ENTER2020 eTourism Conference presentation

1. Influencer Marketing for Tourism
Destinations: Lessons from a
Mature Destination
Francisco (Paco) Femenia-Serraa and Ulrike Gretzelb
aUniversity of Alicante, Spain
bUniversity of Southern California, USA

2. INTRODUCTION
• Social media have critically stifled DMOs’ control over messages
about their destinations (Li, Robinson & Oriade, 2017)
• Because of consumer information overload, saturation of
marketer-consumer direct relationships on social media and ad
blockers, destinations need to adopt new strategies and adapt
to social media affordances (Gretzel, 2018)
• Influencer marketing emerges as a viable option for DMOs to
recapture tourists’ attention, differentiate from the rest, and
potentially take back part of the control over the online
dissemination of destination-relevant information
• Importantly, SMIs have proven to be more effective than
traditional advertising practices (De Veirman, Cauberghe & Hudders, 2017)

3. SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS
• Social media influencers (SMIs) are “vocational,
sustained and highly branded social media stars who
exert influence over a large pool of potential
customers” (Abidin, 2018, pp. 71–72)
• Their privileged position on social media translates into
a great persuasion power
• SMIs integrate branded content in their daily life
narration
• Influencer marketing leverages their influence to
promote brands, products/services (Bakshy et al., 2011; De
Veirman et al., 2017)

4. • Influencer marketing is a growing practice in travel and tourism, but there is a lack of
research on the processes and decisions regarding influencer selection, campaign
design and implementation, performance and effects (Gretzel, 2018; Xu & Pratt, 2018)
• Need to comprehend why and how destinations employ SMIs (Bokunewicz & Shulman,
2017), marketers’ objectives and actual content of campaigns (Glover, 2009; Bergkvist &
Zhou, 2016; Choi, 2015).
 OBJECTIVE: To better understand how DMOs
manage influencer marketing and to contrast
marketers’ views and objectives with actual
content of campaigns and their impact.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

5. CONTEXT
• Benidorm as case study: Consolidated, mass destination with vast trajectory in
innovation and marketing strategies to avoid decline (Femenia-Serra & Ivars-Baidal, 2019)
• 17.000.000 overnights/year (INE, 2019)
• Main attractions: beach, nightlife
• Main markets: UK, Spain
• DMO: Visit Benidorm -> Pioneers in using
influencer marketing

6. METHODS
1. Interviews with DMO representatives: recorded and transcribed verbatim
• Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) using Atlas.ti
2. “The Other Benidorm” influencer campaign execution
• Content analysis of posts: visual and textual data
3. Campaign impact
• Internal report facilitated by DMO

7. • Collection of posts pertaining to “The Other Benidorm” campaign: 30 picture +
text posts (IG, FB, Twitter) and 1 video on YouTube
• Video decomposed into shots, scenes and sequences
using “Video Analysis 4All”.
• Key frames (single pictures) (Li et al., 2006) extracted
from each scene: “a series of consecutive shots
grouped together because they’re shot in the same
location or because they share some thematic
content” (Stepchenkova & Zhan, 2013, p.43)

8. • 35 frames extracted from 11 scenes, each containing a narrative unit
representing single spatiotemporal event and featuring the same characters
• Categories were inductively developed to classify the 65 images, considering
their attributes and the functional characteristics of the destination (Echtner &
Ritchie, 1993). Each image taken as a unit of content classifiable in up to four
categories (Stepchenkova & Zhan, 2013).
• Textual data accompanying pictures (SMI’s comments, captions, hashtags and
mentions) were scrutinized. Video was transcribed and analyzed

9. FINDINGS - Marketing
1. Practitioners’ perspective (DMO)
Marketers’ comments reveal four main themes
Design and objectives
• Influencer marketing used in Benidorm for different objectives: attract younger and underdeveloped
demand segments, promote products and change destination image (e.g. LGBT+ friendly, winter or
sustainable destination, etc.)
• Exhaustive monitoring of potential candidates. Planning avoids fake influencers and failed campaigns
• DMO looks for an affordable practice with higher credibility that elicits deeper engagement and
adapts to current preferences of audiences, who value visuals over text
“It doesn’t work anymore as a destination to tell the tourists: come visit us, our beach is great! What we have now is a society in
which everyone has an opinion on social media and reviews everything […] so if you don’t have someone else telling you how good
this place is, we won’t have any results” (Chief data officer)

10. Development and implementation
• DMO under control of campaigns: formal contract including: number of posts, hashtags, mentions… all
organized according to a timeline and plan
• Use of a monitoring tool (Brandmanic) to calculate impact of each SMI in terms of earned media value.
Benidorm uses Visit Benidorm Analytics, a self-developed tool, to get more metrics on engagement
• Cost is low for DMO, local partners cover many expenses (transport, hotel, activities) in exchange of
promotion. Visit Benidorm organizes, controls and provides extra services
“People think we pay 1.000€ for a kid to come and take a couple of pictures… but we watch them closely to ensure a
good promotion. We’re very demanding. We don’t ask for a particular picture or forbid them to do anything, but we
control them a lot. But people don’t see that.” (General manager)

11. “While it’s true that the tool we use tells us how the impact of each campaign is, they can’t tell you the % of the
influencer’s followers are going to come because of it. That doesn’t exist.” (Chief data officer)
Perceived Impact
• Interviewees argue influencer marketing is rendering the destination a high following on social
media and engagement with tourists
• Using influencers reported as having huge reach and cost-effectiveness. Alternative to conventional
social media marketing (reduced visibility because of algorithms)
• Benefit also for destination SMEs
• Metrics confer an aura of objectivity. Real return hard to calculate

12. Volatility and future
• Social media platforms change constantly. New features (e.g. stories, lives) and platforms (e.g.
TikTok) appear and disappear quickly. Using SMIs is becoming more complex for DMOs
• Uncertain future and risks: hype around SMIs, fake followers, bots might get smarter with progress
of AI and can engage as human followers do (hard to detect)
• Trends: micro-influencers, segmentation, tighter control by authorities (taxes, legal regulation)

13. FINDINGS - Campaign
2. Content of “The Other Benidorm” influencer marketing campaign
• Motivation: Benidorm perceived in France as a mass, overcrowded, unsustainable
destination with a congested beach as only attraction (experience in meetings)
• Objective: Promoting Benidorm as a sustainable and diverse destination in terms
of attractions, attract young French tourists

14. • VB selected Léa Camilleri (365K followers on
IG, 523K on YouTube). Full-time traveler,
advocates for sustainability, volunteers and
supports preservation initiatives.

15. Social media posts content analysis
• High level of alignment between posts
content and DMO objectives
• Elevated presence of images representing
people (SMI)
• Natural spaces + outdoor activities: 40%
of content
• Two iconic attributes of Benidorm (beach
as main attraction and skyscrapers) are
secondary in images
Category Description n %
Nature and natural
landscape
Depicts all types of natural resources, acting as
scenery or main element of the image
39 24,07
Beach 3 1,85
Ocean 27 16,67
Mountain 7 4,32
Wildlife 2 1,23
Outdoor
activities
Depictsanyactivityorsportpractisedinnaturalor
urban landscapes
24 14,81
Diving 6 3,70
Jeep driving 4 2,47
Hiking 6 3,70
Biking 1 0,62
Kayaking 1 0,62
Ambling 6 3,70
Urban landscape
Depicts buildings, architectural sites, human-built
elements
21 12,96
Traditional architecture 10 6,17
Modern buildings/skyscrapers 11 6,79
Transport
Represents different means of transport to get to
and move around the destination 11 6,79
Airplane 5 3,09
Car 4 2,47
Bike 1 0,62
Kayak 1 0,62
People
RepresentstheownSMI,herteam,locals,tourists,
etc.
59 36,42
Influencer only 34 20,99
Influencer + team 17 10,49
Influencer + other people 4 2,47
Other people 4 2,47
Accommodation
Depicts any sort of accommodation or facilities
related to it
5 3,09
Other Promotional text, embedded images 3 1,85
Total 162 100
Table 1. Description and classification of visual content

16. o Attention diverted from main attractions (urban landscape, beach, nightlife)
o SMI adjusts sustainability discourse to local context: highlights Benidorm’s protected
areas, local green initiatives, activities in natural parks, active tourism options
o Interweaves destination marketing and pro-sustainability discourse with self-branding
and personal life. Uses humor and emojis to channel the message
o Tries to reflect authenticity and connect emotionally with audience. Need to appear
as non-branded, relatable: “Calibrated amateurism” (Abidin, 2018)
“I had many prejudices when I arrived in Benidorm. If you have already been here or if you want to come, don’t
hesitate and go out off the beaten tracks. There are lots of pretty things, a great wildlife reserve, nice fauna and flora”

17. FINDINGS - Impact
3. Impact of ‘the Other Benidorm’ Influencer Marketing Campaign
Number of posts (total) 31 ROI YouTube 693.721,59€
Potential reach (no. followers) 1.041.110 ROI Instagram 77.992,54€
Total engagement (any form) 243.370 ROI Facebook 7.490,54€
Campaign cost for DMO 3.308,40€ ROI Twitter 2.469,73€
Return of Investment (total)* 781.673,94€ Cost per Interaction 0,013€
Return/investment 236 points Cost per Visualization 0,003€
Table 2. Impact of ‘The Other Benidorm’ influencer marketing campaign.
Source: Own elaboration based on Visit Benidorm (2018)
• Metrics show great performance of YouTube video and good performance of IG
• Overall impact seems high compared to investment. But need to look deeper
Calculated with Ayzenberg Group’s Earned Media Value Index 2.0 ([a]EMV Index).

18. CONCLUSIONS
• Results shed light on the use of influencer marketing by destinations, decisions
and processes behind the strategy. Contrasted the objectives and perspective of
marketers with a real campaign content and impact
• Influencer marketing is perceived by DMO as an effective way to promote the
destination and shape its image
• Successful campaign that is aligned with the objectives of the DMO: leveraged
the power of SMIs to promote the destination as sustainable and the alternative
activities and areas to attract a different type of traveller

19. • Evolution of e-WOM in tourism
• Influencers as distinct social media user category
• Emphasis on social media marketing strategy
• Collaborative future of destination marketing
• Influencer marketing as advantageous space at the intersection of PESO media
• Measurement of campaign effectiveness
THEORETICAL IMPLICATIONS

20. • Findings recommend strategic planning of influencer marketing and close
monitoring by DMO
• Collaboration of local partners is key for successful influencer marketing
• Metrics needed in every part of the process, but not enough to measure real
impact. Technological tools and intermediaries can help
• Social media functions and influencer dynamics are highly volatile. Need to be
updated and adapt to changing circumstances
PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

21. LIMITATIONS & FUTURE RESEARCH
• Findings are context-specific. Need to observe other cases (Benidorm is a
consolidated destination that requires a huge, constant flow of tourists)
• Compare strategies across different types of SMIs and destinations: Destinations
objectives vary (e.g. destinations with overtourism problems)
• Earned media value to be complemented with number of followers, quality of
produced content, generation of website traffic, relationship with bookings,
users’ reactions and sentiment analysis…
• Actual impact on image perception and attraction of target segment unknown
• Need to understand social media-afforded rhetoric and communication
strategies of social media influencers

22. paco.femenia@ua.es
gretzel@usc.edu
Thank you!
Work supported by the Spanish National R&D&I Plan, funded by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness [Grant CSO2017-82592-R]
@PacoFemenia
@UlrikeGretzel