Evaluation of Social Networks in the Development of Cultural Tourism

Cultural tourism is now considered to be one of the fastest growing types of tourism. Tourists' interest in local traditions and cultures is the basis for the evaluation of the significance of cultural heritage in the development of cultural tourism. Heritage ? be it natural or cultural ? is one of the most important factors that drive the tourist to travel to a particular destination. According to the World Tourism Organization, 37 % of total international travel is motivated by the desire to explore foreign cultures. It is therefore not surprising that statistical prediction points to a significant increase in the rate of growth of cultural tourism in comparison to the overall rate of tourism development. The emergence of new modes of communication has changed the worldview of modern tourists, making young adults a prominent segment of the tourist population. Social networks are an important factor in today's communication, not only among younger people, but also among the general populace and business people all over the world. The inclusion of tourism trends on social networks causes people to not only visit renowned cultural sites, but also to enjoy newer events. For the successful placement of destinations on the tourist market it is necessary to investigate the tourists' motives for visiting a certain destination or cultural site, as well as their overall satisfaction with the cultural "product". Social networks are invaluable to professionals in finding out the tourists' expectations and in presenting their cultural product in a novel way that will draw in new visitors, especially younger generations. The topic of this paper is the study of social networking sites as one of the communicative channels in the promotion of cultural tourism. The paper also aims to gain insight into the modern Internet user's perception of cultural heritage. The research carried out in the paper is based on case studies.