Influencers Should Portray Real Tourism Experiences, Say Experts

Experts are calling on brands and influencers to make sure they are offering genuine and realistic portrayals of tourism destinations and experiences, and suggested steering clear of staged photos.

Referring to the growing importance of Instagram and Pinterest as go-to sites for travel inspiration, experts that spoke at this year’s World Travel Market (WTM) in London noted that influencers’ lack of originality and authenticity on Instagram may be contributing to both overtourism and unrealistic expectations.

“Instagram does tend to create a kind of herding mentality and they [influencers] could do better,” said Robert Michael Poole, ‘digital nomad’ and CEO of Plus Alpha.

Speakers underlined the importance of true images that do not give an unrealistic impression of what to expect.

At the same time, all speakers stressed the need for sponsored posts to be tagged as such.

In this direction, Jason Freeman, legal director of the UK’s Competition & Markets Authority, said a crack down was currently underway on inauthentic and inaccurate social media posts, including un-flagged incentivised endorsements.

Others influencer marketing issues addressed include the next trends which include audio platforms like smart speakers.

According to WTM experts, voice activated search is set to grow by 2025 with audio snippets stepping in as the new ‘influencer’.