Social media influencers in family travel: positioning patterns and types of appeal

What is it about?

How do family travel influencers construct their personas and deploy persuasive appeals to shape travel perceptions and decisions for foreign destinations? Four positioning patterns emerged, i.e. Nurturing Parent, Family Travel Evangelist, Distinguished Expert, and Trailblazer. Three composite types of appeal were also identified: Inspirational Wanderlust, Informational Guidance, and Experiential Reasoning.

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Photo by DEBRAJ PURKAYASTHA on Unsplash

Photo by DEBRAJ PURKAYASTHA on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Destination/tourism marketers should adopt differentiated influencer strategies aligned with positioning and audience appeal; personality and brand fit, emotional resonance, and credibility should be prioritized. Rather than relying on generic family-friendly branding, influencer selection should be at a micro-level. This study introduces a contextualised framework of influencer legitimacy within the complex and morally sensitive domain of family travel.