Abstract:

Country image occupies an increasing role in the context of globalization, becoming a key element in the economic and cultural course of each nation. The disappearance of virtual barriers between countries is intensified by the expansion of mass means of communication driven by the fast expansion of the World Wide Web.

Portugal positions itself in a specific way across the globe, in terms of elements such as culture, civilization, economy, locals’ behavior, natural and anthropic resources. Understanding how each nation is being perceived in the international context is a first step in the broadest existing project, namely to ensure global peace, to guarantee a healthy development of the economy, education and of the standard of life at country level and worldwide. Romanians represent the biggest community of EU members in Portugal (Immigration and Borders Service, 2017), being the most representative for an opinion mining. This paper aims to investigate the importance of Social Media for Romanians in chossing Portugal as a touristic destination. The paper "Social Media influence in Romanian’s choice of touristic destinations: the case of Portugal" aims to determine the global perception of Romanian Internet users, members of online communities, about the Portuguese territory, in order to identify effective methods and strategies for promoting the image of this country.