Abstract Consumer behaviour and decision-making in tourism are increasingly based on digital information. Content created by users on social networks, the opinions of travel-oriented bloggers and vloggers, and the content and focus of new media are becoming the standard, and it is anticipated that these tendencies will continue to gain momentum. For the supply side, knowledge of consumer preferences for forms of marketing communication is crucial. The aim is to examine the preferences of contemporary tourists in relation to the use of new media in the tourism sector in the Slovak environment, based on the individual phases of travel as well as demographic characteristics. A quantitative study was conducted on 1208 respondents using inferential statistics. The specifics of the Slovak market were identified: websites, as a more traditional digital medium, play a direct role in all purchase phases of travel, while social networks, reviews, and discount portals are also essential. Though newer forms of digital communication, such as digital games or virtual or augmented reality, are certainly in the minds of tourists, the intensity of their use remains low. In terms of demographic characteristics, it was found that women use new media significantly more both during and after a trip than men. Men prefer using entertainment-related media, most often digital games. The findings of this study will serve as a useful basis for formulating strategies of public and private organisations for the digital transformation of tourism.
Cerna et al. (2024) studied this question.