Navigating tourism governance in the digital age: The role of social media in promoting integrity and transparency
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15282/jgi.8.2.2025.11517Keywords:
Tourism, Social media, GovernanceAbstract
The digital era has brought profound changes to tourism governance, reshaping how destinations are managed, promoted, and perceived. Traditional governance structures, once reliant on top-down communication and bureaucratic controls, are increasingly complemented or disrupted by dynamic digital technologies, particularly social media. These platforms not only serve as real-time communication tools but also function as participatory spaces for public discourse, enabling transparency, stakeholder engagement, and institutional accountability. Given the limited scholarly focus on the intersection of social media and governance integrity, this study aims to explore how digital platforms can be harnessed to promote ethical tourism practices, enhance transparency, and strengthen public trust in governance mechanisms. To achieve this, a systematic scoping review was conducted using a structured search strategy within the Scopus database. The initial screening identified 209 articles, of which 22 peer-reviewed journal publications from 2020 to 2025 were selected based on strict inclusion criteria. The selected literature was analysed using an integrative thematic approach to identify dominant trends and theoretical insights related to digital governance, stakeholder engagement, destination branding, and technological innovation. The findings reveal that social media enhances policy implementation, supports crisis communication, and fosters inclusive branding through co-created content. While offering new governance opportunities, challenges such as data ethics, algorithmic bias, and digital inequality remain critical concerns. The study concludes that aligning technological innovation with ethical governance and participatory models is essential for fostering integrity, transparency, and resilience in tourism governance systems of the digital age.
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