Investigating the role of electronic media in attracting domestic tourists (case study of Shiraz city)

Master's Thesis in the field of social communication sciences

Abstract

The country of Iran, despite Iran's capabilities in the field of tourism, unfortunately has not yet been able to achieve a worthy position in this industry, and the most important thing is the weakness of the advertising industry in attracting tourists to Iran. The internet and electronic tools provide the basis for displaying tourism products and providing detailed information to tourists, while satisfying tourists, it will lead to an increase in incoming tourists. The purpose of this research is to investigate the role of electronic media in attracting domestic tourists. The statistical population of this research includes all tourists who traveled to Shiraz city in July 2013 through airlines. The number of about 320 tourists who traveled to Shiraz through airlines in July will be questioned and investigated through calculation with Cochran's formula. The findings of the research indicate that the variables of internet advertising, internet websites, radio advertising programs, satellite advertising programs and computer software have a positive effect on attracting domestic tourists. Keywords: electronic media, internet, satellite, national media, computer software, tourism. has to be successful in attracting domestic and international tourists. Nowadays, one of the most important uses of cities is providing new tourism services. Because the formation of the post-modern era has been associated with its main propositions, i.e. globalization, information processing and tourism, and has marked a new era in the social and cultural interactions of humans, especially in the form of urban constructions (Boniface and Fowler [1], 1993: 12). In the last few decades, the tourism industry has been mentioned as one of the largest and most diverse industries. Many countries consider this industry as one of their main sources of income and are trying to develop this industry. This industry is especially important for developing countries because they get most of their income from the sale of natural resources. Also, in addition to economic resources, countries are looking for political, cultural and social benefits, environment, etc. In order to be successful in this industry, in addition to having tourism-friendly conditions, tourism destinations should seek to plan to attract tourists and better introduce their facilities and conditions to the domestic and global tourism markets (Papli Yazdi and Saqqaei, 1385: 18). Internet is one of the effective factors on marketing and methods of promoting these activities in the current field. (Collin, 2013; 1). With the advancement of Internet technology, because the Internet enables companies to communicate better and more effectively with customers and create their products based on their needs, more companies use the Internet for marketing and distribution channels (Chaffee et al. [2], 2004: 5). (Aron [3], 2004: 6).

The country of Iran, despite Iran's capabilities in the field of tourism, has unfortunately not been able to achieve a worthy position in this industry, and the most important thing is the weakness of the advertising industry in attracting tourists to Iran. Iran is one of the top ten countries in the world in terms of tourist attractions and one of the top five countries in the world in terms of tourism diversity (World Tourism Organization, 2009). Therefore, it is necessary to use its capabilities in attracting tourism. One of the factors that can improve the attraction of tourism in the country is the use of effective marketing and advertising tools and parameters (Sardi Mahkan, 1380).

Basically, tourists need information about the destination to choose a tourist destination. They continuously receive information from mass media, including television, satellite, internet, etc. and this makes the importance of the media, including the Internet, more than ever in this field.

1-2. The importance and necessity of research

In today's era when the role of the Internet in people's daily life and facilitating the commercial activities of organizations and businesses is increasing, the tourism industry has not been spared from this and the Internet is playing a bigger and more important role in this industry every day. The arrival of the Internet in this field has caused many changes in this industry, the most important of which are booking tickets for all means of transportation and hotels, getting to know tourist attractions through virtual tours, reading travelogues and reports that are often accompanied by photos and videos, and many other things. In the meantime, having a website for all public and private businesses and organizations active in this field seems absolutely necessary because it provides a simple and cheap interaction with customers, brokers and other applicants for tourism services. In this article, an attempt has been made to describe in detail the importance of having an internet site for various sectors of the tourism industry.

The use of media and advertising is the most important tool for the success of organizations, and this requires that these tools be carefully studied as scientific, social, cultural and communication branches. Today, in the tourism industry, media (especially electronic media) should be used professionally as the most important tool, because the success of advertising in presenting the cultural and tourism values ??of any country is based on a correct and professional understanding of advertising and its values. One of the most important pillars of advertising is advertising media, which is of particular importance in terms of the effect of advertising on the audience, and its correct use increases the effect of the message.

For success in international tourism advertising, due to the dispersion of audiences around the world, advertising media is of particular importance, and their correct selection plays an important role in the success of tourism advertising. With the expansion of information and communication technology, the Internet has become one of the most important tools used by marketers. Internet advertising is one of the most widely used methods of using the Internet.

Electronic media and advertising play an important role in today's economic world. If this media is presented to others in a correct and careful way, it will definitely lead to development and growth, of course, advertising is not only for economic units and enterprises, but currently it has a special place for many cultural, religious, sports and scientific organizations, and these organizations consider advertising as a tool for spreading culture. And civilization, history and social life will be very effective economically.

Today, the tourism industry is among the most profitable, clean and low-cost industries in the world. On the other hand, the tourism industry of the world has found various dimensions such as electronic tourism, ecotourism, therapeutic tourism, sports, rural, cultural and historical tourism. Considering this situation and considering that according to the statistics of the World Tourism Organization, Iran ranks fifth in natural attractions and tenth in ancient and historical attractions, and also considering the growing young population, high unemployment rate, the need to increase foreign exchange income and foreign investment, paying more attention to this sector can provide the basis for achieving full employment, increasing foreign exchange income, introducing Iranian civilization and culture to the world, extensive and constructive interaction with the countries of the world, breaking ethnic and minority borders. (Ansari, 86, p. 11) Many researches have been done in the field of tourism and tourism and the role of mass media, but there is little research that examines the role of electronic media and the Internet, and considering the widening and increasing use of the Internet and its role in people's daily lives, it is necessary to pay attention to this part of the tourism discussion. 1-3. Research objectives

Overall objective

Investigate the role of electronic media in attracting domestic tourists.

Partial objectives

Investigate the role of using internet advertising in attracting domestic tourists.

Investigate the role of using internet websites in attracting domestic tourists.

Investigate the role of using radio and television advertising programs (national media) in attracting domestic tourists.