Virtual influencers in Tourism Marketing: Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Considerations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15170/MM.2025.59.04.07Kulcsszavak:
destination marketing, virtual travel influencers, persuasion, rhetoric, artificial intelligenceAbsztrakt
AIMS OF THE PAPER
Aristotle’s Rhetorical Theory has been widely applied in the fields of communication, marketing, and advertising
as a model to explore persuasion. Grounded on the three main principles of this theory -êthos,
pathos, logos the current study seeks to explore the effectiveness of virtual influencers in promoting tourist
destinations.
METHODOLOGY
The Instagram accounts of three virtual influencers created to promote tourism in Italy, Germany, and
Brittany (France) were analysed using qualitative and quantitative methods. Instagram analytics were
employed to determine the performance and audience profile, whereas the comments extracted from the
Instagram posts were examined through an interpretivist thematic analysis.
MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS
The analysed virtual travel influencers face several challenges in generating ethos, pathos, and logos.
Regarding êthos, the greatest challenge is the lack of a bodily dimension and, consequently, the absence
of practical intelligence. In terms of pathos, while their visual appeal can contribute to evoking positive
emotions, their lack of expressiveness prevents a deeper connection between the influencers and their audience.
Regarding logos, posts were found to contain AI-generated locations or misleading information about
destinations, weakening arguments and rational appeal which is essential to effective persuasion.
RECOMMENDATIONS
To enhance the persuasive potential of virtual travel influencers tourism promoters should make them more
relatable by showcasing realistic scenarios and authentic locations. Additionally, increasing their expressiveness
and ensuring transparency about their management and objectives can foster stronger emotional
engagement. Finally, each post should be accompanied by well-curated informative content to provide
logical reasons for visiting a destination.
Hivatkozások
Angmo, P., Mahajan, R., & Ranjitha, G. P. (2025), “Unveiling the Power of Virtual Influencers: Impact of Content and Credibility on Consumer Engagement and Purchase Intentions”, Journal of Relationship Marketing, 1-32. DOI: 10.1080/15332667.2025.2471668
Ameen, N., Cheah, J. H., Ali, F., El-Manstrly, D., & Kulyciute, R. (2024), “Risk, trust, and the roles of human versus virtual influencers”, Journal of Travel Research, 63(6), 1370-1394. DOI: 10.1177/00472875231190601
Baskara, A. F. S., Suminar, P., & Firmansyah, M. A. (2025), “The Influence of Digital Rhetoric on Follower Trust in the Instagram Account@ malakaproject.id, Srawung: Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 4(2), 48-66. DOI: 10.56943/jssh.v4i2.747
Belanche, D., Casaló, L. V., & Flavián, M. (2024), “Human versus virtual influences, a comparative study”, Journal of Business Research, 173, 114493. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114493
Buvár, Á. (2018), “ # Reklám,# hirdetés,# fizetett tartalom: A reklámfelismerés szerepe a reklámmal kapcsolatos attitűdök aktiválásában szponzorált tartalmak esetén”, Marketing & Menedzsment, 52(3-4), 33-44. Available at https://journals.lib.pte.hu/index.php/mm/article/ view/1060 (Accessed: 17 June 2025).
Campbell, C., & Farrell, J. R. (2020), “More than meets the eye: The functional components underlying influencer marketing”, Business Horizons, 63(4), 469-479. DOI: 10.1016/j. bushor.2020.03.003
Deptula, A., Hunter, P. T., & Johnson-Sheehan, R. (2025), “Rhetorics of Authenticity: Ethics, Ethos, and Artificial Intelligence”, Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 39(1), 51-74. DOI: 10.1177/10506519241280639
Hernández-Méndez, J., Baute-Díaz, N., & Gutiérrez- Taño, D. (2024), “The effectiveness of virtual versus human influencer marketing for tourism destinations”, Journal of Vacation Marketing, 1-15. DOI: 10.1177/13567667241276212
Kjeldsen J.E (2024), “Ethos in the Machine—The Rhetorical Character of Debate AI”. In Hess, A., & Kjeldsen, J.E. (Eds.). Ethos, Technology, and AI in Contemporary Society: The Character in the Machine (1st ed.). Routledge. Chapter 3. DOI: 10.4324/9781032688503
Lamichhane, Y. R. (2017), “The role of Aristotelian appeals in influencing consumer behavior”, Journal of Development and Social Engineering, 3(1), 65-78. DOI: 10.3126/jdse. v3i1.28031
Nasaruddin, M. Z. M., Aziz, A. A. A., & Yatim, A. I. A. (2023), “Narrative Persuasion and Consumer Engagement by Malaysian Social Media Influencers”, European Proceedings of Educational Sciences, 556-568. DOI: 10.15405/ epes.23097.50
Onebunne, A. P. (2025), “From Aristotle to AI: Exploring the convergence of deepfakes and persuasion and their societal consequences”, International Journal of Arts and Humanities, 6(1), 288-296. DOI: 10.25082/ IJAH.2025.01.003
Panigyrakis, G., Panopoulos, A., & Koronaki, E. (2020), “All we have is words: applying rhetoric to examine how social media marketing activities strengthen the connection between the brand and the self”, International Journal of Advertising, 39(5), 699-718. DOI: 10.1080/02650487.2019.1663029
Rapp, C. (2023), “Aristotle’s Rhetoric”, in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2023 Edition), Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.). Available at https://plato. stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-rhetoric/ (Accessed: 15 May 2025)
Torto, R. T. (2020), “Aristotelian rhetorical theory as a framework for analyzing advertising texts in the print media in Ghana”, Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 10(3), 269-283. DOI: 10.17507/tpls.1003.02
Vero, M. (2021), “Virtual trust: Persuasion in social media”, Philosophical Inquiries, 9(1), 9-28. DOI: 10.4454/philinq.v9i1.270
Veszelszki, Á. (2020), “Az Instagram-képek meggyőzési stratégiái a borkommunikációban”, Marketing & Menedzsment, 53(4), 13-24. DOI: 10.15170/MM.2019.53.04.02
Walters, T. (2016), “Using thematic analysis in tourism research”. Tourism Analysis, 21(1), 107- 116. DOI: 10.3727/108354216X14537459509017
Wang, L., Li, Y. Q., Ruan, W. Q., & Zhang, S. N. (2024), “The congruence effect in tourism activity marketing: the difference between virtual influencers and human influencers”, Current Issues in Tourism, 1-19. DOI: 10.1080/13683500.2024.2400180
Wang, Z. (2024), “Post-Rhetoric: A Rhetorical Profile of the Generative Artificial Intelligence Chatbot”, Rhetoric Review, 43(3), 155-172. DOI: 10.1080/07350198.2024.2351723
Xie-Carson, L., & Benckendorff, P. (2024), “Insta-fame or insta-flop? The pitfalls of using virtual influencers in tourism marketing”, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 60, 116- 126. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhtm.2024.06.014
Xie-Carson, L., Benckendorff, P., & Hughes, K. (2024), “Keep it# Unreal: Exploring Instagram users’ engagement with virtual influencers in tourism contexts”, Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 48(6), 1006-1019. DOI: 10.1177/10963480231180940
Yan, J., Kong, H., Jiang, S., & Zhang, M. (2024a), “The impact of virtual influencer advertising on consumer response: a moderated chain mediation model based on mind perception and parasocial interaction”, Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 1-20. DOI: 10.1080/10941665.2024.2350404
Yan, J., Xia, S., Jiang, A., & Lin, Z. (2024b), “The effect of different types of virtual influencers on consumers’ emotional attachment”, Journal of Business Research, 177, 114646. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114646
Zhang, J., Shao, Z., & Wang, K. (2025), “Does your company have the right influencer? Influencer type and tourism brand personality”, Tourism Management, 107, 105079. DOI: 10.1016/j. tourman.2024.105079
Zhang, K., Sun, X., & Li, G. (2025), “Virtual influencer and cultural heritage destination: Endorsement effectiveness of virtual versus human influencers”, Annals of Tourism Research, 110, 103873. DOI: 10.1016/j. annals.2024.103873
Downloads
Megjelent
Hogyan kell idézni
Folyóirat szám
Rovat
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Marketing & Menedzsment
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
