The Role of Tourism Influencers in Promoting Emerging Destinations, A Comparative Study of Iran and UAE

This study examines the evolving role of social media influencers in promoting emerging tourism destinations, with a specific focus on Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as contrasting case studies. Through a mixed-methods approach, incorporating analysis of ۲,۵۰۰ Instagram posts, ۵۰۰ YouTube videos, interviews with ۷۰ stakeholders, and surveys of ۱,۰۰۰ followers, this research investigates how digital content creators shape destination image and tourist behavior in these distinct Middle Eastern contexts. The findings reveal significant differences in content effectiveness and audience engagement between traditional cultural destinations and modern luxury destinations. Iranian tourism content demonstrated superior performance in cultural storytelling engagement (۸.۵% vs ۶.۲% engagement rate) and audience retention (۷۲% vs ۶۸%), while UAE content excelled in conversion rates (۵.۲% vs ۳.۴%) and premium package sales. The study identifies optimal partnership durations for different destination types, with cultural destinations benefiting from extended collaborations (۶-۸ months) and modern luxury destinations achieving success with shorter, high-impact campaigns (۲-۳ months). This research contributes to both theoretical understanding and practical implementation of influencer marketing in emerging destinations, providing evidence-based recommendations for destination marketing organizations and tourism stakeholders. The findings suggest that successful influencer marketing requires careful alignment between content strategy, destination characteristics, and target audience preferences, moving beyond universal approaches to develop context-specific strategies.

کلیدواژه ها:

Tourism influencers ، Destination marketing ، Social media marketing ، Cultural tourism ، Iran tourism ، UAE tourism