THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AS A TOURIST MARKETING TOOL BY COMMUNES BELONGING TO THE AREAS OF THE NATIONAL PARKS IN POLAND

Adam Pawlicz

Social media are playing an increasingly signifi cant role as information source for holidaymakers. Although there is an abundance of research concerning good practices in its usage in marketing of destinations, little is known about implementation of social media in protected areas. The objective of this study is to examine the degree which particular social media appear on webpages of Polish communes (commune is the principal unit of administrative division of Poland) which are located in Polish National Parks (n=119 communes out of 2479 communes in Poland). Those communes are characterised by lower population number and lower per capita income than Polish average. Results showed that 41,18% (49) communes have at least one offi cial profi le in social media. The most common used social media were Facebook (45) and Youtube (16). Communes that were using social media have on average 35% higher income per capita and 68% more citizens than those that do not use social media. Hence commune’s economy and its population determine its propensity to use social media. The analysis of the results showed that social media are still underutilised in marketing of Polish communes in protected areas.