What Impact Does Digital Marketing Tools have on the Financial Performance of Sri Lankan Listed Hotels?

Abstract

Digital marketing platforms have recently played a crucial role in hotel marketing and customer interaction strategies. Hotel managers have understood that hotel customers today and future rely increasingly on digital media use. However, the adoption of digital marketing tools appears to be relatively low in listed hotels in Sri Lanka due to unfamiliarity with digital marketing and not being confident in investing in digital marketing tools in achieving the expected financial and non-financial results. A considerable number of research has been carried out throughout the world on digital marketing and business performance; however, a limited study has been conducted in Sri Lanka to evaluate the influence of digital marketing tools on listed hotels’ financial performance. This research fulfills the above gap by measuring the impact of digital marketing tools on the financial performance of Sri Lankan-listed hotels. The study population consists of thirty-seven (37) listed hotels in Colombo Stock Exchange, and the entire population was taken as the sample. The dependent variable used to study the financial performance is the Return on Equity. Digital marketing tools such as social media and mobile marketing are independent variables considered in this study. A self-administrated structured questionnaire was circulated to the marketing professionals. After analyzing the responses using correlation analysis and regression analysis, it was revealed that social media and mobile marketing have a significant positive impact on the hotel’s financial performance. The findings are useful in reducing ambiguity and confusion about financial and non-financial outcomes based on digital marketing tools.