Formatting Online Image of “Halal” Destination through Photography

Taufiqqurrachman

doi:10.4236/ojbm.2020.82040

Abstract

Web 2.0 or social media as a digital instrument of the internet marketing is increasingly significant in formatting an online image of the tourist destination. The study collected photographic information of two destinations in Indonesia (West Sumatera and Aceh) from the official Instagram account of each of their local authorities to explore the online image of these destinations. Visual content analysis was applied to examine the image formation of this halal tourism within the collected photograph. The results indicate that various dimensions of an image are composed of five dimensions: social opportunity and attraction, natural and cultural amenities, accommodation and transportation, infrastructure, food and friendly people, physical amenities, and recreation activities. However, similarly natural and cultural amenities are the most emphasized dimension. Conversely, the dimension of accommodation and transportation is less stressed by these official webs. Meanwhile, categories of some image dimensions were emphasized differently. The implication of halal destination and study findings to the theoretical development of the image of halal tourism and some recommendations for future study were discussed.

Highlights

The significance of the internet in tourism marketing has been well documented by some previous studies [1] [2] [3]
The results indicate that various dimensions of an image are composed of five dimensions: social opportunity and attraction, natural and cultural amenities, accommodation and transportation, infrastructure, food and friendly people, physical amenities, and recreation activities
This study collects photographs from the official Instagram account of West Sumatera and Aceh tourism authority to identify how they project the image of their destination as halal tourism through photograph production

Summary

Introduction

The significance of the internet in tourism marketing has been well documented by some previous studies [1] [2] [3]. Web site features and web site promotion techniques, and programs of customer relationship management are factors that influence the effectiveness of web marketing strategies [4], including. Web 2.0, called social media or user-generated content media, is another instrument of tourism marketing. The scholar works show that social media is crucial in destination marketing, as it influences destination selection [6] [7] [8] [9]. Instagram is a social media platform used by tourism agencies to create the projected image of destination by producing and sharing pictures [10] [11]. The destination promotion is primarily aimed at projecting images of the destination to potential tourists, so it becomes desirable to them [12]. Image is tourist’s idea, conception [13], and impression [12] [14] that comprise three interrelated components (cognitive, affective and conative) [15]

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion