ABSTRACT
In the last few decades, visit to the social networking sites and social media is growing faster. Users of those sites and media stay connected online with friends and acquaintances; interact over any topic including tourist destinations, attractions, information, and products; share user-created contents like information, ideas, live experiences, comments, photos, videos, reviews, etc. Indeed most of the contents are culture-heritage and contemporary lifestyle experiences which those users gathered while on travel. Culture and heritage are the matter to be experienced; regardless of primary motivation and tangibility status. State of reality and authenticity of cultural experiences on travel or tour are posited and tested by uploading and posting user-created contents like documents, photos, pictures, and videos of experiences on the walls of Social media.
Concurrently it has been found that cultural attractions and events are considered as strong tourism magnets for centuries. Thus it could be the unique selling proposition (USP) or unique branding proposition (UBP) of destinations. The recent trend of posting user-created cultural experience contents about travel in the social media magnifies the tourism market; identifies the culture-heritage centric brand or image of destination; and makes the image building or branding activities to stand in contrast to the entire conventional marketing paradigm by marginalizing the hegemony or 92the direct and high degree control of tourism service producers or authorities in this regard. Therefore, a paradigm shift in destination branding process becomes evident with the growing pursuit of posting culture-heritage experience contents of travels on holiday or for business on the walls of social media. The present chapter will study this shift along with its impact on destination branding in particular and over tourism as a whole.
