An Examination of Sina Weibo Travel Blogs’ Influence on Sentiment towards Hotel Accommodation in Macao

ABSTRACT

Chinese outbound tourism represents the world’s largest and highest yield travel segment. Western social media influence on travel decisions via Facebook and Twitter are commonly cited in research. Yet these social media platforms are banned in China. Using the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, this research investigates the sentiment of posts on Chinese Sina Weibo with regard to those staying at a hotel in Macao. The use of key opinion leaders (KOLs) on Weibo for brand promotion, some with several million followers, is now increasingly used in Macao’s integrated resort communication strategy. Separating what is celebrity buzz and self-promotion from hotel promotion, this research suggests examining the commercial value of Chinese social media posts and reposts on creating incremental room purchases as a direct consequence of post sentiment. This could be extended to other hospitality products and has marketing implications on the global hospitality industry wishing to engage and attract Chinese visitors.

摘要

中国出境旅客乃全球最多，同时亦给予旅游业最高的收益。很多研究指出西方社交媒体如Facebook和Twitter对出境旅游的决定有很大的影响，但这些社交媒体平台在中国是禁用的。因此，本文以在中国新浪微博的帖子研究对入住澳门酒店的影响。很多澳门综合度假区会利用拥有数百万追随者的关键意见领袖（KOLs）作为宣传酒店的方法。撇除名人的自我宣传推广以及明星效应的因素，本文对在中国社交媒体平台所发出的帖子及重发帖子对购买酒店房间的影响进行了详细的研究。此外，社交媒体平台更会影响客人选购酒店其他设施及产品的意欲，亦相信对希望吸引中国游客的全球酒店行业的营销策略有所影响。

KEYWORDS:

• Chinese social media
• Weibo
• key opinion leaders
• accommodation purchase
• blog

关键词:

• 中国社交媒体、微博、关键意见领袖、购买住宿、博客

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Glenn McCartney

Glenn McCartney is Associate Professor in International Integrated Resort Management in the Faculty of Business Administration at the University of Macau, Macao SAR, China (E-mail: [email protected]).

Rowena Pao Cheng Pek

Rowena Pao Cheng Pek is Administrative Officer at the University of Macau, Macao SAR, China (E-mail: [email protected]).