The role of social media, user generated platforms and crowd sourcing in the development of tourism destinations

The paper aims to investigate the status and progress of scientific research and innovation in the tourism industry, with special reference to studies that have been conducted on tourism destinations and social media channels. The research involved the analysis of 50 papers in the last 5 years from the highest cited journals, regarding methods and benefits of adopting new technologies on tourism destinations. This article makes an overview of the selected theme and lists the major research topics on implementing social media, user-generated contents and crowd sourcing for the development of tourism destinations. Moreover, it deliberates on the diffusion of user-generated technologies, explores most popular media channels, and names academic journals which published the selected papers in this context. The results serve to point out major trends and gaps in which to focus future research on this topic and also they might be useful in formulating public policies and strategies in the development of tourism destinations. Key words: Crowd sourcing, DMO, social media, user-generated context, tourism.