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ING WORD-OF-MOUTH MARKETING IN SUSTAINABLE TOURISM INDUSTRY:
THE CASE OF HOSPITALITYCLUB NETWORK
ABS TRACT
Word-of-mouth marketing which involves passing of information about experiences of products and services among non-
commercial people is a marketing technic entirely based on trust. Form of word-of-mouth which comprises mainly of
people’s experiences concerning products in their relationships has been transformed into a new dimention owing to
technological advancements. Peers share their experiences regarding the products/brands or services through social networks
which could be participated by membership on social media tools or web sites, thus they influence opinions of target
audiences about the relevant products/brands or services. Word-of-mouth marketing which is used in the fields of services
such as health, law, consulting, education becomes widespread due to e-commerce particularly in web sites in which
technological products are sold. Hospitalityclub.org which is the second largest international internet network in terms of user
number in tourism industry shapes other users’ opinons through peer-to-peer interaction about touristic plans. In this context,
this study aimed at finding general opinions of the members all over the World relating to The Black Sea Region and also
members of the region by searching the references through web pages of the members from The Black Sea Region on the
ground of the influences of social networks which shape people’s opinions and behaviours. In this work, it is argued that the
network as an alternative touristic reference makes a contribution to the regional sustainable tourism activities by using th e
method of qualitative content analysis over the individual and truely objective comments which shared on the pages of the
members
Key Words: Word-of-mouth marketing, hospitalityclub, social network, tourism activities,
431
THE CASE OF HOSPITALITYCLUB NETWORK
ABS TRACT
Word-of-mouth marketing which involves passing of information about experiences of products and services among non-
commercial people is a marketing technic entirely based on trust. Form of word-of-mouth which comprises mainly of
people’s experiences concerning products in their relationships has been transformed into a new dimention owing to
technological advancements. Peers share their experiences regarding the products/brands or services through social networks
which could be participated by membership on social media tools or web sites, thus they influence opinions of target
audiences about the relevant products/brands or services. Word-of-mouth marketing which is used in the fields of services
such as health, law, consulting, education becomes widespread due to e-commerce particularly in web sites in which
technological products are sold. Hospitalityclub.org which is the second largest international internet network in terms of user
number in tourism industry shapes other users’ opinons through peer-to-peer interaction about touristic plans. In this context,
this study aimed at finding general opinions of the members all over the World relating to The Black Sea Region and also
members of the region by searching the references through web pages of the members from The Black Sea Region on the
ground of the influences of social networks which shape people’s opinions and behaviours. In this work, it is argued that the
network as an alternative touristic reference makes a contribution to the regional sustainable tourism activities by using th e
method of qualitative content analysis over the individual and truely objective comments which shared on the pages of the
members
Key Words: Word-of-mouth marketing, hospitalityclub, social network, tourism activities,
431
