INSTA-HOLIDAYS AND INSTAGRAMMABILITY

Abstract

This article is dedicated to the investigation of underlying motivation to use the social media platform Instagram for travel planning purposes and to identify the possible impact of Insta-Spots with regards to the travel destination choice. Furthermore, possible generational differences between Generation Y and Z have been analysed and justified by comparing their responses with existing literature and characteristics of deviating generational cohorts. To give a first insight into the topic of interest, an in-depth literature review was conducted to describe the theoretical background of the study. Moreover, an online questionnaire served with the purpose to collect primary data and to answer the respective research questions. As it has been identified, the social media platform Instagram plays a crucial role in the holiday planning process, especially for members of Generation Z. Furthermore, the existence of Insta-Spots has been acknowledged as an additional motivation for choosing a destination but not as a primary driving factor with regards to travel planning purposes. Additionally, it has been figured out that various types of Insta-Spots have a different extent of influence on Generation Y and Z, which can be underlined by the reason for having different priorities for activities during a holiday. Consequently, various tourism players are urged to include the promotion of Insta-Spots in their marketing strategy and also add places like these to a destination in order to attract Generation Z’s travellers.