The development of Social Media has conveyed important changes in the behavioural models of tourists, as well as, in the way users search, assess, produce, purchase and consume information, products and services. The scope of this paper is to study the effects of Social Media on youth tourism, the profile of young tourists’ actively participating in Social Networks, as well as, the effects of information absorbed through them on their travel decisions. The research was based on a sample of 254 young people between 16-29 years old with the use of a questionnaire of 25 close and open questions. It is designed to examine the demographic and specific traits of young people and the way of planning their trip through information and stimuli they receive from Social Media. Research found that although young people spend much time for their activities in Social Media, the rates of influence in their tourist behaviour is not as high as those of relative researches in abroad. This finding is not necessarily negative, since the presence of portal and travel magazines, travel agency are being felt more and more in Social Media. It has, also, been found that users are more positive to add to their contacts travel portals and magazines than commercial enterprises, because their environment is more friendly and familiar to the user. Moreover, these kinds of Social Media cultivate a travel climate that often leads the user to make a trip.
Keywords: Information & Communication Technologies, Social Media Networks, Youth Tourism
