ISSN 2348-3156 (Print) International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research ISSN 2348-3164 (online) Vol. 10, Issue 3, pp: (83-100), Month: July - September 2022, Available at: www.researchpublish.com
The Influence of Travel Vlogs on Millennials’ Decisions to Visit Local Travel Destinations Kurt Wilson S. Arias1, Paul Anthony A. Angob2, Wiro Glenn R. Ereje3 Research Scholar1,2 De La Salle University – Dasmariñas DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6844376
Published Date: 16-July-2022
Abstract: Before the digital era, tourists relied on magazines, brochures, and television for travel information. In contrast to travel blogs and vlogs, travelers can get more definitive information from vloggers who share first-hand experiences. The research generally aimed to determine the effect of travel vlogs on millennials' decision-making when it comes to traveling around the Philippines. The research was descriptive and aimed to describe a population, occurrence, or event accurately and scrutinizingly. The research used structured questionnaires and exploratory data analysis to gather and analyze data and identify possible connections between variables. Travel vlogs boost a destination's credibility and reputation, according to the researchers' findings. After visiting a destination, thinking about it, and evaluating it, people are more likely to want to return. Keywords: Travel vlogs, Travel destination, Millennials, Travel vloggers, Travel motivators.
1. INTRODUCTION The usage of the Internet has been preeminent in the tourism industry, while travel influencers have become an effective way for several hospitality businesses to interact with their target market and create brand recognition. At present, the tourism industry cannot be relied upon without the opinion of travel vlogs—which play a huge role in the publicity of destinations (Abad & Borbon, 2021). However, during the past few years, destination management organizations (DMOs) have seen less monetary support from the government and have become more dependent on commercial revenue to fund their main activities (Li et al., 2017). Before the digital era, tourists depended on the traditional media as a mode of communication from tourism providers through magazines, brochures, and television. In contrast to travel blogs and vlogs, individuals are exposed to different visual cues or symbols in which an interested traveler can get more definitive information as the vlogger is sharing firsthand experience, wherein it shows the actual picture of what travelers can experience and that establishes a destination image in the mind of the traveler (Choi et al. 2018). Travel vloggers can be considered social influencers in destination marketing because of their travel stories being shared online, resulting in feedback from their followers, leading to persuasion or inspiration to travel to the same destination. Because travel vlogs are created by travelers who are at the destination, they are likely to endorse the location and highlight its key features. This could be thought of as a personal recommendation on the part of the travel vloggers. As a result, travel vloggers, who are considered social influencers, may be a useful destination marketing tool due to their greater reach to the target market than other marketing platforms.This is clearly reflected in the improving local tourism activity, vis a vis the increasing popularity of travel vlogs, whether independent or sponsored. Despite the numerous challenges in creating vlogs, these methods provide the traveler a closer look at their destination of choice as those are known to be unpredictable, shifting every now and then, which so necessitates the industry to foster these evolving expectations.
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