Value co-creation for tourism business with support of social media marketing and customer engagement capability

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of social media marketing on value co-creation for tourism customers through the mediation effect of customer engagement capability. A quantitative research design was employed to conduct a survey-based study from employees working in tourism companies in Saudi Arabia. A convenience sampling technique was used to collect data from 297 employees from tourism companies in Saudi Arabia. Data analysis was performed with structural equation modeling. The study findings indicate that social media marketing significantly influences customer engagement capability and value co-creation for tourism customers. Additionally, customer engagement capability plays a significant mediating role between social media marketing and value co-creation for tourism customers. This indicates that customer engagement plays a vital role in transforming digital marketing activities into valuable customer outcomes. Moreover, the value of social media platforms is recognizable in terms of interaction and collaboration with valued customers. Hence, tourism companies in Saudi Arabia can take part in digital transformation while managing tourism activities in line with the priorities of Vision 2030. The study provides a better understanding of how digital engagement initiatives can add value to co-creation in the tourism sector.