THE EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING USE ON INCREASING TOURIST VISITS: EVIDENCE FROM A LOCAL ECOTOURISM DESTINATION IN EASTERN INDONESIA

Abstract

Social media has significantly transformed marketing communication strategies for tourism destinations by enabling information to be delivered quickly, widely, and interactively through visual content and videos. This study employed a quantitative approach using a survey method. Data were collected through questionnaires distributed to 109 respondents selected using probability sampling and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics. With descriptive statistics and simple linear regression. The results of the descriptive analysis showed that the social media marketing Variabel was categorized as good, with an average score of 3.85 (on a scale of 1–5), with content quality obtaining the highest mean score of 3.94%, followed by user interaction at 3.90% and promotional content reach at 3.73%. The increase in tourist visits Variabel was also categorized as good, with an average score of 4.02%, with social media as a source of information obtaining the highest mean score of 4.11%, followed by visit intention at 4.10% and travel patterns at 3.85%. The results of the simple linear regression test indicated that social media marketing had a positive and significant effect on increasing tourist visits to Abdi Mulia Park Bukit Moncongloe, Maros Regency. These findings indicate that attractive, informative, and interactive social media content can improve access to information, generate interest, and encourage tourists to visit. This study concludes that the more effective the use of social media marketing, the greater the increase in tourist visits to Abdi Mulia Park Bukit Moncongloe, Maros Regency.