Influencer Marketing for Promoting New Tourist Destinations: The Case of Albania

Abstract

Digital marketing is seen as a very efficient instrument for the promotion of new tourist destinations. However, as marketing strategies increasingly focus on consumer engagement and storytelling, measuring the success of simultaneous promotional campaigns becomes more complex. Over the past two years, Albania has been ranked first in Europe by the UN World Tourism Organization for the highest growth in international tourist flows post-pandemic. As a country with a relatively undeveloped tourism tradition, public tourism institutions and private agencies often face challenges in identifying the most effective strategies for marketing tourist destinations. But, a significant portion of this success is attributed to social media content, which has drawn visitors from new markets. This study investigates the effect of influencer-driven content on Dutch audience promoting Albania as a new destination and observing essential campaign KPIs. That's why the problem of measuring - how viral an influencer post about Albania is related to the actual number of Dutch coming to Albania - is going to be tackled in this study. The study examines the impact of influencer-driven content on Dutch travel to Albania as a new destination by analyzing important campaign KPIs. Data from the Instagram influencer campaign is cross-referenced with the trend of Dutch visitors in recent years, demonstrating the important role influencer marketing plays in raising awareness and encouraging travel to Albania, offering insightful information to both public and private tourist organizations looking to increase their marketing initiatives.