Travel vlog ecosystem in tourism digital marketing evolution: a narrative literature review

Abstract

ABSTRACT This narrative literature review advances understanding of travel vlogs as a critical component of contemporary digital tourism marketing and highlights the transformation of digital marketing over the past three decades. The paper explores the role of vlogs in modern tourism marketing practices and proposes a travel vlog ecosystem comprising three actors: the vlogger, the viewer, and the destination marketer. The paper is the first to examine the motivations and interactions of each of these actors and proposes a new model to explain these roles and relationships. The paper advances the tourism destination digital marketing literature by examining existing literature gaps and identifying future research opportunities in vlogging activities, particularly the vlogging ecosystem and the involvement of three main central actors. Given the increasing importance of social media in destination marketing strategy, this paper also provides valuable practitioners insights to inform strategic marketing activities using vlogs.