Impact of travel vlogs on the choice of a tourist destination

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51302/marketing.2024.19399

Keywords:

social networks, tourism sector, videoblog, marketing, travel decision, vlogger, digitalization

Abstract

The advance of digitization and the changes that it has generated in the needs of consumers, both in the way of communicating and in the way of absorbing information, have created a new reality to which practically all economic sectors have had to adapt. In the tourism sector, for example, travel vlogs are used as a highly effective communication tool. The main objective of this study is to determine to what extent travel content promoted through social networks influences users’ final destination decision. Other objectives are the analysis of the level of trust that users place in vloggers as sources of information, and to know the possible consequences of the generalized display of this type of content, such as a potential overcrowding of specific tourist destinations. Methodologically, a combination of descriptive and inferential quantitative analysis has been used, based on data from a survey carried out in Catalonia, and qualitative analysis of the results of several in-depth interviews with professionals in the sector and content creators. The research results show that the study participants perceive a high level of utility to travel vlogs as a source of tourism information, so the probability of booking a trip after viewing a vlog is quite high. It is concluded that travel vlogs are considered an efficient information tool for decision-making by users of social networks about their tourist destinations, a trend that will increase in the future.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Óscar Gutiérrez-Aragón, Escuela Universitaria Mediterrani. Universidad de Girona (España)

Director del Departamento de Empresa y Coordinador del Grado en Marketing de la Escuela Universitaria Mediterrani de Barcelona (Universidad de Girona). Doctor en Administración de Empresas por la Universidad de León. Profesor del Departamento de Empresa de la Universidad de Barcelona. Anteriormente ha sido Profesor de la Universidad de León. Analista Económico e Investigador Principal de la Confederación Empresarial Veterinaria Española (CEVE), adscrita a la Confederación Española de Organizaciones Empresariales (CEOE). Ha publicado manuales de asignatura y diversos artículos de investigación sobre organización de empresas, comunicación, marketing, economía ambiental, perspectiva de género, turismo, sector veterinario y sector del automóvil.

Ariadna Gassiot-Melian, Universidad de Girona (España)

Profesora-lectora del Departamento de Organización, Gestión Empresarial y Diseño del Producto de la Universidad de Girona. Doctora en Turismo por la Universidad de Girona. Licenciada en Traducción e Interpretación y en Lingüística por la Universidad Pompeu Fabra. Antes ha sido profesora del área de Estadística del Departamento de Empresa de la Escuela Universitaria Mediterrani de Barcelona (Universidad de Girona). Sus principales líneas de investigación están basadas en el análisis del comportamiento del turista, turismo de cruceros, turismo accesible y la perspectiva de género, ámbitos en los cuales ha presentado publicaciones a nivel nacional e internacional.

Thea Louise Bauyon-Esguerra, Escuela Universitaria Mediterrani. Universidad de Girona (España)

Investigadora del Departamento de Empresa de la Escuela Universitaria Mediterrani de Barcelona (Universidad de Girona). Graduada en Marketing y en Turismo por la Universidad de Girona. Este es su primer trabajo académico. Sus líneas de investigación son la comunicación, el marketing y el turismo.

Katarzyna-Aleksandra Dlugosz, Escuela Universitaria Mediterrani. Universidad de Girona (España)

Investigadora del Departamento de Empresa de la Escuela Universitaria Mediterrani de Barcelona (Universidad de Girona). Graduada en Marketing y en Turismo por la Universidad de Girona. Este es su primer trabajo académico. Sus líneas de investigación son el marketing, las redes sociales y el turismo.

References

Aamir, S. y Atsan, N. (2020). The trend of multisided platforms (MSPs) in the travel industry: reintermediation of travel agencies (TAs) and global distribution systems (GDSs). Journal of Tourism Futures, 6(3), 271-279. https://doi.org/10.1108/JTF-10-2019-0121

Abad, P. E. S. y Borbon, N. M. D. (2021). Influence of travel vlog: Inputs for destination marketing model. International Journal of Research Studies in Management, 9(3), 47-66. https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrsm.2021.m7729

Albattat, A. (2020). The impact of online marketing in travel agency. En A. Hassan y A. Sharma (Ed.), The Emerald Handbook of ICT in Tourism and Hospitality (pp. 85-96). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83982-688-720201006

Akehurst, G. (2009). User generated content: the use of blogs for tourism organisations and tourism consumers. Service Business, 3, 51-61. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-008-0054-2

Ashe, I. (2023). Travel blogging, professionalism, and the changing boundaries of knowledge production. Media, Culture & Society, 45(1), 108-125. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437221099617

Baloglu, S. y Brinberg, D. (1997). Affective images of tourism destinations. Journal of Travel Research, 35(4), 11-15. https://doi.org/10.1177/004728759703500402

Barbe, D. y Neuburger, L. (2021). Generation Z and Digital Influencers in the Tourism Industry. En Generation Z marketing and management in tourism and hospitality: The future of the industry (pp. 167-192). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70695-1_7

Berhanu, K. y Raj, S. (2020). The trustworthiness of travel and tourism information sources of social media: perspectives of international tourists visiting Ethiopia. Heliyon, 6(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03439

Bericat, E. (1998). La integración de los métodos cuantitativo y cualitativo en la investigación social: Significado y medida. Ariel.

Bigné, J. E., Mattila, A. S. y Andreu, L. (2008). The impact of experiential consumption cognitions and emotions on behavioral intentions. Journal of Services Marketing, 22(4), 303-315. https://doi.org/10.1108/08876040810881704

Cao, X., Qu, Z., Liu y Hu, J. (2021). How the destination short video affects the customers’ attitude: The role of narrative transportation. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102672

Chakravarty, U., Chand, G. y Singh, U. N. (2021). Millennial travel vlogs: emergence of a new form of virtual tourism in the post-pandemic era? Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, 13(5), 666-676. https://doi.org/10.1108/WHATT-05-2021-0077

Chen, Q. (2022). Vlog Virtual Tour: A critical framing perspective. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 14(3), 108-118. https://doi.org/10.23860/JMLE-2022-14-3-9

Chen, Y., Guo, Z. y Pan, Q. (2021). Analysis on the characteristics of travel vlog video and its impact on users’ travel intention. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 554, 169-175. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210519.034

Chen, Y. C., Shang, R. A. y Li, M. J. (2014). The effects of perceived relevance of travel blogs’ content on the behavioral intention to visit a tourist destination. Computers in Human Behavior, 30, 787-799. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.05.019

Cheng, Y., Wei, W. y Zhang, L. (2020). Seeing destinations through vlogs: implications for leveraging customer engagement behavior to increase travel intention. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32(10), 3227-3248. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-04-2020-0319

Cox, C., Burgess, S., Sellitto, C. y Buultjens, J. (2009). The role of user-generated content in tourists’ travel planning behavior. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 18(8), 743-764. https://doi.org/10.1080/19368620903235753

Dewantara, M. H., Gardiner, S. y Jin, X. (2022). Travel vlog ecosystem in tourism digital marketing evolution: a narrative literature review. Current Issues in Tourism. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2022.2136568

Felipe Dorado, E. de y Pérez Asperilla, E. (2022). Una visión del marketing 360˚. Análisis comparativo entre dos estrategias de contenido digital en el sector cosmético. Revista de Marketing y Publicidad. CEF, 5, 95-125. https://doi.org/10.51302/marketing.2022.852

Fondevila Gascón, J. F., Gutiérrez Aragón, Ó., Vidal Portés, E. y Pujol Cordero, O. (2023). Influencia del neuromarketing en la percepción de carteles publicitarios: factores determinantes en la atención. Grafica, 11(22), 133-143. https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/grafica.256

Fondevila Gascón, J. F., Liberal Ormaechea, S. y Gutiérrez Aragón, Ó. (2019). Análisis semántico en medios sociales para la comunicación digital turística. Comunicació: Revista de Recerca i d’Anàlisi, 36(1), 71-94. https://doi.org/10.2436/20.3008.01.179

Gallarza, M. G., Gil Saura, I. y Calderón Garcıía, H. (2002). Destination image: Towards a conceptual framework. Annals of Tourism Research, 29(1), 56-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0160-7383(01)00031-7

Glover, P. (2009). Celebrity endorsement in tourism advertising: Effects on destination image. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 16(1), 16-23. https://doi.org/10.1375/jhtm.16.1.16

Gon, M. (2021). Local experiences on Instagram: Social media data as source of evidence for experience design. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2020.100435

Gretzel, U., Yuan, Y. L. y Fesenmaier, D. R. (2000). Preparing for the new economy: Advertising strategies and change in destination marketing organizations. Journal of Travel Research, 39(2), 146-156. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287500039002

Gutiérrez Aragón, Ó., Gassiot Melian, A. y Martín Guerrero, L. (2023). Impacto del turismo deportivo sobre la masa social y la economía de un club de fútbol. El caso del F.C. Barcelona. Investigaciones Turísticas, 26, 183-206. https://doi.org/10.14198/INTURI.23073

Haenlein, M., Anadol, E., Farnsworth, T., Hugo, H., Hunichen, J. y Welte, D. (2020). Navigating the new era of influencer marketing: How to be successful on Instagram, TikTok & Co. California Management Review, 63(1), 5-25. https://doi.org/10.1177/0008125620958166

Hjalager, A. M. (2002). Repairing innovation defectiveness in tourism. Tourism Management, 23(5), 465-474. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261-5177(02)00013-4

Han, J. y Chen, H. (2022). Millennial social media users’ intention to travel: the moderating role of social media influencer following behavior. International Hospitality Review, 36(2), 340-357. https://doi.org/10.1108/IHR-11-2020-0069

He, J., Xu, D. y Chen, T. (2022). Travel vlogging practice and its impacts on tourist experiences. Current Issues in Tourism, 25(15), 2518-2533. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2021.1971166

Herrera Pérez, A. P. (2021). Tik Tok medio de divulgación empleado por los viajeros que realizan turismo sostenible. aDResearch ESIC, International Journal of Communication Research, 25, 148-159. https://doi.org/10.7263/adresic-025-08

Juliaty, H. y Dita, A. (2021). Analysis on the structure and purposes of travel blog posts. Language Circle, Journal of Language and Literature, 15(2), 317-328. https://doi.org/10.15294/lc.v15i2.28792

Lam, J. M. S., Ismail, H. y Lee, S. (2020). From desktop to destination: User-generated content platforms, co-created online experiences, destination image and satisfaction. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 18, 100490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2020.100490

Lazar, C. M. (2019). Internet. An aid for e-tourism. Ecoforum, 8(1), 18. https://bit.ly/3F0FuJX

Liu, X., Mehraliyev, F., Liu, C. y Schuckert, M. (2020). The roles of social media in tourists’ choices of travel components. Tourist Studies, 20(1), 27-48. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468797619873107

Maares, P. y Hanusch, F. (2020). Exploring the boundaries of journalism: Instagram micro-bloggers in the twilight zone of lifestyle journalism. Journalism, 21(2), 262-278. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884918801400

Morrison, A. M. (2022). Hospitality and travel marketing. (5.ª ed.). Routledge. http://bitly.ws/Aobx

Müller, J. y Christandl, F. (2019). Content is king. But who is the king of kings? The effect of content marketing, sponsored content & user-generated content on brand responses. Computers in Human Behavior, 96, 46-55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.02.006

O’Connor, P. (2008). User-generated content and travel: A case study on Tripadvisor.com. En P. O’Connor, W. Höpken y U. Gretzel (Eds.), Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2008 (pp. 47-58). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-211-77280-5_5

Oliveira, T., Araujo, B. y Tam, C. (2020). Why do people share their travel experiences on social media? Tourism Management, 78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2019.104041

Pano Alamán, A. (2019). El léxico del patrimonio cultural florentino en blogs y reportajes de viaje en línea. Círculo de Linguística Aplicada a la Comunicación, 78, 49-62. https://doi.org/10.5209/clac.64371

Pop, R. A., Sa˘pla˘can, Z., Dabija, D. C. y Alt, M. A. (2022). The impact of social media influencers on travel decisions: The role of trust in consumer decision journey. Current Issues in Tourism, 25(5), 823-843. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2021.1895729

Qiu, L., Chen, X. y Lee, T. J. (2021). How can the celebrity endorsement effect help consumer engagement? A case of promoting tourism products through live streaming. Sustainability, 13(15). https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158655

Rellores, M. P. Y. R., Robles, C. B. M. A., Sabanal, C. y Esplanada, D. E. (2022). How vlogging promotes tourist destination image: Content analysis of popular travel vlogs featuring Romblon. Quantum Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 3(5), 26-41. https://doi.org/10.55197/qjssh.v3i5.183

Roostika, R. y Putri Yumna, T. (2023). The influence of destination awareness, destination image, and perceived quality on Indonesian TikTok users’ visiting intention. International Journal of Business Ecosystem & Strategy, 5(1), 49-59.https://doi.org/10.36096/ijbes.v5i1.393

Schmallegger, D. y Carson, D. (2008). Blogs in tourism: Changing approaches to information exchange. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 14(2), 99-110. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356766707087519

Sharda, N. y Ponnada, M. (2008). Tourism blog visualizer for better tour planning. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 14(2), 157-167. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356766707087523

Silaban, P. H., Chen, W. K., Nababan, T. S., Eunike, I. J. y Silalahi, A. D. K. (2022). How travel vlogs on YouTube influence consumer behavior: A use and gratification perspective and customer engagement. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/4432977

Silalahi, A. D. K., Ling, L. S., Chen, W. K., Eunike, I. J., Silaban, P. H. y Hutagalung, W. E. (2022). Exploring consumer intention to visit a destination and eWOM through uses and gratification perspective: Evidence from YouTube Travel Vlogs. En 2022 International Seminar on Application for Technology of Information and Communication (iSemantic) (pp. 144-149). https://doi.org/10.1109/iSemantic55962.2022.9920471

Schmid, B. (1994). Electronic markets in tourism. The Tourist Review, 49(2), 9-15. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb058152

Stoldt, R., Wellman, M., Ekdale, B. y Tully, M. (2019). Professionalizing and profiting: The rise of intermediaries in the social media influencer industry. Social Media + Society, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305119832587

Sun, W., Tang, S. y Liu, F. (2021). Examining perceived and projected destination image: A social media content analysis. Sustainability, 13(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063354

Tešin, A., Pivac, T., Besermenji, S. y Obradovic´, S. (2022). Exploring the influence of Instagram on travel destination choice. The European Journal of Applied Economics, 19(1), 66-80. https://doi.org/10.5937/ejae19-33584

Trinh, V. D. y Nguyen, L. (2019). How to change perceived destination image through vlogging on Youtube. En Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Management Science Digital Disruption Era: Challenges and Opportunities for Business Management. Social Science Research Network (SSRN). http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3426968

Wahid, R., Karjaluoto, H., Ukpabi, D. y Taiminen, K. (2023). Can TikTok Sound Enhance Tourism SMEs’ Engagement? En B. Ferrer Rosell, D. Massimo y K. Berezina (Eds.), ENTER 2023: Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2023 (pp. 142-147). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25752-0_15

Walia, S. K. y Jasrotia, A. (2021).Imminent future of Millennial generations. A tourism management perspective. En S. K. Walia y A. Jasrotia (Eds.), Millennials, Spirituality and Tourism (pp. 268-275). Routledge. https://is.gd/APrRth

Walsh, P. R. y Dodds, R. (2022). The impact of intermediaries and social marketing on promoting sustainable behaviour in leisure travellers. Journal of Cleaner Production, 338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.130537

Wengel, Y., Ma, L., Ma, Y., Apollo, M., Maciuk, K. y Ashton, A. S. (2022). The TikTok effect on destination development: Famous overnight, now what? Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2021.100458

Woodside, A. G. y Lysonski, S. (1989). A general model of traveler destination choice. Journal of Travel Research, 27(4), 8-14. https://doi.org/10.1177/004728758902700402

Ye, G., Hudders, L., Jans, S. de y Veirman, M. de. (2021). The value of influencer marketing for business: A bibliometric analysis and managerial implications. Journal of Advertising, 50(2), 160-178. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2020.1857888

Yetimog˘lu, S. y Ug˘urlu, K. (2020). Influencer Marketing for Tourism and Hospitality. En A. Hassan y A. Sharma (Eds.), The Emerald Handbook of ICT in Tourism and Hospitality (pp. 131-148). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83982-688-720201009

Zhang, H. (2020). Analysis on vlog story-telling techniques and advertisement. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 496, 68-72. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.201214.468

Zhao, C., Shen, H. y Zhang, Y. (2022). The study on the impact of short video tourism vloggers at social media platform on online sharing intention. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.905002

Zhu, C., Hoc Nang Fong, L., Gao, H., Buhalis, D. y Shang, Z. (2022). How does celebrity involvement influence travel intention? The case of promoting Chengdu on TikTok. Information Technology & Tourism, 24, 389-407. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-022-00233-w

Published

2024-03-07 — Updated on 2024-04-01

Versions

How to Cite

Gutiérrez-Aragón, Óscar, Gassiot-Melian, A., Bauyon-Esguerra, T. L., & Dlugosz, K.-A. (2024). Impact of travel vlogs on the choice of a tourist destination. Revista De Marketing Y Publicidad, (9), 7–30. https://doi.org/10.51302/marketing.2024.19399 (Original work published March 7, 2024)

Issue

Section

Special section. Research studies