#Influenced: The Impact of Influencer Marketing on the Travel and Tourism Industry of Ireland. A qualitative study.

Authors

Deegan, Orlaith

Issue Date

2021

Degree

MSc Digital Marketing

Publisher

Dublin Business School

Rights

Abstract

This research project aimed to investigate how influencer marketing impacts the sale of services in the travel and tourism industry in Ireland. This research was focused on this specific industry for multiple reasons. Some of those reasons being; a hard hit industry during the covid-19 pandemic and an industry that experiences more international than domestic contributions. The research involved a semi-structured design whereby the researcher conducted interviews through the online platform, Zoom. The purpose of the interviews was to gain rich insights from marketing managers to understand how effective influencer marketing can be on the sale of services in this industry. With these insights, marketers could correctly apply an appropriate strategy which will result in a higher contribution to the businesses and industry alike. The main objective of this research is to study the influencer marketing phenomenon and the impact it has on this particular industry by looking at the traits and characteristics influencers obtain and how these affect the success of a brands influencer marketing campaign. The results found that influencer marketing can be a highly effective communication tool for advertising services within this industry, however, the strategy implemented still needs to be carefully considered and applied to the overall marketing approach.