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Tourism Analysis, Vol. 28, pp. 323–328 1083-5423/23 $60.00 + .
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RESEARCH NOTE
INFLUENCER MARKETING AND TOURISM:
ANOTHER THREAT TO INTEGRITY FOR THE INDUSTRY?
GIANCARLO FEDELI* AND MINGMING CHENG†
*Department of Business, Institute of Tourism, Wine Business and Marketing,

IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems, Krems an der Donau, Austria
†School of Management and Marketing, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia
Although influencer marketing is deemed as the panacea to marketing issues and the solution to suc-
cess for many tourism businesses, this research highlights some of the challenges and threats associ-
ated with its practice. Based on the literature available on the topic and some of the latest evidence
from a variety of locations, we examine the phenomenon from a range of perspectives including
audiences, policy and regulatory, influencers, destination management organizations, as well as tour-
ism organizations. This study highlights that more attention should be paid to vulnerable groups such
as young audiences and local communities. This study concludes with implications for theory and
practices and future research avenues for influencer marketing in tourism.
Key words: Influencer marketing; Authenticity; Ethics; Tourism
Introduction 2020). However, despite the growing use of influ-

encer marketing to promote tourism destinations
Influencer marketing is a type of marketing that and hospitality businesses, the level of attention on
generally refers to individuals deemed as opinion this phenomenon in the tourism literature has only
leaders with a significant audience size accumu- occurred in recent years (e.g., Duffy & Kang, 2020;
lated through social media platforms, who can Ong & Ito, 2019). The use of influencer marketing
influence others’ decisions through their commu- in tourism was initiated by international hotel firms
nication network (Lee et al., 2021; Tuten, 2020). and has then gained popularity in destination man-
Influencer marketing as a concept has received agement organizations (DMOs) (Femenia-Serra &
increasing attention in business research (Taylor, Gretzel, 2020) to generate benefits including direct
Address correspondence to Giancarlo Fedeli, Department of Business, Institute of Tourism, Wine Business and Marketing, IMC
University of Applied Sciences Krems, Piaristengasse 1, A-3500 Krems an der Donau, Austria. E-mail: [email protected]
323
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324 FEDELI AND CHENG
destination endorsement, increased destination on digital media channels and the fundamental role
awareness, and a wider target audience (Glover, information plays in tourism, deemed as the arche-
2009; Zhang & Huang, 2021). Evidence indicates typal information-intensive industry (Poon, 1988).
that influencer marketing can help fight destination The authenticity of influencers has been a grow-
stereotypes, drive behavioral change, redirect tour- ing topic in the wider marketing literature. The
ism flows to less popular areas to reduce overtour- intrinsic motivations and noncommercial orientation
ism (Li et al., 2017), and can play a critical role in of influencers are highly valued by users (Audrezet
tourism recovery during a global crisis (Femenia- et al., 2020) as they recognize the importance of
Serra et al., 2021). perceived authenticity in what they present in their
All in all, influencer marketing has been per- content, which ultimately leads to favorable audi-
ceived as a potential panacea to some of the ence perceptions (Pöyry et al., 2019). However,
problems and issues identified with traditional mar- this has drawn controversial attention. For exam-
keting. However, the consequences of influencer ple, in Byron Bay (a popular tourist town in north-
marketing on both tourism organizations and users, ern New South Wales, Australia) residents recently
as this inquiry shows, are not always uniformly signed a petition to protest against plans by the
positive. For example, there are issues concern- digital content giant Netflix from filming a series
ing its “authenticity” and questions over its ethical about influencers, many of whom are blamed as a
nature. The purpose of this study is to conduct a major cause of the recent gentrification and “touris-
review of the extant literature as well as media out- tification” in the region (Taylor, 2021). A particular
lets, to highlight and reflect on a range of critical cause of further concern for destinations and, more
yet underexamined issues on influencer marketing broadly, tourism providers, is in turn represented by
in tourism. the unethical behavior of influencers, which verges
on illegality.
Authenticity and Influencer
Marketing Practices in Tourism Ethics and Influencer Marketing in Tourism
The relevance of the concept of authenticity in Although influencer marketing does not rep-
tourism has been widely researched and discussed resent an unethical practice per se, the lack of an
since the early work of Cohen (1988) and Hughes ethical framework and a professional organization
(1995). Nevertheless, this article is not intended that influencers are accountable to complicates the
to analyze the numerous ways that authenticity task of discerning the ethics of influencer market-
has been theorized and applied in the tourism lit- ing (Wellman et al., 2020). Examples of unethi-
erature. We begin by assuming that authenticity is cal practices include “fake followers,” making it
embedded in the modernist critical tradition that difficult for the audience to effectively measure
recognizes the problems posed to the local culture and verify (Taylor, 2020), and covert advertising
of a tourism destination, which is subjected to the formats that complicate consumers’ ability to dis-
dyadic “dialectic between object and subject, there tinguish commercial content from noncommercial
and here, then and now” (Taylor, 2001, p. 8). Such one (Evans et al., 2017). Evidence of the use of
premise hints that the truth value in tourism is posi- unscrupulous social media influencer advertising
tioned on extremely uneven grounds. This is further was highlighted by the “Fyre Festival,” a music
complicated by the ways in which tourism destina- event scheduled to take place in 2017 in the Baha-
tions and services are portrayed in the media—both mas that turned out to be an infamous con job.
traditional and new—which creates a kaleidoscopic This case serves as an indication that even mega-
image of such tourism entities. In this setting, the or macroinfluencers with thousands of followers
extant literature highlights the relevance and threats can fail to validate the true conditions of their own
represented by “fake news” (Fedeli, 2020) and sponsored content to the detriment of oblivious
“fake reviews” (Choi et al., 2017) for both tour- consumers (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2019). Nano-
ism users and organizations. This is particularly and microinfluencers in particular, who may be
relevant given the incessant production of content less experienced and inclined to build a larger
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INFLUENCER MARKETING AND TOURISM 325
follower base, may undertake more aggressive and The Audience Perspective
provocative behavior by falling into the ruse of
New inquiries should focus on investigating
deceptive practices or unethical behavior (Oliveira
the views of the most vulnerable groups such as
et al., 2020).
younger people as well as the local communities
Social media influencers have proven par-
of tourism destinations. The aim here is to better
ticularly popular among younger audiences, and
understand the views and opinions of such groups
COVID-19 has accentuated this trend even further
that are vulnerable to the negative impacts of tour-
(Taylor, 2020). As children are more susceptible to
ism, to different extents, by poorly planned or
influencer marketing than adults, given children’s
questionable influencer marketing activities. Con-
relatively immature cognitive abilities and lit-
sequently, younger audiences may easily be taken
eracy towards advertisement, they are more likely
in by coverage associated with unregulated content
to be influenced by influencer marketing com-
and the expression of social influencers. For exam-
pared to adults (Ye et al., 2020). As such, ethical
ple, they may visit a destination after being drawn
concerns are particularly relevant as children and
in by an influencer, finding themselves as unwel-
adolescents are more likely to be fraudulently per-
come visitors in the eyes of the local community.
suaded. Research indicates that younger user seg-
Taxpayers are also rethinking whether influencer
ments perceive influencers as more genuine and
marketing can deliver a return of investment for
authentic, which is part of their appeal in favor
tourism destinations and local communities may
of mainstream marketing (Jiménez-Castillo &
also raise concerns over the commodification of
Sánchez-Fernández, 2019).
the destination and lack of awareness of the local
Furthermore, while digital influencers may be the
culture prompted by them.
source of questionable behavior, the ethical conun-
A common and largely unexplored problem wor-
drum can also involve the businesses that have cho-
thy of further inquiry by tourism scholars is the
sen the influencers in the first instance. This was
way microinfluencers seek “free meals” or “free
the case for the airline Air Canada that contracted
stays” in exchange for promotion of hospitality
influencers to promote their international vacations
businesses by giving favorable reviews, which is a
during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic
controversial practice that can be potentially dam-
in 2021. As a result, the company was criticized for
aging to both audiences and businesses. This can
irresponsibly advertising a “lifestyle of travel” dur-
challenge the authenticity of the reviews but also
ing a global health crisis where such activities were
presents a significant cost for hotels and restau-
putting millions of people around the world at risk
rants. As such, how are such practices perceived by
(Woods, 2021).
users? Do they affect the credibility of a business
and even the position of influencers as a transparent
Discussion and Future Directions and trustworthy source of information?
While there are multiple advantages associated
with employing influencers as part of an organi-
Policy/Regulatory Perspective
zation’s marketing strategy as substantiated in the
wider marketing literature, limited attention has While emerging guidelines and policies regarding
been dedicated to its use for tourism services and social media have started to appear (e.g., UK adver-
destinations. This is especially so as influencers tising and transparency guidelines require influenc-
have become an important aspect of marketing for ers to disclose their commercials gains) (Chow,
tourism destinations in the digital realm. We there- 2019), there is a lack of specific guidelines on influ-
fore propose that influencer marketing in tourism encer marketing in general and tourism specifically.
may be further investigated from the following In Australia, the actions of influencers largely rely
perspectives: audience, policy and regulatory, the on self-regulation, and enforcement seems to be
influencers themselves, as well as DMOs and tour- minimal with only a small section of the Australian
ism businesses, which will now be discussed in the Association of National Advertisers’ (AANA) code
following. of ethics being relevant to influencers. Further, the
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most common regulatory aspects that influencers businesses engaging with social media influencers
are warned of are the disclosure of the relationship merit further consideration. DMOs such as Tourism
with the product and then making false or mislead- Western Australia, for example, have been ques-
ing claims, which is a clear conflict of interest. Such tioned over the value of the financial investments
a regulatory vacuum poses important questions they have made engaging the services of influencer
over the ethical and legal boundaries of influencer marketing for promoting the region. This highlights
marketing in tourism. However, most recently, the the ongoing need of tourism organizations to mea-
Chinese government issued a guideline on live sure and justify the return of investment—whether
streaming marketing targeting influencers on major the investment results in more visitors than simple
platforms such as TikTok (Central Government online reach. Further, research shows that only a
of China, 2021). While the establishment of such handful of practitioners have specific guidelines
guidelines is encouraging, more work is needed that available to select and engage with influencers as
systematically examines regulatory issues to facili- their selection is often limited to the number of fol-
tate the formulation of tourism-specific guidelines lowers as an indicator of popularity (Navarro et al.,
on influencer marketing. 2020). This indicates a lack of consideration of fur-
ther elements among the criteria of selection of influ-
encers with potential repercussions on destination
The Influencers’ Perspective
image and other wider reputational impacts. While
While the power of influencers has been widely the tourism and hospitality field has seen a grow-
acknowledged as positive, the ethical stance of ing number of guidelines put in place to regulate the
influencers remains largely unexplored in the tour- activities of influencers, these are clear cut. What
ism research. Some of the influencer’s conduct, is needed is systematic, rigorous research based on
such as traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic empirical evidence to underpin the development of
neglecting health and safety guidelines, has had guidelines that address the potential problems they
wide societal implications. It remains unclear to create so they will be effective when implemented.
what extent influencers are aware of their visibility Other issues that research could address are: How
as well as the responsibility they bear towards the are influencers selected, in view of the potential
public. Some evidence has shown that influencers challenges and threats posed by influencer market-
can be culturally insensitive, which creates negative ing? How well (or not) prepared are organizations in
impacts at tourism destinations attracting resistance terms of the management of “influencer crisis”? For
from residents. To an extent, influencers may also example in 2019, news articles reported the poten-
represent a threat as they may use their influencer tial damage that influencers can have on tourist mar-
power to boycott a tourism destination or a hospital- kets (Snape, 2019). This news article highlighted
ity business. On a more positive note, influencers the social media influencer paid by Tourism Aus-
have the potential to leverage their status to promote tralia who was linked to the Hong Kong Protests at
ecological and green tourist behavior (e.g., reduc- that time could have damaging impacts on mainland
ing food waste, responsible travel, etc.), which is Chinese tourists.
largely underresearched topic and one that is criti- Although influencers and tourism businesses may
cal to the future viability of tourism in many parts be bound by contractual agreements, destination
of the world. In addition, with the rapid evolution marketers or organizations engaging with influenc-
of social media platform features (e.g., Instagram ers may not only have to carefully select influ-
Reels) and new innovative platforms (e.g., TikTok), encers and consider their knowledge, experience,
the effects of influencers’ persuasiveness across dif- and behavior, but also monitoring their impacts to
ferent social media platforms remain unknown. safeguard tourism destination’s image and prevent
potential issues of misrepresentation and stepping
out of largely upon ethical standards. Furthermore,
DMOs/Tourism Organizations’ Perspective
given the increasing attention to conservation and
Finally, the practices of tourism organiza- sustainability issues in tourism worldwide, do
tions such as DMOs as well as individual tourism organizations consider influencer marketing as an
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INFLUENCER MARKETING AND TOURISM 327
auxiliary tool to mitigate some of the impacts it cre- COVID-19. Tourism Management, 89, 104454. https://
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Glover, P. (2009). Celebrity endorsement in tourism adver-
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In conclusion, influencers are here to stay and ity and Tourism Management, 16(1), 16–23. https://doi.
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0160-7383(95)00020-X
research on the role that influencers play when it Jiménez-Castillo, D., & Sánchez-Fernández, R. (2019).
comes to marketing tourism to provide transpar- The role of digital influencers in brand recommenda-
ent unbiased evidence and analysis to shed light on tion: Examining their impact on engagement, expected
some of the issues raised in this article as well as value and purchase intention. International Journal
calling for a new area of investigation into the field. of Information Management, 49, 366–376. https://doi.
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Tourism Analysis, Vol. 28, pp. 323–328 1083-5423/23 $60.00 + .

GIANCARLO FEDELI* AND MINGMING CHENG†

*Department of Business, Institute of Tourism, Wine Business and Marketing,

Key words: Influencer marketing; Authenticity; Ethics; Tourism

Introduction 2020). However, despite the growing use of influ-

crisis. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh. 35(2), 68–82. https://doi.org/10.1080/23736992.2020.

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