Digital Promotional Tools and Tourism Development: Roles and Challenges in South Wollo Zone, Ethiopia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64976/jbtm.22Keywords:
Digital promotional tools, Tourism development, Digital marketing, Destination visibility, Ethiopia, Tourism infrastructureAbstract
Despite global expansion in tourism digital marketing, adoption in emerging destinations remains uneven and underexplored. This study examines the roles and challenges of digital promotional tools in supporting tourism development in South Wollo Zone, Ethiopia. A qualitative descriptive design was employed. Purposive sampling was used to select 24 key informants from tourism offices, hotels, and Kombolcha Airport. Data collected via semi-structured interviews and document analysis were analyzed using thematic analysis. Digital tools significantly enhance destination visibility, brand image, and potential tourist inflows. However, practical contribution remains constrained by low digital awareness, inadequate infrastructure, and weak strategic implementation, highlighting a gap between potential and actual utilization. Digital promotional tools hold substantial promise for destination competitiveness, but realizing their full impact requires strengthening digital capabilities, improving institutional support, and fostering strategic stakeholder collaboration across the region.
Downloads
References
Abate, Y. A., Ukpabi, D. C., & Karjaluoto, H. (2025). Investigating digital marketing readiness among tourism firms: an emerging economy perspective. Current issues in tourism, 28(13), 2153-2172. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2024.2358047
Ahmed, R. R., Vveinhardt, J., & Streimikiene, D. (2017). Interactive digital media and impact of customer attitude and technology on brand awareness: evidence from the South Asian countries. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 18(6), 1115-1134. https://doi.org/10.3846/16111699.2017.1400460
Awad, A., & Alharthi, B. (2025). The role of digital marketing tools in promoting tourism: An applied study on online marketing strategies. Innovative Marketing, 21(2), 14. http://dx.doi.org/10.21511/im.21(2).2025.02
Bala, M., & Verma, D. (2018). A critical review of digital marketing. M. Bala, D. Verma (2018). A Critical Review of Digital Marketing. International Journal of Management, IT & Engineering, 8(10), 321-339.
Bayelegne, H. M., Sellassie, Y. R., & Demese, R. S. (2022). Digital Marketing Practice and Promotion of Tourism Sector in Ethiopia. African Journal of Emerging Issues, 4(11), 1-17.
Beauvisage, T., Beuscart, J. S., Coavoux, S., & Mellet, K. (2024). How online advertising targets consumers: The uses of categories and algorithmic tools by audience planners. New Media & Society, 26(10), 6098-6119. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448221146174
Bergkvist, L., & Taylor, C. R. (2022). Reviving and improving brand awareness as a construct in advertising research. Journal of Advertising, 51(3), 294-307. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2022.2039886
Buhalis, D., & Law, R. (2008). Progress in information technology and tourism management: 20 years on and 10 years after the Internet—The state of e-tourism research. Tourism Management, 29(4), 609–623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2008.01.005
Chaffey, D., & Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2019). Digital marketing. Pearson UK.
Chavadi, C. A., Sirothiya, M., Menon, S. R., & MR, V. (2023). Modelling the effects of social media–based brand communities on brand trust, brand equity and consumer response. Vikalpa, 48(2), 114-141. https://doi.org/10.1177/02560909231172010
Chew, B. C., Shen, X., & Ansell, J. (2020). Alipay entered Malaysia: a closer look at the new market entry strategy driven by Chinese tourists. Qualitative Research in Financial Markets, 12(4), 561-577. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRFM-06-2019-0069
Chi, H. K., Yeh, H. R., & Yang, Y. T. (2009). The impact of brand awareness on consumer purchase intention: The mediating effect of perceived quality and brand loyalty. The journal of international management studies, 4(1), 135-144.
Chon, K. K. S., & Hao, F. (2025). Technological evolution in tourism: a Horizon 2050 perspective. Tourism Review, 80(1), 313-325. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-10-2023-0753
Davis, F. D. (1989). Technology acceptance model: TAM. Al-Suqri, MN, Al-Aufi, AS: Information seeking behavior and technology adoption, 205(219), 5.
Demeke, W., Olden, A., & Nocera, J. A. (2016). Factors affecting the adoption of information and communication technologies: Small hotels and tour operators in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Libri, 66(2), 151-165. https://doi.org/10.1515/libri-2016-0029
Desta, T. (2018). ICT innovations, entrepreneurship and hubs in East Africa: The case of Ethiopia. African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 10(6), 655-664. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC-1230a24210
Elvera, E., Natalisa, D., Mico, S., & Utami, N. R. (2025). Digital marketing, attractions, and services as drivers of tourist satisfaction and loyalty: evidence from Mount Dempo, South Sumatra. Jurnal Ilmiah Manajemen Kesatuan, 13(4), 2941-2946. https://doi.org/10.37641/jimkes.v13i4.3719
Fotis, J. N. (2015). The Use of social media and its impacts on consumer behaviour: the context of holiday travel (Doctoral dissertation, Bournemouth University).
Gupta, G. (2018, December). Inclusive use of digital marketing in tourism industry. In Information Systems Design and Intelligent Applications: Proceedings of Fifth International Conference INDIA 2018 Volume 1 (pp. 411-419). Singapore: Springer Singapore.
Hartemo, M. (2016). Email marketing in the era of the empowered consumer. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 10(3), 212-230. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIM-06-2015-0040
Hastie, P., & Hay, P. (2012). Qualitative approaches. In Research methods in physical education and youth sport (pp. 79-94). Routledge.
Hays, S., Page, S. J., & Buhalis, D. (2013). Social media as a destination marketing tool: its use by national tourism organisations. Current issues in Tourism, 16(3), 211-239. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2012.662215
Hollebeek, L. D., & Macky, K. (2019). Digital content marketing's role in fostering consumer engagement, trust, and value: Framework, fundamental propositions, and implications. Journal of interactive marketing, 45(1), 27-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2018.07.003
Huang, J. H., & Shyu, S. H. P. (2009). Building personalised relationships with customers via emails. Total Quality Management, 20(6), 585-601. https://doi.org/10.1080/14783360902924234
Indumathi, R. (2018). Influence of digital marketing on brand building. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology (IJMET), 9(7), 235-243.
James, J. (2021). Confronting the scarcity of digital skills among the poor in developing countries. Development Policy Review, 39(2), 324-339. https://doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12479
Javalgi, R. G., Martin, C. L., & Todd, P. R. (2004). The export of e‐services in the age of technology transformation: challenges and implications for international service providers. Journal of services marketing, 18(7), 560-573. https://doi.org/10.1108/08876040410561884
Jusuf, D. I. (2023). Optimizing SEO (Search Engine Optimizing) strategy to increase visibility and achievement of marketing goals. Lead Journal of Economy and Administration, 2(2), 98-103. https://doi.org/10.56403/lejea.v2i2.150
Kano, K., Choi, L. K., subhan Riza, B., & Octavyra, R. D. (2022). Implications of digital marketing strategy the competitive advantages of small businesses in indonesia. Startupreneur Business Digital (SABDA Journal), 1(1), 44-62.
Killoran, J. B. (2013). How to use search engine optimization techniques to increase website visibility. IEEE Transactions on professional communication, 56(1), 50-66. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPC.2012.2237255
Kim, H., Sefcik, J. S., & Bradway, C. (2017). Characteristics of qualitative descriptive studies: A systematic review. Research in nursing & health, 40(1), 23-42. https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.21768
Koens, K., & Postma, A. (2018). Understanding and managing visitor pressure in urban tourism. A Study into the Nature and Methods Used to Manage Visitor Pressure in Six Major European Cities.
Kumar, V., & Mittal, S. (2020). Mobile marketing campaigns: practices, challenges and opportunities. International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 21(4), 523-539. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJBIR.2020.105996
Lim, J. S., Pham, P., & Heinrichs, J. H. (2020). Impact of social media activity outcomes on brand equity. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 29(7), 927-937. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-03-2019-2298
Mallick, S. U. (2023). Promoting tourism through digital marketing. The American Journal of Management and Economics Innovations, 5(10), 62-85. https://doi.org/10.37547/tajmei/Volume05Issue10-06
Minculete, G., & Olar, P. (2018, June). Approaches to the modern concept of digital marketing. In International conference Knowledge-based organization (Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 63-69).
Minghetti, V., & Buhalis, D. (2010). Digital divide in tourism. Journal of Travel Research, 49(3), 267-281. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287509346843
Mossberg, L. (2007). A marketing approach to the tourist experience. Scandinavian journal of hospitality and tourism, 7(1), 59-74.
Nath, A., Saha, P., & Salehi-Sangari, E. (2019). Blurring the borders between B2B and B2C: a model of antecedents behind usage of social media for travel planning. Journal of business & industrial marketing, 34(7), 1468-1481. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-11-2018-0329
Nesterenko, V., Miskiewicz, R., & Abazov, R. (2023). Marketing communications in the era of digital transformation. Virtual Economics, 6(1), 57-70.
Papadopoulos, N., & Hamzaoui-Essoussi, L. (2015). Place images and nation branding in the African context: Challenges, opportunities, and questions for policy and research. Africa Journal of Management, 1(1), 54-77. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322373.2015.994423
Quelch, J. A., & Klein, L. R. (1996). The Internet and international marketing. MIT Sloan Management Review, 37(3), 60.
Reda, Y. (2018). E-marketing for tourism business development in Ethiopia: Its practice, challenges and implications on performance of tour operating firms (Master's thesis, Addis Ababa University).
Rossiter, J. R. (2014). ‘Branding’explained: defining and measuring brand awareness and brand attitude. Journal of Brand Management, 21(7), 533-540. https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2014.33
Saravanakumar, M., & SuganthaLakshmi, T. (2012). Social media marketing. Life science journal, 9(4), 4444-4451.
Seppänen, S. (2025). Digital transformation in SMEs: drivers, challenges, and the impact of emerging technologies on decision-making and management control.
Sharpley, R. (2018). Tourism, tourists and society. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315210407
Smith, P. R. (2022). Digital marketing excellence: planning, optimizing and integrating online marketing. Routledge.
Sofronov, B. (2017). The economic impact on global tourism. Annals of Spiru Haret University. Economic Series, 17(2), 127-139.
Sundaram, B. B., Sowjanya, M. S., Andavar, V., & Reddy, N. R. (2018). Opportunities and Challenges of E-Commerce in the Case of Ethiopia. International Journal for Research in Technological Studies, 5(4), 2348-1439.
Taherdoost, H. (2018). A review of technology acceptance and adoption models and theories. Procedia manufacturing, 22, 960-967. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2018.03.137
Tham, A., Chen, S. H., & Durbidge, L. (2024). A pentadic analysis of TikTok marketing in tourism: The case of Penang, Malaysia. Tourist Studies, 24(1), 75-103. https://doi.org/10.1177/14687976231218483
Tong, S., Luo, X., & Xu, B. (2020). Personalized mobile marketing strategies. Journal of the academy of marketing science, 48(1), 64-78. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-019-00693-3
Tonino, P. (2020). The digital revolution in the travel and tourism industry. Information technology & tourism, 22(3), 455-476. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-019-00160-3
Veltri, G. A., Lupiáñez-Villanueva, F., Folkvord, F., Theben, A., & Gaskell, G. (2023). The impact of online platform transparency of information on consumers’ choices. Behavioural Public Policy, 7(1), 55-82.
Vermesan, O., & Friess, P. (2014). Internet of things applications-from research and innovation to market deployment (p. 364). Taylor & Francis.
Voorveld, H. A., Van Noort, G., Muntinga, D. G., & Bronner, F. (2018). Engagement with social media and social media advertising: The differentiating role of platform type. Journal of advertising, 47(1), 38-54. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2017.1405754
Wang, T. L., Tran, P. T. K., & Tran, V. T. (2017). Destination perceived quality, tourist satisfaction and word-of-mouth. Tourism Review, 72(4), 392-410. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-06-2017-0103
Wei, J., Kim, H. J., Su, C. H., & Chen, M. H. (2024). Tourism service failure, service recovery, and negative word-of-mouth: three-country comparison using a choice experiment. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 29(6), 681-698. https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2024.2343074
Yan, Q., Wu, S., Zhou, Y., & Zhang, L. (2018). How differences in eWOM platforms impact consumers’ perceptions and decision-making. Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, 28(4), 315-333. https://doi.org/10.1080/10919392.2018.1517479
Yasmin, A., Tasneem, S., & Fatema, K. (2015). Effectiveness of digital marketing in the challenging age: An empirical study. International journal of management science and business administration, 1(5), 69-80.
Zinkhan, G. M. (2002). Promoting services via the Internet: new opportunities and challenges. Journal of Services Marketing, 16(5), 412-423. https://doi.org/10.1108/08876040210436885
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Bilew Birhanu
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
