Influencer Marketing In Tourism Promotion A Perspective

Social media marketing is a key strategy for promoting tourism. Influencers are redefining travel experiences and destinations by catering to audiences worldwide. Being authentic and personal, people prefer to believe influencers who share real experiences rather than respond to polished advertisements.

“The main reason influencer marketing is effective is because of the trust factor,” says Sirjana Sizzu, a travel vlogger with excellent outreach.
“Traditional marketing is one-sided; the audience cannot ask questions, but in influencer marketing, people can talk and get advice; there is two-way conversation.”

Sirjana Sizzu

She says, “Traditional marketing is one-sided; the audience cannot ask questions, but in influencer marketing, people can talk and get advice; there is two-way conversation. In addition, our followers are a readymade target audience. What we do has an immediate impact because it is authentic and relatable, but it also means that we have to speak carefully.”
Platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram have changed how people view travel. Visual experiences through photo and video sharing cater to tourists and travellers who now gravitate less towards guidebooks and agencies for recommendations. Social media has a hold on its users, and now even tourism brands and boards are using it as a primary tool of tourism promotion.

However, that does not mean you should fully believe what an influencer is doing and saying. Experiences vary between people, and so does knowledge; watching an experienced travel influencer’s content and visiting the place without proper research and knowledge can affect one’s experience.
Influencers can also help build a destination globally by pioneering authenticity and creating an engaging narrative. Social media allows for foreigners to interact with and learn about different, new destinations. 

We keep our eyes on the algorithm and try to post what people are currently searching for and see if we can play with the titles based on what people are looking for.

Smriti Subedi

“We get millions of views on our channel, but only about 10% of our audience is from Nepal, and the rest are from all over the world. And as a result, we usually get approached by international brands more than brands based in Nepal,” says Smriti Subedi, Co-founder of Traverart. As an example, Subedi elaborates, “Last year, we met an American couple in the Everest region who researched which destination to visit in Nepal on our channel, and they approached us as they recognised us on the trail”.

While collaborating with influencers, tourism boards and brands should not base their choice on popularity and viral content alone, caution experts. They must research what kind of influencer they want representing their brand, and know if their following is organic and is their social standing authentic and trustworthy. There is a difference between making a product viral and sustaining it in the market. Marketing on the pretext of viral content reduces the value of a brand in the long run. 

Srijana Sizzu shares, “When it comes to Nepal Tourism Board, there needs to be a shift towards digital marketing, and long-term collaboration with travel content creators. Videos, photos and stories are the jewels of the tourism board, so you have to invest in them to sell and shine, right?

“We keep our eyes on the algorithm and try to post what people are currently searching for and see if we can play with the titles based on what people are looking for,” explains Subedi. “At the same time, as artists, sometimes we just end up creating content that we want to create from our hearts instead of caring too much about what the algorithm or the audience demands,” she says staying true to her art. 

With rising use of AI, will influencer marketing prevail? Content creators believe it will endure as AI cannot replicate human feelings and emotions, being able to only generate audio-visual content. It will, however, challenge influencers to get more creative and improve their content in days to come.