SOCIAL MEDIA AS A CATALYST FOR TOURISM ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN PAKISTAN: A STUDY OF DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGIES

The purpose of this study is to show how social media helps Pakistani tourism entrepreneurs, boosting the exposure of tourist attractions and their own activities. Thanks to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, entrepreneurs can easily reach tourists from all over the globe by sharing user content, which affects the destinations’ tourism image. Though social media marketing is useful, there is not much information on how Pakistani tourism companies apply it in their business. To deal with this gap, the study carries out qualitative interviews with purposely selected business owners, who rely on social media to market their products. The study is looking for strategies in digital marketing that encourage tourists to take part and help businesses expand. It also analyses the issues that entrepreneurs encounter, for example, having limited digital abilities, having financial challenges and creating content. The research likely gives important guidance for using social media well in the tourism sector of Pakistan.