ABSTRACT

Influencer marketing in travel and tourism builds on the importance of word-of-mouth in the travel context. Tourism marketers started working with bloggers early on as blogs quickly became important information sources for travel decision makers and therefore valuable media for marketers. Inkybee describes influencer marketing as involving influencer discovery, influencer outreach, design of influencer campaigns, influencer tracking/measurement and influencer relations. Krasniak lists ongoing brand ambassadorship, product reviews, brand mentions, event coverage, sponsored content and affiliate links as the most important and effective influencer marketing tactics currently used by marketers. In practice, influencer marketing takes many forms beyond getting the influencer to spread a marketing message. Travel marketers have recognized the great potential of message amplification and targeting afforded by travel social media influencers. The promise of travel perks as well as the ability to associate one's personal brand with desirable travel and tourism brands makes travel and tourism an attractive target industry for influencers.