Taking into account the growing importance of tourism, there is an increasing number of
studies on the area and, for this reason, its conceptualization has also undergone changes,
influenced either by the development of the activity or by social, economic, environmental
and structural changes that have taken place. One of the main changes in tourism is related
to the increasing influence of social networks, both in terms of tourism demand and in the
offer and promotion of tourist destinations.
Currently, the widespread use of these virtual platforms, as well as their exponential growth,
with the emergence of new social networks, are causing changes in the search for tourist
destinations as well as in the promotion of the destinations themselves. This paper focuses
on one of the most emblematic Portuguese tourist destinations, Serra da Estrela, the main
national winter sports destination, aiming to understand a set of aspects related to the use of
social networks as a search tool for tourist destinations, as well as what is the influence of the
Internet and social networks in the choice of a tourist destination.
