Role of social media influencers in promoting travel and tourism in Tampere
Maksuratun, - (2025)
2025
All rights reserved. This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025122038738
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025122038738
Tiivistelmä
The global tourism sector encountered a fundamental shift with the rise of social media, requiring a transformation in destination marketing from the traditional way of advertising to digital storytelling. Tampere is a well-known Finnish city that is also required to go through this transition and is seeking to enhance its international attention.
The research aimed to examine the role of social media influencers in promoting Tampere as a travel destination, assess their impact on audience perception, and travel intentions. It is also intended to col-lect information from two representatives of two different destination marketing organizations of Tam-pere. A further task was to develop practical and evidence-based recommendations for Tampere´s desti-nation marketing organizations.
A mixed-methods research design was used, including interviews with two representatives from different destination marketing organizations, and a survey was conducted. The examination revealed that influ-encers served as a crucial stakeholder who effectively translated Tampere´s core offerings, its lakes, ur-ban culture, and family-friendly activities into relatable, personal narratives. The content of influencers was found to generate a notable positive shift in destination marketing views, especially in enhancing the city´s image as naturally rich and modern. The survey results indicated that 78% of the respondents shared their willingness to visit after viewing influencer content, with perceived authenticity being the strongest potential for visitors. A key finding was the admiring role of domestic Finnish influencers, who successfully promoted underrated local attractions.
The research concluded that strategic influencer collaboration is the key to modern destination marketing for a city like Tampere. The thesis recommended that Tampere´s tourism authorities to collaborate with the local micro influencers for niche promotion and co-create a content schedule that aligns with authen-tic storytelling with strategic tourism goals.
The research aimed to examine the role of social media influencers in promoting Tampere as a travel destination, assess their impact on audience perception, and travel intentions. It is also intended to col-lect information from two representatives of two different destination marketing organizations of Tam-pere. A further task was to develop practical and evidence-based recommendations for Tampere´s desti-nation marketing organizations.
A mixed-methods research design was used, including interviews with two representatives from different destination marketing organizations, and a survey was conducted. The examination revealed that influ-encers served as a crucial stakeholder who effectively translated Tampere´s core offerings, its lakes, ur-ban culture, and family-friendly activities into relatable, personal narratives. The content of influencers was found to generate a notable positive shift in destination marketing views, especially in enhancing the city´s image as naturally rich and modern. The survey results indicated that 78% of the respondents shared their willingness to visit after viewing influencer content, with perceived authenticity being the strongest potential for visitors. A key finding was the admiring role of domestic Finnish influencers, who successfully promoted underrated local attractions.
The research concluded that strategic influencer collaboration is the key to modern destination marketing for a city like Tampere. The thesis recommended that Tampere´s tourism authorities to collaborate with the local micro influencers for niche promotion and co-create a content schedule that aligns with authen-tic storytelling with strategic tourism goals.