User-generated content refers to content users share rather than an organization or professional content creator, such as text, images, videos, or reviews. UGC has recently become increasingly popular and influential, particularly in online marketing and social media.  As consumers often trust the opinions and experiences of their peers more than traditional advertising, UGC has become a valuable source of information for individuals and businesses. User-generated content is created and published by an unpaid contributor on a website. This type of content can be in various forms, such as photos, videos, blog posts, discussion forum posts, poll responses, or comments made through social media platforms. Unlike traditional forms of communication, where a single source provides information to multiple receivers, UGC allows multiple contributors to provide information on a single platform. (Yasar, 2022).

Social media refers to the technologies and practices through which the interaction and conversation among individuals co-create, share, and exchange information and ideas among themselves. Today, over 5 billion global users have been reached, aided by the existence of multiple social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and X, in which the world population is approximately 62% of the world's estimated population (Dollarhide, 2024). In early 2024, the number of users using chat and messaging apps/websites was 94.7%, and those checking social platforms were 94.3%. Digital social media is becoming increasingly popular for communication, information sharing, and entertainment with everyone. Some features across these online tools or sites to support the ability to create and distribute content, engage in social interaction, network, and join online communities for information sharing and communication of ideas include messaging, posting, commenting, sharing, liking, and following. These features provide easy communication, self-expression, and updates on current affairs and trends. In addition, they accommodate several media types: texts, images, videos, and audio. As a result, these tools become versatile and handy. Users can share their ideas, opinions, and experiences or be creative while sharing the same, all while advertising business or connecting with friends and family. While the list may be long, other top social media sites are Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube. The many social media platforms can be categorized into six different types: social networking, social bookmarking, social news, media sharing, microblogging, and online forums. People use them to connect with people across the globe with similar views. Entertainers connect them with their fans, politicians with the electorate, and charities with donors. Governments use it to spread information during disasters. However, for businesses, the point of social media is marketing. Through it, companies connect and draw customers, increase sales through advertising and promotion, sense consumer trends, provide customer service, and collect user data, which are often hidden intentions (Dollarhide, 2024)

USER-GENERATED CONTENT

The last couple of years have seen social media portals evolve as one of the most significant modes of information flow and communication in the tourism sector. These Web 2.0 platforms are being used for trip planning, hotel bookings, reservation confirmations/cancellations, package and itinerary enquires, reading reviews left behind by other travellers, and sharing personal travel experiences with others through postings of reviews, comments, ratings, photographs, etc. (Rathore, 2020). The development of the World Wide Web has shifted significant bargaining power from the supplier to the consumer. Consequently, one of the fallouts of this trend is that private and public tourism organizations increasingly need to develop their market intelligence and research capabilities. (Akehurst, 2009). Consumer-generated content is gaining ever-greater importance, especially with respect to online travel reviews. Since they are so easily available and often referred to, such reviews play an important role in deciding travel (Gretzel & Yoo, 2008). User-generated or user-created content refers to a broad range of media and creative content types created by or significantly co-created by individuals outside conventional professional environments. Digital forms of UGC date back to the very dawn of computing, and their non-digital history goes further back. The term gained particular resonance with the participative turn in Web design and practices in the early years of the new millennium, which some refer to as the rise of "Web 2.0"(Bruns, 2016). Web-based sources of tourism services offer valuable information to both travellers and companies (Neidhardt et al., 2017). Social media has completely transformed how tourists make and act on decisions (Xu et al., 2023). social media and user-generated content are crucial in the hospitality industry as travellers share their experiences and opinions on hotel booking websites (Kitsios et al., 2022). There exist three cardinal traits that define UGC or user-generated content. Firstly, it holds a personal contribution. Secondly, it should be accessible through a public medium of transmission. Last, it should be something other than UGC produced from professional practices and routines (Naab & Sehl, 2017). As the consumers are now more involved in the cocreation work of marketing content by the company with the help of the brand and the company, a shift towards aligning companies and their online social marketing campaigns to be reached where consumer action drives are gaining prominent importance. At the same time, most companies need help figuring out how to use social media properly and which metrics to measure. Companies even treat platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter(X) as separate entities rather than integrated parts of an extended system (Hanna et al., 2011). This research examines how user-generated content impacts a person's travel destination decision. The study focuses on situations where internet users passively access travel-related UGC (Nguyen & Tong, 2023).

THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

The tourism industry is a major driving force in many countries' economies. Globalization yields the technologies involved with it; in this regard, there are other options than an immense application of social media in the tourism sector. Social media has changed the behaviour of tourists during their travel from information-seeking to experience-sharing  (Merabet, 2020). Social media positively impacts tourism and enhances the information available on social networks (Tanković et al., 2022).  social media is a channel for interactive communication in which people share content to collaborate and interact. Famous social media includes but is not limited to Google+, Facebook, Twitter(X), Wikipedia, LinkedIn, etc. These channels act as one of the most important sources of information and play a critical role in decision-making processes. For example, travel experiences, photos, and videos, among other content shared by people on social media, will influence the choice of destinations by prospective tourists (Paul et al., 2019). Most impacted sectors by digitalization is tourism. Using the internet to build brands is commonly seen as leveraging social media benefits (Ana & Istudor, 2019). The rise of social media has significantly impacted the travel and tourism industry, and social media positively impacts travellers’ planning of their travel behaviours (Rathore, 2020). social media has been a common tool in online communication. It is cheap and effective for information dissemination and uptake, as well as for product and service promotion or negative reviews. On the other hand, there is a high tendency for failure if companies do not have a well-documented communications strategy that considers community behaviour, feedback, and past information. This should be aimed at promoting products and services positively while being prepared to react against negative feedback quickly and appropriately (Sabou, 2012). The internet and digital media have transformed communication and relations. Social media is a popular tool for sharing opinions and real-time updates and is increasingly used for trip planning (Souza & Machado, 2017). social media has become an increasingly widespread phenomenon with the advent of Web 2.0, and therefore, this research attempts to find out how social media influence the tourists' behaviour and destination choices (Javed et al., 2020). Moreover, social media has become a very efficient and actual tool for digital marketing today and has enabled businesses to reach a wider audience (Jorge-Acain, 2022). Tourism businesses and destination management organizations use social media influencers to lure potential tourists. There is a finding that SMIs are one of the main determinants of destination preference, and their effect differs across generations. Consequently, this research puts forward the essence of generation-based social media marketing regarding destination preference and how SMIs would influence it (Zorlu & Candan, 2023).

The data was collected from young travellers residing in India who travel for adventure tourism in India. Non-probability convenience sampling was used to collect data. The data collected was then analysed using both primary and secondary sources. A structured questionnaire was used for primary data collection. The questionnaire was distributed to 100 young individuals using Google Forms and then analysed using SPSS software. In addition to the primary data, secondary data was collected through articles, blogs, websites, etc.

OBJECTIVES

• To identify the types of user-generated content that influence adventure travel decisions among youngsters.
• To know young traveller’s most commonly used social media platforms for adventure tourism information.
• To assess the role of trust and credibility in shaping the influence of user-generated social media content in adventure tourism decision-making

ANALYSIS

RELIABILITY TEST

Based on the reliability test, the value obtained was 0.950. Hence, it can be said that the data is valid, which means that it is reliable enough for further analysis.

DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS

Demographic Profile of the respondents (Table: 1)

The above table represents the demographic profile of the respondents.

It was found that 93% of the respondents were influenced by the user-generated social media content posted online, while 7% were not influenced. 81% of the respondents use Instagram the most, making it the most used platform, while 13% use YouTube. Facebook is used by only 3%, and the rest, 2% and 1% of respondents use LinkedIn and WhatsApp, respectively. When the respondents were asked how much time they spend daily, 29% of them spent 1 hour – 2 hours, while 26% spent 30 Minutes – 1 hour, 25% spent 2 hours – 4 hours, 13% use social media for less than 30 minutes rest 7%use social media platforms for more than 4 hours. When the respondents were asked how often they use social media platforms for travel inspiration, it was found that 32% use them monthly, 26% use them rarely, 22% use them daily, 19% weekly, and the rest, 1%, have never used social media platforms for travel inspiration. When the respondents were asked how influential user-generated content on social media is in their travel decision-making, 44% of respondents said it is somewhat influential. In comparison, 28% of respondents were neutral about it, 23% said it was very influential, and the remaining 5% said it was not very influential. It was found that 47% of respondents were likely to trust UGC content on social media related to tourism. In comparison, 25% of the respondents were neutral about it, 21% were very likely to trust it, 6% were unlikely, and 1% were unlikely to trust UGC when making decisions. 45% were influenced by videos, 18% by images/Photos, 17% by the reviews posted online, 12% by the stories of a fellow traveller, and the rest, 8% by blogs/Articles posted by other travellers (Fig: 1)

(Fig: 1)

When the respondents were asked how often they engage with UGC content by liking, commenting, and sharing, 27 said they engage weekly, 25% engage rarely, 20% daily, 15% monthly, and 13% said multiple times in a day. 34% cross-referenced other sources, 31% read comments and reviews, 18% checked the creator's profile, 10% analysed the quality of content, and 7% looked for verified badges to verify the credibility of UGC on social media platforms (fig: 2).

(Fig: 2)

When the respondents were asked what factors make them trust UGC on social media, 27% said due to high engagement, such as (likes, Comments, and shares), 18% said authenticity and honesty, 17% said Positive reviews, 15% said the consistent quality of content, 12% said verified account and rest 11% said personal recommendations (Fig: 3).

(Fig: 3)

It was found that 57% seek recommendations occasionally, 27% Frequently, and the rest, 16%, rarely from their friends and family. When the respondents were asked how UGC's visual appeal (e.g., stunning landscape, thrilling activities) influenced their decision to explore tourism in India, 49% said it was important, and 29% said it was very important. In comparison, 17% were neutral, and 5% said it was unimportant. 36% of respondents often rely on UGC to gather information about safety and security measures while selecting tourism destinations, whereas 26% often rely on them, 22% sometimes rely on the information available, 14% rarely reply, and the remaining 2% never rely on the information. 52% said they trusted sometimes, 23% said often, 16% trusted rarely, 6% said always, and the rest, 3%, never trusted the information about travel and tourism posted by strangers. When the respondents were asked if UGC has significantly influenced the rise of tourism in India recently, 45% agreed, 31% said they strongly agreed, and 20% were neutral about it. The remaining 4% disagreed with the statement. 80% of the respondents trust the authenticity of the UGC shared by their fellow travellers, while 20% do not. When the respondents were asked what factors motivate them to engage with adventure tourism content on social media, 31% of respondents said planning tips, 24% said curiosity about new destinations, 22% said Personal relevance, 9% said Inspiration, 7% said Community connection and rest 7% also said trust in content creator (Fig: 4)

(Fig: 4)

(Fig:5)

When the respondents were asked how they think UGC has changed their approach to adventure tourism in travel planning, it was found that 55% said greater exposure to new destinations, 16% said increased trust in peer recommendations, 12% said more cautious about safety and security, 10% said there is no change rest 7% said more reliant on social media. (Fig:5). When the respondents were asked how important the trustworthiness of UGC is in their adventure travel decision-making, it was found that 43% consider it important, 23% were neutral about it, 31% consider it very important, whereas 3% consider it unimportant while making decisions. When the respondents were asked which elements of UGC are most appealing when they make travel decisions, 36% said detailed itineraries, 31% said Budget tips, 16% said Authentic Experiences, 9% said high-quality visuals, and 8% said adventure stories (Fig:6)

(Fig: 6)

(Fig: 7)

When the respondents were asked which feature of social media platform, they find useful for planning travel, 31% considered reels or short videos. In comparison, 30% prefer posts, 14% like stories, 12% like live videos, 7% like groups/communities, and 6% prefer events (Fig:7).

(Fig: 8)

When the respondents were asked how they engage with adventure tourism content on social media, 35% said by liking, 32% by bookmarking/saving, 12% followed, 10% shared the content with others, 6% commented, and 5% participated in the discussion (Fig: 8). 69% of the respondents consider UGC more authentic than professional advertisements, and 31% do not. When respondents were asked if recommendations and reviews from friends and influencers on social media significantly influence their decisions, 47% agreed, 26% were neutral, 22% strongly agreed, 3% disagreed, and 2% strongly agreed. When the respondents were asked if they had ever made a decision related to adventure tourism based on UGC content they found trustworthy, 69% said yes, while 31% said no.

FACTOR ANALYSIS

Analysis:

The value of KMO is .912, which is above 0.5, which means that our data for factor analysis is accepted. Bartlett's Test of Sphericity: Our value is .000, which is less than 0.05, which means there is a substantial correlation in the data. Hence, based on our results, it can be concluded that our data is reliable, and we can go ahead and do a factor analysis.

FINDINGS

93% of respondents state that UGC posted online by other travellers influences their choices, and that shows the huge role peer reviews and experiences play in travel decision-making. Videos remain the most influential form of UGC, with a marked 45%, trailed by images/photos at 18%, and reviews round off the trio at 17%. This goes to underline the effectiveness of visual and experiential content in capturing the attention and trust of potential travellers. Instagram is the most used platform for searching for travel information, at 81%. YouTube follows this down at 13%, and a very small population uses LinkedIn and WhatsApp. This indicates the strong trend toward travel on Instagram, perhaps because it is a visually oriented site that complements travel images and experiences. Respondents spend 1-2 hours on social media platforms daily, and 29% belong to this category. When it comes to engaging with UGC, 27% of this happens once a week, while in the case of 20%, it happens every day. Thus, the identified frequency would indicate regular but not intensive engagement with the social media content about tourism. Trust in UGC is high, with a 47% likelihood of trusting such content. The credibility of UGC is checked by cross-referencing other sources and reading comments and reviews at 34% and 31%, respectively. High engagement, at 27%, is a factor that influences trust in UGC, second only to authenticity and positive reviews. This indicates reliance on multiple indicators to ensure that information related to travel is reliable. UGC has an immense impact on adventure tourism decisions. As many as 45% of respondents agree that it has changed tourism in India considerably over the last few years. Its visual appeal, considered important by 49%, and information regarding safety and security, often relied on by 36%, show it to play an important role in travel planning. Planning information, interest in unexplored places, and relevance to one's life are key drivers of viewing adventure tourism footage, 31%, 24%, and 22%, respectively. This suggests that tourists seek practical advice and novelty while consuming UGC. UGC has increased the exposure to new destinations by 55% and increased trust in recommendations by peers by 16%. On the other hand, 10% of those surveyed did not show any change in how they plan their travel, a fact that, while UGC is influential in the process, it might not always revolutionize how one traditionally goes about planning. An overwhelming 69% of the respondents believe that UGC is more authentic than professional advertising. In other words, they like the authenticity of their peers' experiences over the carefully scripted marketing content. For 47% of the respondents, recommendations and reviews by friends and influencers are important in making a decision. 69% of the respondents believe that UGC is more authentic than professional advertising. In other words, they like the authenticity of their peers' experiences over the carefully scripted marketing content. For 47% of the respondents, recommendations and reviews by friends and influencers are important in making a decision. 69% of those responding said they make travel decisions on trusted UGC, further solidifying that UGC has much to do with the impact on travel behaviour and planning. The factor analysis thus suggests that in the context of social media, there exist three dimensions related to UGC- it is easy to use, risky, and credible- which significantly impact decisions about adventure tourism among young travellers.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATION

Based on the result of the study, some implications can strengthen marketing strategies and deliver high user engagement in the tourism sector. The most important one is that, given the high power of videos, as asserted by the study results, tourism companies must develop more engaging video content portraying travel experiences and destinations. This will make them even more sensational with the help of influencers. In addition, Instagram is a popular network for young travellers; firms should be very present on this network by posting high-quality images, relevant hashtags, and active engagement through stories and posts. Firms should ensure they encourage the use of real customer reviews and testimonials. Companies do this by sending follow-up communications or offering incentives. Features such as review aggregators or verification badges can increase UGC's trustworthiness. All social media interaction tools must be leveraged to increase user engagement through active participation by various means, whether polls or live chats. This would do the magic to create valuable content down to enhanced interactions on a campaign level with an appeal for articulating travel experiences using specific hashtags. Safety requires clear, reassuring communication regarding safety and travel advisories. Detailed, complex planning and guarding by a tourist using various tape measures can reduce the perception of hazards. Using data analytics to inform an individual of travel recommendations enhances personalization. The interactive tools and apps associated with UGC's use will improve travel planning experience. Continued customer feedback and engagement metrics monitoring will enable the enterprise to evolve and modify its strategy with further fine-tuning for higher effectiveness. Therefore, tourism businesses can use UGC to maximize further the outlined strategies for marketing, trust-building, and travel planning with young travellers.

Hence, this research aims to bring into light and focus on the profound influence of UGC on adventure tourism choices amongst young travellers. In this study, UGC, which includes reviews, videos, and photos, has significantly influenced travel choices and, in most cases, outmatched traditional advertising in terms of credibility and trustworthiness. In the wake of such high engagement and reliance on the experience of others, most travellers have changed their travel planning processes to centralize around social media sites like Instagram and YouTube. Through factor analysis, it was determined that these three main dimensions include Trust and Credibility, Risk, and Ease of Use. The three dimensions identified point toward the significance of authentic content and the transparency behind a page in gaining the trust of travellers. Risk is one of the usability features of UGC, relating to safety and security and directing the traveller to potential threats. Ease of Use refers to how friendly a specific usability feature is - specifically, how social media features have made it relatively easy to find and plan an adventure trip. Further analysis would reveal that 93 percent were influenced by UGC, while Instagram is the most used at 81 percent, followed by YouTube at 13 percent. The survey also found that 29% of the respondents spend 1-2 hours daily using social media, while 32% use them monthly for travel inspiration. UGC is highly trusted, with 47% of the respondents likely to believe such content, while video, at large, is the most influential form of UGC. Hence, the role of UGC in travel planning is immense because it provides authentic knowledge regarding the travel experience and gives connective relatedness to other people traveling through these platforms. In this connection, the journey will be an evolution of how digital influence affects UGC's influence in informing travel decisions. It will present the tourism industry with opportunities to understand and harness young travellers’ engagement preferences with Instagram as the dominant medium and the importance of credibility and engagement.

SCOPE FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Upon completing an in-depth analysis of various academic papers concerning user-generated content (UGC) and its implications for social media marketing, it became evident that a notable gap exists in the current body of research. While most studies in this field have primarily concentrated on examining the influence of UGC on consumer behaviour and its effects on the tourism industry, there remains a significant need for further exploration into the specific types of content that wield the greatest impact on consumer decision-making. This could encompass a detailed investigation into various forms of UGC, such as blogs, reviews, videos, and images, and their respective effectiveness in consumer engagement. Furthermore, it was observed that more research needs to be done on UGC and the adventure tourism sector. is this correct for future scope of the research

LIMITATION

• Although the sample size is small for young travellers in India at just 100, it may not represent all the youths or the demographic groups very well. Still, a much more diversified sample in a larger study would also bring far more generalized results. Further studies of this type in different regions or countries can also help to retrieve a broader perspective in understanding the impacts of UGC on travel decisions.
• Another limitation may be due to a response bias because questionnaires relied on data coming directly from the respondents. Also, data may be influenced by socially desirable responses and misunderstandings of the question.
• A mixed-method approach, like combining qualitative interviews or focus groups, may allow more representative data to ensure validity and provide scope for respondents' opinions/attitudes and behaviour. This can also contribute to selection bias because non-probability convenience sampling is unlikely to represent the target population of young travellers.

1. Akehurst, G. (2009). User-generated content: The use of blogs for tourism organizations and tourism consumers. Service Business, 3(1), 51–61. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-008-0054-2
2. Ana, M.-I., & Istudor, L.-G. (2019). The Role of Social Media and User-Generated-Content in Millennials’ Travel Behavior. Management Dynamics in the Knowledge Economy, 7(1), 87–104. https://doi.org/10.25019/mdke/7.1.05
3. Bruns, A. (2016). User‐Generated Content. In The International Encyclopedia of Communication Theory and Philosophy (pp. 1–5). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118766804.wbiect085
4. Dollarhide, M. (2024, June 27). Social Media: Definition, Importance, Top Websites and Apps. Retrieved from Investopedia: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/social-media.asp
5. Gretzel, U., & Yoo, K. H. (2008). Use and Impact of Online Travel Reviews. In Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2008 (pp. 35–46). Springer Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-211-77280-5_4
6. Hartini, S., Mardhiyah, D., & Sukaris, S. (n.d.). Determinant of E-WOM: Popularity Destination, Value and Conspicuous Tendency regarding Adventure Tourism. In International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change. www.ijicc.net (Vol. 11, Issue 1). jawapos.com
7. Hanna, R., Rohm, A., & Crittenden, V. L. (2011). We’re all connected: The power of the social media ecosystem. Business Horizons, 54(3), 265–273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.007
8. Javed, M., Tučková, Z., & Jibril, A. B. (2020). The role of social media on tourists’ behavior: An empirical analysis of millennials from the Czech Republic. Sustainability (Switzerland), 12(18). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187735
9. Jorge-Acain, L. R. (2022). Influence of Social Media on the Traveler's Choice of Tourist Destination. Humanities and Social Science Research, 5(2), p33. https://doi.org/10.30560/hssr.v5n2p33
10. Kitsios, F., Mitsopoulou, E., Moustaka, E., & Kamariotou, M. (2022). User-Generated Content Behavior and Digital Tourism Services: A SEM-neural network model for information trust in social networking sites. International Journal of Information Management Data Insights, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jjimei.2021.100056
11. Merabet, A. (2020). AIJBM) ISSN-2379-106X, www. In American International Journal of Business Management (Vol. 3, Issue 11). aijbm.com
12. Naab, T. K., & Sehl, A. (2017). Studies of user-generated content: A systematic review. Journalism, 18(10), 1256–1273. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884916673557
13. Neidhardt, J., Rümmele, N., & Werthner, H. (2017). Predicting happiness: user interactions and sentiment analysis in an online travel forum. Information Technology and Tourism, 17(1), 101–119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-017-0079-2
14. Nguyen, T. T. T., & Tong, S. (2023). The impact of user-generated content on intention to select a travel destination. Journal of Marketing Analytics, 11(3), 443–457. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41270-022-00174-7
15. Paul, H. S., Roy, D., & Mia, R. (2019). Influence of Social Media on Tourists’ Destination Selection Decision. Scholars Bulletin, 05(11), 658–664. https://doi.org/10.36348/sb.2019.v05i11.009
16. Rathore, S. (2020). Analyzing the influence of user-generated content (UGC) on social media platforms in travel planning. Turizam, 24(3), 125–136. https://doi.org/10.5937/turizam24-24429
17. Sabou, G. C. (2012). Influence of social media in a choice of touristic destination. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260638575
18. Souza, S. C. De, & Machado, D. F. C. (2017). Uso e Influência das Mídias Sociais no Planejamento de Viagens: um estudo quantitativo. Revista Turismo Em Análise, 28(2), 254–270. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1984-4867.v28i2p254-270
19. Tanković, A. Č., Bilić, I., & Sohor, A. (2022). Social networks influence choosing a tourist destination. Journal of Content, Community, and Communication, 15(8), 2–14. https://doi.org/10.31620/JCCC.06.22/02
20. Xu, H., Cheung, L. T. O., Lovett, J., Duan, X., Pei, Q., & Liang, D. (2023). Understanding the influence of user-generated content on tourist loyalty behavior in a cultural World Heritage Site. Tourism Recreation Research, 48(2), 173–187. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2021.1913022
21. Zorlu, ö., & Candan, t. (2023). The impact of social media influencers on destination preferences: A cross-generation comparison. Journal of Tourism Leisure and Hospitality, 5(1), 53–61. https://doi.org/10.48119/toleho.1229922  \
22. Yasar, K. (2022, August). Tech Target. Retrieved From What is User-Generated Content and Why is it Important? https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/definition/user-generated-content-UGC