Student Research Symposium Program Portal: Submission #227

Abstract Adventure tourism has experienced rapid growth in recent years, with social media playing an increasingly influential role in shaping travel interests and consumer decision-making. This study examines how social media engagement influences the popularity of adventure tourism businesses in New Zealand. Performance of adventure tourism remains underexplored in tourism research. The primary goal of this research is to better understand whether and to what extent social media engagement contributes to business popularity and perceived success within the adventure tourism industry. To address this research goal, this study will use content analysis and a comparative design to analyze 150 social media posts containing adventure tourism in New Zealand. Engagement metrics such as likes, comments, and shares, as well as content type, and creator data will be analyzed and compared to business performance indicators such as expected visitors, revenue, and growth statements. The expected significance of this research is that it will provide information to if social media has a significant impact on business outcomes, which will be useful to understand how to effectively market adventure tourism businesses.