Identifying research gaps in destination branding and social media studies between the Global North and Global South : literature review

Abstract

The exploratory study sought to present a review of scholarly literature and synthesise academic insights encompassing the span of 2010 to 2020, to shed light on the contemporary state of knowledge pertaining the intersection of destination branding and social media. The convergence between destination branding and social media has emerged as a pivotal component within the tourism industry, garnering heightened attention from practitioners and researchers. The methodology implemented was quantitative, using a Systematic Quantitative Literature Review to investigate how researchers study destination branding and social media within tourism literature. Data collection, drawing from a diverse array of scholarly articles sourced from prominent literature databases such as Emerald, Web of Science, Scopus, and Web of Science, was used. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, followed by a Cluster analysis to describe current research. Two types of articles emerged, clearly indicating the disparities between Global North and Global South in terms of the social media and branding dimensions studied, as well as the methodologies employed. Findings show polarisation of the research attention with majority focus on destination case studies from the Global North perspective. This study highlights important existing research gaps and presents a roadmap for future research endeavors.