Travel Influencer Marketing: Key to Boost Tourism Development

In today’s digital age, tourism has evolved beyond mere sightseeing shared experiences on social media platforms. In Vietnam, the rise of Travel Influencers – individuals with significant social media followings – shapes tourism trends and influences travel decisions.

1. What is Travel Influencer Marketing?

Travel Influencer Marketing is a form of communication that utilizes the influence of social media personalities to promote travel destinations, products, and services. These individuals are typically passionate about travel and have a large following on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. They share their real-life travel experiences, and introduce attractive check-in spots and delicious eateries to their followers, inspiring them to explore new destinations and utilize travel products and services.

Travel Influencer Marketing uses the influence of social media personalities to promote travel destinations

2. Stimulating Tourism Demand through Travel Influencer Marketing

Travel influencers typically gravitate towards novel and intriguing destinations, those gaining popularity among travelers, or familiar locations yet presented from a fresh and unexplored perspective. After meticulously crafting their travel itinerary, encompassing routes, accommodation, and dining options, they research and document the local culture, history, and customs through captivating imagery, videos, or blog posts.

Upon completing their adventures, travel influencers share these authentic experiences with their followers across image and video-sharing platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, or on blog-friendly platforms like Facebook and travel blogs. They actively engage with their audience by responding to comments, and messages, or hosting live streams to address inquiries and provide further insights for potential travelers.

Captivating audiences with their unique and experiential journeys, coupled with authentic and relatable storytelling, renowned travel influencers include Khoai Lang Thang (YouTube), Phuong Di Dau (TikTok), Chan La Ca (YouTube), Son Doan (Instagram), and The Vu Day (TikTok)…

Travel influencers can be considered brand ambassadors for businesses and tourism ambassadors for local destinations. Leveraging their influence, they can:

• Inspire travel among their social media followers
• Reach target audiences desired by brands
• Contribute to seasonal tourism growth
• Enhance reader trust through genuine travel reviews

While travel influencer marketing can be a powerful tool, its effectiveness hinges on the quality of the services, projects, and tourism activities promoted. Travel influencers build their credibility on the trust of their followers. If followers experience subpar services or activities, a travel influencer’s reputation is hit, leading to biased reviews and diminished campaign impact. Moreover, today’s savvy travelers demand high-quality experiences and can easily discern inauthentic recommendations, prioritizing destinations that deliver genuine value. To ensure successful influencer marketing, it’s crucial to focus on:

• Invest in well-maintained infrastructure, modern amenities, impeccable cleanliness, professional and attentive service, and a warm welcome
• Develop unique and appealing experiences that align with current trends and traveler preferences
• Gather and address feedback to continuously improve the travel experience for visitors

To use Travel Influencers effectively, the key is still service quality

3. Some typical case studies in Vietnam

3.1. Phu Quoc and the strategy of collaborating with celebrities to promote tourism

In recent years, Phu Quoc has emerged as a top travel destination in Vietnam, and this remarkable growth cannot be overlooked without acknowledging the significant contributions of Travel Influencers. Phu Quoc has partnered with many influencers to stimulate tourism demand, including Helly Tong, Ngo Tran Hai An, blogger Phan Anh Esheep, and Hoang Nam – Challenge Me. Their captivating images, videos, and blog posts have garnered positive responses from readers, effectively attracting a surge of interest in Phu Quoc travel.

Among Phu Quoc’s remarkable promotional efforts, the “Fruit Family” campaign stands out as a resounding success. This campaign features the Cam Cam Family, Dau Family, and Xoai Family, three social media darlings, embarking on captivating adventures across Phu Quoc. Their journeys are meticulously documented and shared on their respective YouTube channels, garnering millions of views and transforming Phu Quoc into a top-of-mind destination for domestic travel enthusiasts.

In 2023, Phu Quoc continued to leverage celebrity collaboration such as actress Ninh Duong Lan Ngoc in a cooperation project with Vietravel, Miss Do Thi Ha in the Miss Universe Vietnam 2023 contest, and Rapper Den Vau with Liveshow “Because Everyone Has Spring”. All of the above events were held in Phu Quoc, affirming this island as a leading tourist and entertainment destination in Vietnam.

3.2. Vietnam Travel magazine cooperates with Ninh Duong Story

In early 2024, Ninh Duong Story emerged as a social media sensation, capturing the attention of young audiences with its positive and inspiring content. In April, Vietnam Travel Magazine partnered with Ninh Duong Story to launch a promotional campaign for Ha Long Bay, attracting domestic and international tourists to this UNESCO-recognized World Natural Heritage site.

Ninh Duong Story cooperates with Vietnam Travel to promote Ha Long city

The partnership between Vietnam Travel Magazine and Ninh Duong Story resulted in a captivating special issue titled “Ha Long – Heritage Wonder.” This issue showcased the region’s captivating destinations, unique experiences, and rich cultural heritage through compelling articles, stunning visuals, and engaging videos. The publication garnered rave reviews from readers, with many commending its ability to raise awareness of Ha Long Bay tourism and provide valuable insights and recommendations for popular destinations across Vietnam.

Leveraging its massive social media following across platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, Ninh Duong Story has captivated audiences with engaging posts, images, and entertaining clips showcasing Ha Long Bay, garnering millions of views and interactions. The authenticity of their content, stemming from Ninh Duong’s connection to Ha Long Bay as their hometown, has resonated deeply with viewers, offering a fresh and loving perspective on the destination. This genuine approach has fueled a powerful ripple effect across social media, significantly contributing to the growth of Ha Long Bay tourism.

Travel Influencer Marketing can be a powerful tool for promoting tourism destinations, but its effectiveness hinges on the quality of the experiences offered by these destinations. When travelers have genuinely positive experiences, they are more likely to trust the information shared by Travel Influencers and make the decision to visit the promoted destination.

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