Examining the Response Behavior of the Tourism Sector Towards Social Media as an Innovative Tool to Combat the Negative Impact of the Political Challenges

Digitalization-oriented transformation provides enormous possibilities to all sectors, ranging from manufacturing to the service industries. This study aimed to investigate the role of social media and its utilization by tourism operators/policymakers as a catalyst to enhance the image of a destination that is grappling with political deadlock and burdens of non-recognition despite its abundance of tourism resources. The case of North Cyprus is an embodiment of a number of destinations that are challenged by political hurdles, and non-recognition, which result in economic hardship, political uncertainty, and social disappointment. This research aimed to investigate the role of social media in popularizing and marketing north Cyprus by placing it on the global digital tourism map. For the purpose of this study, a qualitative research method was employed and data collected through semi-structured interview questions. The interviewees were mainly public sector tourism officials, hoteliers, travel agency managers, and tourism academicians. Data analysis was conducted by applying Atlas.ti 9 (1.0.0.206) software. Also, to increase the confirmability of the study, two existing theories (social influence theory and destination image theory) are used as a guide for the authors to fashion the results as a story. The findings reveal that tourism operators and policymakers have failed to take advantage of social media platforms which have become a form of public goods to mitigate the negative effects of the political impasse that has curtailed the tourism sector. Therefore, this study informs the tourism operators and destination managers who are challenged by political conflicts to realize the value of social media and strategy for a governance model in overcoming some of the challenges in the case of North Cyprus and similar issues. Keywords: Destination image; North Cyprus; political deadlock; social media platforms; tourism.