The tourism effect of President Trump's participation on Twitter

• Published in: Tourism management (1982) Vol. 81; p. 104133
• Main Authors: Nicolau, Juan Luis, Sharma, Abhinav, Shin, Seunghun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2020
• Subjects: Brand knowledge; Destination image; Market value; Social media; Twitter; Brand knowledge; Twitter; Market value; Destination image; Social media
• ISSN: 0261-5177; 1879-3193
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104133

This research analyzes the effect of President Donald J. Trump's participation on Twitter on the performance of the United States as a tourism destination as reflected in the market value of tourism the country's tourism industry. Based on the effects that brand associations have on brand image and brand knowledge, this research proposes a conceptual model whereby a destination's association with a public figure might lead this personality's participation in social media to have an effect—derived from the resulting social media sentiment—on consumers' destination's brand knowledge and, consequently, on the incoming flow of travelers to the destination and on the tourism market value. The empirical application carried out on the tweets that the President of the United States posted over more than 150,000 trading minutes shows that the participation of public personalities in social media can have repercussions on the market value of their country's tourism industry. •President Trump's participation on Twitter may influence tourism firm value.•Shareholders' reaction to some Twitter's messages by a public persona is immediate.•Pejorative comments reduce the market value of tourism firms.