Projected and Perceived Destination Image of Tyrol on Instagram

Abstract

Alpine tourism destinations are highly dependent on their destination image. On Social Media, this perceived image relies heavily on user-generated content (UGC), which cannot be completely controlled by Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs). Potential tourists prefer informing themselves about travel destinations online, as UGC provides an unbiased resource reflecting a tourist’s perception. On Instagram, DMOs focus mainly on visual materials for projecting the intended destination image, affecting users’ perceptions, attitudes as well as travel behaviour, thus, alignment between the projected and perceived destination image is beneficial. This study compares photos collected from Instagram adopting a comparative content analysis approach together with Chi-square tests and Co-occurrence analysis, in order to identify differences of the projected and perceived destination image between posts by the Tyrol Tourist Board and actual tourists with the visittyrol hashtag. Findings are visualized via aggregated destination image maps. Results identify Nature & Landscapes, People, Plants, Architecture & Buildings and Residents’ Lives as the five predominant attributes of the projected Tyrolean destination image. However, tourists tend to be more interested in capturing nature, vegetation, leisure activities and domesticated animals, rather than lives of locals and their traditions. Similarities are found in illustrations of outdoor sports, other leisure activities and architecture.