Road trip with Lena – Social media and digital marketing solutions in tourism

András Kovács

 

Nineteen-year-old Léna is lying in one of the “children’s rooms” of her family’s house in Érd, the sun warming her belly. The sleepyhead has already hit her phone’s snooze button for the third time; she really doesn’t want to get up. It’s been a rough few weeks: on the one hand, she successfully completed her second semester at one of Budapest’s business universities; on the other, she just finished a 12-hour shift at her job, where she works as an on-call receptionist.

The phone mercilessly starts its gentle, soft melody for a fourth time, yet the girl still has no desire to crawl out of bed. She drowsily looks around her room and glances at the photos on the wall taken during past domestic and international trips… Mátra, Balaton, Szeged, Debrecen, Eger, Győr, Rhodes, Turkey…

She’s still dozing, but she knows she has an important task today: with her girlfriends, she’s going to plan how to celebrate the successful end of their first academic year for next weekend. This time they want a “relaxing” long weekend to let go of the “ordeals” of the exam period.

 

Consumer decisions ( Törőcsik and Szűcs, 2021 ) are shaped by a complex, mutually interacting system of factors in which digital and human actors, “natural” (biological) and artificial intelligence ( Erdős et al., 2025 ) play a decisive role – that is, the various digital tools of marketing communication ( Horváth and Bauer, 2016 ). We analyse the role and significance of marketing communication tools that influence consumer behaviour through an example relevant to tourism marketing. Accordingly, the main focus of our case study is the aspects of marketing communication and consumer behaviour within tourism marketing ( Lőrincz and Sulyok, 2017 ; Kenesei and Cserdi, 2018 ), as well as the connections to services marketing with its digital marketing solutions and the H2H (Human-to-Human) marketing approach (design thinking and service orientation) ( Kotler et al, 2021 ).

 

Now, as Léna rubs her eyes on the morning of the last day of the exam period, she is still half-asleep and dreams again about the question she received for an A at her final oral exam: she had to classify social media solutions from a marketing perspective according to her own typology. In her dream she revisits the classification she outlined during the oral and continues to perfect it – even in her sleep. The oral exam made a big impression on her, and even the top grade couldn’t compensate for everything. Figure 1 shows Léna’s system –structured thinking has always been her strength.

At the exam she summarised how social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc.) can be used for (marketing) communication – that is, in marketing and, in our case, specifically in tourism marketing: how they can be applied and for what purposes.

 

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Figure 1. Social media technologies in the service of marketing

Source: Compiled and edited by the author

 

Léna argued that a very important social media function is the “classic” chatting and video chatting (FaceTime, Messenger, Viber, WhatsApp), since today’s consumers pay special attention to peers’ opinions, trust them and their experiences, and integrate those into their consumer decisions.

Knowing the milestones in the historical development of social media, Léna explained that advertising in users’ feeds has been an important function ever since the emergence of social platforms (and still is today). However, its content and format have changed significantly and have expanded thanks to mobile and 4G/5G networks. Nowadays, even live 4K video can be streamed on these platforms, so in addition to image and video content, there is the option of live broadcasting (livestreaming).

The influencer phenomenon was initially a “by-product” of social media – an unexpected “side effect” – with “enthusiastic amateur” content creators. Today it has become a billion-dollar business with professional actors and agencies, revolving around keywords such as awareness, reach, authenticity, trust, hype, and vibe.

As a daily AI user, Léna also outlined what AI is used for in marketing. In her view, countless marketing solutions can be pulled from AI’s “magician’s hat”: data analysis, big data management, strategic planning, etc. Yet the most spectacular change has been brought about by large language models (LLMs), which have created a new situation in marketing communication (text comprehension, translation, text and image, as well as video generation – supporting creative writing and image generation) and in relationship marketing (customer service AI assistants).

Finally, regarding social media’s connection to marketing, Léna turned to consumers and the vast amount of user-generated content (UGC). She was not thinking of influencers’ paid ads that reach millions, but rather of herself and her friends, who review the clothes they buy on About You, share their complaints with the world when a Temu package with the latest gadget is even a day late, or post photos and descriptions of fast-fashion items waiting to be sold on Facebook Marketplace. This also includes the lives their former classmates stream on TikTok from a restaurant or hotel.

At that moment Léna woke up – and she was actually happy about the “exam-dream”. With her friends she was planning a long weekend somewhere in Hungary. Armed with her freshly re-dreamed knowledge, she decided during the day to search for the best hotel offers – naturally in an “always on” mode together with her friends Julcsi, Anna, and Szabina.

Since Léna, like many full-time students, worked during the semester, she managed to save some money. She and her friends agreed that it was time to spend their savings on a “cool place,” a trendy hotel, and to collect new wellness experiences.

With that momentum, Léna jumped out of bed and, as usual, used her phone’s speech recognition while wandering around the apartment in the morning (the old bathroom – living room – bedroom triangle) to give commands to Google Search: “hotel for young people” were the first keywords.

One important thing she had learned in her Online Marketing Tools course is that there is a big difference between organic and sponsored (i.e., company-paid) results. On the first page, Léna saw almost exclusively paid ads, several of which had hotel landing pages that caught her interest. She almost started the booking process when she remembered it might be worth searching further for potentially better offers, promotions, and deals specifically for young people…

She now had plenty of information from google searches about hotel prices, services, and the booking process. Léna however has always been known as a big talker and loved to communicate, so live communication with the chosen place was important to her. As a child, she really liked the Mátra and the days spent there with her family, so while looking for live chat options she found one of her favourite hotels’ online chat services. “So many options,” she thought, then immediately messaged them on Instagram chat to request an offer for the planned weekend. She quickly asked whether there would be weekend events or parties at the hotel.

The hotel’s sales staff responded almost immediately, but at that moment Léna considered deploying AI as the “wonder weapon.” She belongs to those people who like chatting with various AI platforms and had already learned about GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) – a marketing solution under development today alongside SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Its essence is that corporate marketing communication messages, value propositions, and brand identity are (or will be) organically integrated into interactions conducted with AI.

Léna’s favourite was Google Gemini AI – not chosen on scientific grounds; she simply liked the story of the twins Castor and Pollux. She eagerly began prompting Gemini; however, the results were not very structured. Multiple, quite different hotel offers appeared (Figure 2), but the information was only loosely organised from a marketing perspective. For a while she kept asking Gemini about a few more attractive offers, but then she “let go” of the AI angle, acknowledged that well-functioning GEO would still take time, and didn’t want to spend too long on it – she wanted to see her favourite influencers’ latest recommendations.

 

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Figure 2. Questions asked to Google Gemini AI and its answers

Source: https://gemini.google.com

 

Léna is a very active Instagram and TikTok consumer – though she posts far less about herself, a frequent topic of debate between her and her friends, who are much more active sharers. In moments, she found a fresh recommendation on TikTok from one of her favourite influencers who posts about places in Hungary that are interesting and attractive from a tourism perspective (Figure 3). There was also a 5% coupon code valid until the end of summer; that would surely cover (part of) the four friends’ cocktail consumption, Léna thought immediately. She loved the place, instantly shared the video with her friends, and waited for their reactions. The final decision was beginning to take shape…

 

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Figure 3. An offer from a TikTok influencer

Source: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNdTXq2x6/

 

Because Léna is cautious before making such a large purchase decision – and because she has learned a lot about influencer activity, paid advertising, and consumer trust – she felt a double-check of the hotel was appropriate. Being a Google Local Guide herself, she likes to read other guides’ opinions before and after a trip to test her own experiences and others’ impressions of the place (eWOM – electronic Word of Mouth). She quickly searched the three or four hotels still “in the running” and skimmed the ratings and shared textual reviews. She cared less about the overly positive and extremely negative comments; she wanted to see the distribution of ratings and how reviewers justified their stars.

By the time Léna finished studying the “people’s verdict,” messages, screenshots, links, and videos were already coming into the group WhatsApp chat from Julcsi, Anna, and Szabina. The girls’ debate began, framed by the limited time and budget available…

Evening had fallen, and Léna was still pondering the possible solutions. She wanted to find the ideal place for a girls’ weekend, so she tried to consider every factor. Each friend came up with different ideas and hotel suggestions, and after lengthy chats they still couldn’t agree, so at Julcsi’s suggestion they entrusted the decision to Léna – with the condition that it should be a good place and a good party.

Léna weighed many pros and cons, looked at different hotels’ photo galleries and videos, influencer recommendations, Google Local Guides’ reviews, TripAdvisor comments, and YouTube and TikTok videos, yet she still couldn’t decide. Half-dozing with her tablet in hand, childhood memories surfaced of the Oxygen Hotel, where she had stayed several times in her youth: the carefree water slides, the experience pools, meeting the hotel’s mascot, the outdoor swing, walks in the forest, the three-story wellness area…

By the end of the day the decision – and the booking – were made: the girls finally chose an adults-only package at the Oxygen Hotel, combined with hiking, Segway rides, spiritual yoga, and massage.

 

Tartalomjegyzék

• Cases in Tourism Marketing III
• Copyright Page
• Editorial Preface
• The Editor
• The Authors
• chevron_rightThe Importance of Market Segmentation and the Reinterpretation of Consumer Segments in Tourism
  • chevron_rightAround the World and Back Again
    • Questions
    • Literature
  • chevron_rightMe, a tourist?? Is that serious?
    • Questions
    • Literature
• chevron_rightCountry Positioning and Branding
  • chevron_right“I Feel Slovenia” – From Tourism Slogan to Green Country Brand
    • Questions
    • Literature
  • chevron_rightFrom Party Tourism to Stars, Detox, and Foam Parties: Hungary’s New Experiential Tourism Strategy and Target Market Redefinition
    • Questions
    • Literature
• chevron_rightDigitalisation in Tourism
  • chevron_rightEchoes Beyond the Screen
    • Questions
    • Literature
  • chevron_rightThe Practical Implementation of Personalised Digital Tourism at the “Soft Waves” Boutique Hotel
    • Digital Reality – experience already before arrival
    • Questions
    • Literature
  • chevron_rightRoad trip with Lena – Social media and digital marketing solutions in tourism
    • Questions
    • Literature
  • chevron_rightWhat skills should we expect from the employees of the future?
    • Questions
    • Literature
  • chevron_rightDeus Ex Machina Hospitalitatis: An Inquiry into the Application of Artificial Intelligence in Securing Occupancy in New Orleans. Or, How the Ghost in the Machine Became the Hotelier’s Most Trusted (and Least Complaining) Confidant
    • The Twilight of the Old Dogmas: Information, Interpretation, Implementation
    • The Prestidigitation: How Krasner Put the Machine Mind to Work
    • The Organisational Metamorphosis: The Era of the Digital Creators
    • Questions
    • Literature
• chevron_rightThe Reorganisation and Transformation of Urban Tourism
  • chevron_rightThe Encounter
    • Questions
    • Literature
  • chevron_rightSmall-town Tourism and Destination Development – The Case of Szikszó
    • Where is Szikszó and what should we know about it?
    • But what kind of tourism should be developed in Szikszó?
    • Author’s Afterword
    • Questions
    • Literature
  • chevron_rightThe Dilemma of Joining a Slow Tourism Cooperation
    • Questions
    • Literature
  • chevron_rightFlavours on the Screen – Anna’s Culinary Film Journey Across Europe
    • Tuscany – The Taste of Experience and the Scent of Cinema
    • Barcelona – The Forms of Desire, the Flavours of the City
    • Lyon – The Legacy of Haute Cuisine and Cinema
  • chevron_rightPrague – Beer, Garlic Soup, and the Poetics of Film
    • Vienna – Coffeehouses and Nostalgia on Screen
    • Film Recommendations for Food Lovers
    • Questions
    • Literature
• chevron_rightCommunity Collaboration in Tourism
  • chevron_rightInnovation Networks in Tourism – Focus on the Balaton Circle Association
    • Regional Networks in the Lake Balaton Area
    • The Balaton Circle Association
    • chevron_rightInterview with Members
      • Innovation at the Enterprise Level
      • Membership of the Balaton Circle Association
      • Membership in Other Networks
    • Questions
    • Acknowledgements
    • Literature
  • chevron_rightThe Voice of the Street – The Gate of Life – The Birth of a Nature Science Centre in Dunaerdő Part 1. Tourism Development with Community Involvement
    • Literature
  • chevron_rightThe Voice of the Street – The Gate of Life – The Birth of a Nature Science Centre in Dunaerdő Part 2. Tourism Development without Community Involvement
    • Questions
  • chevron_rightThe role of local communities in cultural consumption: the example of Veszprém – Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture
    • Questions
    • Acknowledgements
    • Literature
  • chevron_rightRethinking the Strategies and Strategic Decisions of Tourism Service Providers. Where ice is still king – Air Greenland, the gateway to the North
    • Questions
    • Literature
  • chevron_rightThe Significance of Data Analysis in Strategic Tourism Investment Decisions
    • Questions
    • Literature
  • chevron_rightImaginary report with a successful tourism service provider
    • Questions
    • Literature
  • chevron_rightBay & Vine Experiences – Wine Tourism in Nova Scotia
    • Wine industry in Nova Scotia
    • Bay & Vine
    • Questions
    • Literature

Kiadó: Akadémiai Kiadó

Online megjelenés éve: 2026

ISBN: 978 963 664 217 4

The publication of the third volume of Cases in Tourism Marketing is truly welcome news from both an educational and a professional perspective. Through real-world, timely, and thought-provoking cases, this collection helps readers – students and practitioners alike – gain a deeper understanding of the complex world of decision-making in tourism marketing. The case studies not only convey professional knowledge but also develop analytical skills, problem-solving abilities, and critical thinking. One of the volume’s key strengths is its focus on issues that define contemporary tourism, including the role of digitalization, artificial intelligence, destination branding, and stakeholder collaboration in tourism marketing. Long-awaited and highly relevant, this third volume is a worthy continuation of the previous collections and will undoubtedly serve as a valuable resource in higher education in tourism, while also being highly recommended to professionals who enjoy reflecting on challenges and opportunities beyond their own immediate field of expertise.

Tamara Ratz PhD

Director, Centre for International Relations, Kodolányi János University

Head of Tourism Department, Professor of Tourism

It is an honor for me to recommend this volume to everyone who wishes to understand tourism marketing not only in theory, but also through its real business and human dimensions. The worlds of tourism and hospitality have undergone fundamental changes in recent years, which makes case studies based on real market situations, decision-making dilemmas and current challenges especially valuable in supporting both learning and critical thinking. This book provides not only professional knowledge, but also encourages a complex mindset, creative problem-solving and the ability to think in connections — exactly the skills today’s tourism professionals need most. I wholeheartedly recommend this volume to students, educators and tourism professionals alike.

Judit Fodor (Liptai)

Group Director of Sales and Marketing, Danubius Hotels

Hivatkozás: https://mersz.hu/deli-gray-cases-in-toursim-marketing-iii//