256-263. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.07.294 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.07.294

Published
2021-06-30
How to Cite
Imad, A. R., & Chan, T. J. (2021). Promoting Sustainable Tourism in Maldives through Social Media: A Review. Sustainable Business and Society in Emerging Economies, 3(2), 107-114. https://doi.org/10.26710/sbsee.v3i1.1758