Darias PR Collective

Using travel influencers to promote brand awareness, increase bookings to a location, social media storytelling, community storytelling, destination or hotel promotions, engagement, etc., is a smart move in some cases. However, as social media has continued to rank highly in the realm of what actually advertises a travel destination or seeks potential travelers, over the years we have all seen backlash toward the influencer and the company they are promoting.

Picking and choosing who you want to promote is tricky business and, in my opinion, requires some specific qualifications, especially when promoting a travel destination. Due to the amount of overtourism and various other issues dysregulating popular cities and countries, especially regions with a great deal of cultural heritage, viewers will immediately create a call to action, retaliating against the influencer and whatever brand or company they are promoting.

Other potential issues that may arise if influencers are not chosen carefully, include promoting with an obvious lack of awareness regarding topics such as environmental and social impact. If an influencer is helping you promote a location without some sort of social awareness regarding respecting cultural heritage sites, or perhaps avoiding contributing to overly-popular locations, that will not be taken well.

A lack of credibility can occur when influencers, in their eagerness to create attractive content, may ignore negative aspects of a destination, leading to “staged” looking content. This is not a good look on social media. This also ties in with a lack of awareness.

You are hiring these influencers to align with your brand and the message they are promoting. Brand risk and misalignment are another major downfall if the promotion does not go as planned when published on social media platforms. Misalignment between the brand and the influencer’s persona can result in reputational damage.

Simply put, there are ethical concerns. If the influencer you are working with poorly discloses sponsorships, this can damage trust and cause legal issues for your company.

Influencers stereotypically come with high costs and uncertain measurement, and a good portion of the time, depending on the influencer’s outreach, this is a real concern. It is notoriously difficult to measure the actual, direct impact of a campaign on sales, with many campaigns yielding high vanity metrics. With some influencers’ promotion rates being ridiculously high, it is important to make sure they meet all of the categories needed in their promotional work for your brand.

More recent trends include addressing overconsumption. Influencers often promote excessive consumption of products and experiences rather than sustainable travel. This might spark a lack of appreciation for your company, brand, or product if you work with an influencer who primarily creates this specific type of promotional work.

When working with an influencer, it is important for them to align with your promotion, as well as to make sure they are not stepping over any lines that might put your company’s reputation at risk. Perhaps asking these questions before selecting an influencer to promote your product could help address some of these issues. I think influencer promotions are smart in today’s day and age, but there are, of course, some ethical concerns that should be addressed depending on what is being promoted.

About the Author

Hi there, I’m Daria, a public relations student at the University of Oregon, columnist and passionate traveler. I’ve worked in Tokyo’s media industry creating and strategising content for international audiences, with a love for how travel shapes communication and storytelling.