The influence of Instagram on consumers’ travel planning and destination choice
Terttunen, Anna (2017)
Terttunen, Anna
Haaga-Helia ammattikorkeakoulu
2017
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2017053011044
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2017053011044
Tiivistelmä
Picture is worth a thousand words, as the old saying goes. Photos convey emotions, feelings, thoughts and reality; things that can’t be truly described by words. Visual aspects are a big part of travelling and are incorporated in almost all social media platforms, especially the photo sharing application, Instagram. Instagram is one of the biggest and most active social media platforms concentrated on visual communication.
The purpose of this thesis was to find out the possible influences of Instagram in travel planning and destination choice, and the potentials of Instagram marketing in travel industry. The aim was also to find out about consumer travel planning behaviour and to come up with suggestions to how destination marketing organizations and tourism marketing managers could develop their marketing strategies.
The theoretical framework consists of consumer behaviour, visual communication and Instagram in the context of tourism and travelling. The theory is based on literature review and analysing Instagram accounts.
The research conducted was based on quantitative methods in form of an online survey. Few open-ended questions were added to the survey in order to get more personal responses. The survey was done with Webropol software and was targeted to young adults living in Fin-land, mainly to those who are active Instagram users. The survey included questions about people’s travel habits, travel planning behaviour, Instagram usage and attitudes towards us-er-generated content. The results from the survey were analysed using SPSS statistics and Webropol’s own tools for analytics.
According to the results, people value visual aspects in travel planning and especially women use Instagram as a source for travel inspiration and information. 82% of the respondents indicated Instagram having had at least some influence in their travel planning. However Instagram is not the only source used, as people tend to use various sources to get information when planning their travels. The results revealed some differences within gender and age groups in people’s information search behaviour and Instagram usage. The study also found that people trust more on user-generated content than information coming from service providers. Photos shared by real travellers are considered important when planning travels. People are independent in their travel planning and do most of the information search online. Recommendations from family and friends are the most valued and trusted source.
The outcome of the research suggests that marketing managers should incorporate user-generated content into their social networking sites and websites, and should be present in Instagram and consider using it as a marketing tool.
The purpose of this thesis was to find out the possible influences of Instagram in travel planning and destination choice, and the potentials of Instagram marketing in travel industry. The aim was also to find out about consumer travel planning behaviour and to come up with suggestions to how destination marketing organizations and tourism marketing managers could develop their marketing strategies.
The theoretical framework consists of consumer behaviour, visual communication and Instagram in the context of tourism and travelling. The theory is based on literature review and analysing Instagram accounts.
The research conducted was based on quantitative methods in form of an online survey. Few open-ended questions were added to the survey in order to get more personal responses. The survey was done with Webropol software and was targeted to young adults living in Fin-land, mainly to those who are active Instagram users. The survey included questions about people’s travel habits, travel planning behaviour, Instagram usage and attitudes towards us-er-generated content. The results from the survey were analysed using SPSS statistics and Webropol’s own tools for analytics.
According to the results, people value visual aspects in travel planning and especially women use Instagram as a source for travel inspiration and information. 82% of the respondents indicated Instagram having had at least some influence in their travel planning. However Instagram is not the only source used, as people tend to use various sources to get information when planning their travels. The results revealed some differences within gender and age groups in people’s information search behaviour and Instagram usage. The study also found that people trust more on user-generated content than information coming from service providers. Photos shared by real travellers are considered important when planning travels. People are independent in their travel planning and do most of the information search online. Recommendations from family and friends are the most valued and trusted source.
The outcome of the research suggests that marketing managers should incorporate user-generated content into their social networking sites and websites, and should be present in Instagram and consider using it as a marketing tool.