An investigation on how social media influences 18 to 30 year olds in Edinburgh when planning their holiday. Other thesis, Queen Margaret University.

Abstract

The use of social media within 18 to 30 year olds, also known as Generation Y, have shown to have increased from the last decade. With over half of the UK's population visits social networking sites frequently (eMarketer,2016). This growth has influenced purchasing power within the consumer decision process. A total of 76% respondents use social media as a part of holiday research. Overall, 18% strongly believe that social media plays an influential role within their holiday planning. The main aim of this study was to investigate the influences of social media within 18 to 30 year olds in Edinburgh when holiday planning. The research will illustrate the use of social media within holiday planning, the consumer decision process and the level of trust within social media websites. For this research, a quantitative method was adopted and an online survey was created. 22 questions were asked, and in return, 100 responses were gathered to support the study and its findings. All the respondents were between the ages of 18 to 30 years old and are currently living in Edinburgh. The results of this research were linked to the literature review from chapter 2 and the findings were discussed further in chapter 4. The final chapter will conclude the research and recommendations will be developed for future studies.