Lluís Garay Tamajón

Barcelona seen through the eyes of TripAdvisor: actors, typologies and components of destination image in social media platforms

Recent literature has emphasized the emerging role of social media in generating a destination image. Even so, there is still no clear definition of the main actors, typologies and components prevailing in these environments or the possible differences between diverse social platforms. Specific analysis and comparison of the Barcelona TripAdvisor Forum and a traditional Destination Management Organization (DMO) website showed that actors, typologies and components are platform specific and have both similarities and differences with other sources, including DMO websites and other social media platforms.Recent literature has emphasized the emerging role of social media in generating a destination image. Even so, there is still no clear definition of the main actors, typologies and components prevailing in these environments or the possible differences between diverse social platforms. Specific analysis and comparison of the Barcelona TripAdvisor Forum and a traditional Destination Management Organization (DMO) website showed that actors, typologies and components are platform specific and have both similarities and differences with other sources, including DMO websites and other social media platforms.