Place Branding and Public Diplomacy

https://doi.org/10.1057/s41254-019-00134-6

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

How vlogging promotes a destination image: A narrative analysis

of popular travel vlogs about the Philippines
Rachel Luna Peralta1

Revised: 30 January 2019

© Springer Nature Limited 2019

Abstract
This paper critically examines the potential and use of video blogs or vlogs shared on Facebook for creating a destination
image. In particular, it makes an in-depth analysis of the travel vlogs about the Philippines created by popular non-Filipino
travel vloggers—Lost LeBlanc, BecomingFilipino, Nas Daily, and Drew Binsky. The data were gathered through a qualita-
tive content and narrative analysis of the user-generated videos posted on the travel vloggers’ Facebook accounts. Content
and visual analysis of the videos as well as viewer responses support the argument that travel vloggers and their respective
vlogs play a key role in creating an online destination image of a place. Stories and images in vlogs vividly create destination
images necessary and fundamental for place marketing. Travel vlogs are representations of destination experiences, from
which public and private tourism agencies can use in their promotional/marketing agenda.

Keywords Vlogging · Travel vlogs · Destination image · Philippines · Narrative analysis

Introduction functions of e-strategy, e-planning, and e-management of the

tourism industry.
In the tourism industry, travel bloggers consistently share In support of this, Litvin et al. (2006) conducted the ear-
online their narratives of the destinations they visit, peo- liest tourism studies about the impact of e-wom and they
ple they meet, food they eat, as well as sights and sounds defined e-wom as “all informal communications directed at
they see and hear. They share their journey on social media consumers through internet-based technology related to the
and gain feedback while they inspire others to take on the usage or characteristics of particular goods and services,
same journey. Studies of travel blogs in tourism particularly or their sellers” (p. 461). They further added that e-wom
tourists characteristics, motivations, and preferences (Car- may either be synchronous (Instant Messaging) or asynchro-
son 2008; Wegner 2008) tourists’ decision making (Litvin nous (email or blog). The rapid evolution of technology has
et al. 2006) and how it has impacted destinations and tourist brought blogging to take on a new level, enabling bloggers
behavior were carried out by scholars (Bergmeister 2015; and travelers to utilize their smartphones or digital cam-
Bosangit et al. 2009; Thurm 2014). Unanimously, they claim eras to video record, post, and share their travel. This phe-
that travel bloggers influence consumers’ decision to book a nomenon has ushered in an era of vlogging, a portmanteau
destination, and they are considered destination marketing of video and blogging.
tools (Pan et al. 2007). Hence, travel blogs online influence
travelers’ purchase decision because travellers trust word-of-
mouth more than company advertisements (Lange-Faria and Objectives
Elliot 2012). The application of ICTs in the tourism industry
was hailed by Buhalis and Jun (2011) when they emphasized Travel vloggers utilize Facebook as a platform to share their
that electronic tourism (e-tourism) encompasses all business videos. It is in this light that this research was conducted to
examine the use and potential of video blogs or vlogs shared
on Facebook for creating and marketing a destination image.
* Rachel Luna Peralta This study aimed at answering the following questions:
rachel@ift.edu.mo
1
Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao, China

Vol.:(0123456789)
 R. Peralta

1. What is the perceived online destination image of the promote the image of a place is vital in the decision making
Philippines as reflected in four selected non-Filipino process of tourists when choosing a destination (Universal
travel vlogs? Mc Cann 2009). It is likewise necessary for DMOs to recog-
2. How effective are travel vlogs in promoting a destination nize the enormous potential of user-generated content such
image? as vlogs because UGCs are becoming “the source of cred-
ible travel information” (Elliot 2012, p. 196) and DMOs
use them at significant variations especially so when public
Review of related literature funds are limited (Hays et al. 2013).
UGCs come in various formats based on the criteria laid
Vlogging the journey by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Develop-
ment (OECD) (Gurung and Goswami 2017, p. 49):
With the speedy development of technology, travel blog-
ging has taken on a new face and phase. The latest trend 1. Text-written by users or modified writing of others such
that has captured not just interesting stories but authentic as Fanfiction.net, Quizilla.com, Writely.
travel narratives and navigations of young people adventur- 2. Photo-images or photographs taken or created by the
ous enough to explore the world using their video cameras or user, e.g., Photos on Flickr, photo blogging, remixed
smartphones is vlogging. Vlogging is increasingly becoming images.
popular on social media used for destination marketing. It 3. Audio—own audio recorded or modified by the user and
is an extended feature of text-blogging because vlogging distributed in varied platforms in the internet, e.g., audio
utilizes not just words and photographs, but videos captured mash-ups, remixes, home-recorded music on bands web-
using technology such as a smartphone or a digital camera. sites, MySpace, podcasting, and others.
Because it is a recent phenomenon, there is a dearth of stud- 4. Videos—own video recorded or edited and distributed
ies conducted regarding vlogging in tourism per se used as a in varied platforms in the internet, e.g., movie trailer
destination marketing/branding tool. What exist are studies remixes, lip synching, video blogs and video casting,
about social media in general in the context of destination posting home videos, hosting sites such as YouTube,
branding and marketing (Aran et al. 2014; Elliot 2009; Hays GoogleVideo, and others.
et al. 2013; Purwadi et al. 2017).
In 2010, the “State of the Vlogosphere” reported that Travel vloggers may be considered as social influencers in
MeFeedia tracked a total of 110,000 vlogs, which is a 500% destination marketing because they share their story online,
increase from the data it collected in 2007. From the same they receive feedback from their followers, which in turn
report, international vloggers are dominantly from the may persuade or inspire the followers to do the same. In
United Sates. They choose major online video hosting and its White Paper entitled “Influencer Marketing Trends in
sharing services such as YouTube (36%), Blip.tv (14%), the Tourism Industry Sector for 2018,” Axon Marketing &
Vimeo (9%), MySpace (7%), and Daily Motion (3%). About Communications revealed that the impact of influence on
13% use other video sharing platforms, whereas independent the purchase decisions of travelers is high on the purchase
publishers or vloggers who set up their own video hosting of tourist destination, hotel services, and airlines or travel
platforms account for 18% (Wauters 2010). agencies (Axon 2018). It added that at least 3 influencers of
Compared to text-blogging, vlogging allows the video traveling, fashion, and/or lifestyle were followed by more
blogger to video himself in a destination and share the vlog than 85% of users surveyed. Similarly, a study of “The State
on social media. The contents are richer, issues are broader, of Video Marketing 2018” conducted by Wyzowl found that
and audience reach is wider (Aran et al. 2014). Travel vlogs video marketing, such as vlogs, have the potential to influ-
are usually conversational vlogs which show the vlogger ence customers more than any other medium (Vermes 2018).
appearing in front of the camera talking and showing the The study found that in 1 day, an average customer watches
place around. Furthermore, vlogging could be labeled as online video for more than an hour-and-a-half. Vermes fur-
Digital Storytelling, which is user-generated media practice ther added that 81% of companies use video content as a
performed by amateurs or ordinary people who tell their own marketing tool, a huge increase from 63% in 2017. Because
stories using the latest digital tools (Lundby 2008). travel vlogs are created by travelers who are in the destina-
Vlogs are considered electronic consumer-to-consumer tion themselves, they would usually recommend the place
(C2C) communication used by several destination marketing and identify important features of the destination. This could
organizations (DMOs) as distribution channels for user-gen- be considered as personal recommendation on the part of
erated content (UGC) (Elliot 2009). Destination Marketing the travel vlogger. In a Nielsen Global Survey of Trust in
Organizations (DMOs) facilitate the access of information Advertising, 2015, 81% of consumers trust personal rec-
between and among consumers and providers. How DMOs ommendation (Allen 2015). Travel vloggers may fall in the
How vlogging promotes a destination image: A narrative analysis of popular travel vlogs about…

category of influencers; hence, travel vlogs may be useful of both cognitive and affective evaluation. Hence, cogni-
for destination marketing because of their wider potential tive image points to the aspects of a destination which are
for marketing compared to other means of communication attractive to the tourists such as the ambience, weather, pub-
or marketing tools. This is evidently mirrored in the tourism lic hygiene, and experiences worth remembering, whereas
industry with the increase of travel vlogs, whether independ- affective image refers to the tourists’ emotions or feelings
ent or sponsored. toward the place (Kim et al. 2017).
In a study conducted among domestic tourists in Oman, it With these definitions, online destination image refers
was found that most people rely on social media technology then to the “online representation of collective beliefs, feel-
for information about attractive places in Oman, the feed- ings, and overall impressions of a destination” (Mak 2017,
back posted on social media on a specific destination affect p. 282). Web 2.0 technologies make it possible for online
their travel decisions, and the respondents encourage its destination images to be created and distributed. Further-
Ministry of Tourism to use social media to increase local more, online destination image may be classified as pro-
tourism (Al-Badi et al. 2017). In particular, photos and vid- jected and perceived online DI. Projected online DI is the
eos uploaded on YouTube have the tendency to entice more “attributes projected through marketing communications,
tourists. In Garut, Indonesia, multilingual vlogs were cre- such as National Tourism Office websites” that manifest the
ated containing local culture. Languages used were English, “ideal” characteristics of the destination, whereas the per-
Mandarin, and German. Three one-minute vlogs introduced ceived online DI is the “holistic impressions, perceptions,
viewers about nature tourism, a local delicacy called Dodol, and feelings that tourists shared online with regard to tour-
and landmarks in Garut. These vlogs were posted on You- ism products and offerings in a destination” (Mak 2017, p.
Tube, Instagram, and other websites and were found useful 282). The online destination image of the Philippines cre-
not only for international tourists but for local tourists as ated and conveyed by the vloggers and vlogs under study is
well (Purwadi et al. 2017). considered as perceived online destination image. Hunter
Furthermore, previous studies show the potential of Face- (2016) brands online tourism destination image as a “more
book as a dynamic destination marketing tool. Among the dynamic social construction than the traditional projected
social network sites (SNS), Facebook is the most visited image found in print guidebooks and brochures” (p. 222).
(Turban et al. 2015) and most widely used social media sites The concepts on destination image and online destination
in the industry (Chan and Guillet 2011). In particular, Euro- image are illustrated in Fig. 1. The affective and cognitive
pean tourists mostly prefer Facebook as a social media plat- images of a destination may not be the focus of this paper;
form (Almeida-Santana and Moreno-Gil 2017). To promote however, it can be assumed that they have an impact on the
and market a destination, Destination Management Organi- online destination images that are created by vloggers, par-
zations (DMOs) in Italy strategically utilize Facebook and ticularly on the perceived destination image. Although the
the way they use it varies across Italian cities. Likewise, it purpose of this paper was to examine the online destina-
has been found that a strong digital culture using Facebook tion image created by the vloggers, it was necessary to look
can be adapted by other DMOs worldwide (Mariani et al. at the affective and cognitive images because they are the
2016). Specifically, hotels use Facebook to improve con- antecedents to the content that were created and shared by
sumer engagement and monitor consumer feedback which the vloggers.
enables them to address customer issues and concerns
(Phelan et al. 2012). Despite the potential of Facebook in The Philippines as a destination
destination marketing, the user-generated contents (UGCs)
found in Facebook and other social media that are published The Republic of the Philippines is an archipelago in South-
by individual tourists including travel vloggers are beyond east Asia comprised of 7641 islands clustered in three
the control of the DMOs (Li et al. 2017). island groups—Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao. Its named was
derived from Spain’s King Philip II (www.gov.ph/about​
Destination image -the-phili​ppine​s). As a tropical country, the Philippines is
best visited during the first half of the year, from January
Crompton (1979) defines destination image (DI) as “the to May. It is cool from November to February, hot and dry
sum of beliefs, ideas, and impressions that a person has of a from March to May, and rainy from June to October, with
destination” (p. 18). Furthermore, DI is also defined as the typhoons from July to September. The average temperature
represented idea, feelings, and perception of a person on is 25 °C. Some islands in the Philippines, such as Cebu, can
a destination (Fakeye and Crompton 1991). A generalized be visited throughout the year due to warm and comfortable
framework of destination image formation, as proposed by weather (www.touri​sm.gov.ph, 2018b). The country’s tour-
Baloglu and McCleary (1999), includes cognitive evalua- ism slogan is “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” launched
tion, affective evaluation, and overall image which is a blend in 2012 (Villegas 2017).
 R. Peralta

Fig. 1  Conceptual framework of

destination image

In 2018, despite Boracay’s six-month closure for reha- tourism industry in the Philippines relies heavily on its natu-
bilitation, the international tourist arrival in the Philippines ral attractions. However, these natural attractions themselves
hit 7.1 million, a 7.65% increase from 2017. Foreign tourists remain weak in inducing higher visitor arrival due to factors
to the Philippines were led by the South Koreans at 1.58 like inadequacy in infrastructure, investment, accommoda-
million, followed by the Chinese at 1.25 million. The Ameri- tion, airlift, and medium to low quality of local products
cans (1.03 M), Japanese (631, 801), and Australians (279, (www.touri​sm.gov.ph, 2018a). The current administration,
821) were also in the top 5 foreign tourists to the Philippines though, is investing heavily in infrastructure making it the
(“Philippines records ‘all-time high’ 7.1 M tourist arriv- top public spending priority at a cost of PHP 8-9 trillion
als in 2018,” 2019). From its significant number of tourist from 2017 to 2022. To reduce poverty to 13–15% by 2022,
arrivals in the country, the combined visitor receipts for the the “Build Build Build” project is expected to accelerate
first 2 months alone was PHP78.82 billion, almost doubled infrastructure and development of industries around the
from PHP 40.08 billion in the same period of 2017. South archipelago (https​://www.build​.gov.ph, 2018) which will
Korean tourists contributed PHP21.68 billion, the Chinese and essentially impact the tourism industry of the country,
spent PHP 16.35 billion, and the Americans PHP10.46 bil- making far-flung towns and destinations more accessible to
lion (Rocamora 2018). local and foreign tourists.
Under its Tourism National Strategy, the Philippines’ According to four different sources as shown in Table 1,
Destination Strategy is investment-driven outside Cebu and the top four Philippine destinations in no particular order
Boracay, the two mostly visited islands in the country. The are Banaue Rice Terraces in the Cordillera, Chocolate Hills

Table 1  Top Philippine destinations

Rank Department of Tourism Lonely Planet Thrillist The Guardian

1 Banaue Rice Terraces Bacuit Archipelago Mayon Volcano El Nido, Palawan

2 Chocolate Hills (Bohol) Banaue Rice Terraces Batad Rice Terraces Boracay
3 Boracay Busuanga and Calamian Islands El Nido, Palawan Banaue Rice Terraces
4 Cebu Kalibo Coron, Palawan Bohol
5 Davao Boracay Tubbataha Reef Siargao
6 Manila Cebu Vigan Camiguin Island
7 Palawan Sagada Chocolate Hills, Bohol Siquijor
8 Vigan Bohol Negros Batanes
9 Siargao Taal Volcano Mindoro
10 Manila Siquijor Davao
11 Bicol Boracay
12 Puerto Galera Puerto Princesa, Palawan

Sources Department of Tourism http://www.touri​sm.gov.ph/phil_desti​natio​n.aspx

Lonely Planet https​://www.lonel​yplan​et.com/phili​ppine​s
Uy (2017) Thrillist https​://www.thril​list.com/trave​l/natio​n/best-place​s-to-visit​-in-the-phili​ppine​s
Lowe (2013). The Guardian https​://www.thegu​ardia​n.com/trave​l/2013/nov/27/phili​ppine​s-best-islan​ds-after​-typho​on-haiya​n-touri​sts
How vlogging promotes a destination image: A narrative analysis of popular travel vlogs about…

in Bohol, Boracay in Aklan, and Palawan islands (Puerto narration. Functions refer to the sense of the word, the
Princesa, El Nido, and Coron). Meanwhile, Travel + Lei- units and syntax or grammatical structure of the narrative;
sure ranked Palawan and Cebu at 6th and 8th place, actions refer to actants or those who perform the actions or
respectively, among the listed 15 Best Islands in the World characters; and the level of narration includes the origina-
(Ascher-Walsh 2018). tor or source of the narrative, the situation, and the codes
or conventions of presentation used by the source. Taking
these three levels of description into consideration, this
Methodology study integrated in its framework the forms of coherence
espoused by Riessman (2002) in performing a narrative
Narrative analysis analysis:

An in-depth analysis of the travel vlogs was performed in 1. Global coherence—this refers to the real objective of the
this study using narrative analysis. Narrative is essential in subject in storytelling.
human interaction as it depicts experiences and undertak- 2. Local coherence—accounts for understanding the tools
ings of people. Cortazzi (2002) asserted that narrative is a and structure utilized by the narrator in achieving the
fundamental cognitive activity, a process by which meaning expected outcome.
is given in human existence, and a means by which people 3. Thematic coherence—certain themes recur in a story
“represent and restructure the world” (p. 1). He added that which are significant in transmitting the meaning of the
when people tell stories, anecdotes, and other kinds of nar- story.
ratives, they are “engaged in a perceptual activity that organ-
izes data into a special pattern which represents and explains In examining the language used in the vlogs, which is
experiences” making narratives an overt manifestation of basically the mode used to convey the meaning alongside
the mind in action, serving as window by which mental the shots and other objects in the videos, it was necessary
operations are shown (p. 2). As part of man’s sociocultural to use the Systemic Functional Linguistic Theory espoused
membership, people organize their experiences and impor- by Michael Halliday (1978) on the grounds that language
tant events in life through stories, creating meanings, and is a means for making meaning (Halliday and Matthiesen
connections to and about life (Webster and Mertova 2007). 2013). Halliday and Matthiesen (2013) pointed out that
Narratives are emergent as tellers “perform numerous social a text has two sides: 1. Text being an object and 2. Text
actions while telling a story” (De Fina and Georgakopou- being an instrument for discovering something. Hence,
lou (2008, p. 381). Narratives may be considered “shared functional-meaning based approach on language can be
resources and are important sector of the shared culture of used to understand better the society in which people live,
the community which is instrumental “negotiating it and allowing them to create meaning through language and
regenerating it” (p. 382). According to Pace (2008), a video to create language through meaning. Systemic Functional
becomes a story when it is made “to be told and broad- Linguistics anchors on the idea that language as a social
casted” (p. 222). process is used in everyday social interaction and is an
Moreover, as an evolving research method (Bell 2003), analytical methodology that allows the systematic descrip-
narrative analysis is the study of stories and experiences of tion of language patterns. Anchored on Michael Halliday’s
people using the first-person account (Riessman 1993), the functional grammar, Francesconi (2014) pointed out four
study of how humans experience the world (Connelly and theoretical claims about language—functional, contextual,
Clandinin 1990), and the analysis and criticism of stories semantic, and semiotic. Language as functional means lan-
that people tell, hear or read (Webster and Mertova 2007). guage serves human needs in daily situation. Language as
It is a method of inquiry that produces knowledge which contextual is realized in social and cultural authentic con-
involves three steps namely, putting into words one’s expe- texts. Language as semantics refers to the metafunctions
riences, using critical analysis to understand patterns and of language, which is in fact the main purpose of language
principles, and analyzing other people’s experiences as well as pointed out by Halliday-ideation, interpersonal, and tex-
(Webster and Mertova 2007). tual. Lastly, language as semiotic is a web of interrelated
In narrative analysis, words and visual elements can be topics from which language is ordered based on a sys-
scrutinized to render meaning to a story. To employ this, tematic paradigm. Veloso (2010) further stated the same
a structural analysis of narratives needs to be undertaken. Hallidayan principle when he wrote that the identity of a
In performing a structural analysis of narratives, Barthes society can be reconstructed through natural resources,
and Duisit (1975) highlighted three levels of description indigenous culture, and history through the interplay of
in narratives namely functions, actions, and the level of different modes and media.
 R. Peralta

The selected non‑Filipino vloggers vloggers were selected over local ones to obtain an out-
sider-point-of-view about the Philippines.
The purpose of this research was to critically examine the These vloggers do not officially represent or work for
use and potential of video blogs or vlogs shared on Face- any tourism organization or tourism board but according
book for affirming and projecting a destination image of to LeBlanc (2016) in his YouTube video “How to make
the Philippines and to determine their effectiveness in money on social media (Everything you need to know)” as
promoting a destination. Using purposive sampling, an influencer, it is his option to propose working with tour-
four non-Filipino vloggers were selected for this study ism boards because it is “such a natural fit” by negotiating
namely, Christian LeBlanc (Lost LeBlanc), Kyle Jenner- with them to visit a country for a week or a month, while he
man (BecomingFilipino), Nuseir Yassin (Nas Daily), and creates a video or vlog about the place and receives remu-
Drew Binsky. About 15 foreign bloggers and vloggers neration per video.
were listed as blogging and vlogging about the Philippines
(Medina 2017) but none of these are as popular as the Validity of findings
four vloggers included in this study. They were selected
based on their popularity as evidenced by the number of Due to the fact that realities in narratives cannot be expected
followers on Facebook and as reflected by their respec- to replicate itself because stories and experiences happen in
tive engagements such as like, share, and comments (Refer different circumstances (Holstein and Gubrium 1995), the
to Table 2). Before becoming travel vloggers, these four concepts of validity and reliability are not relevant in the
vloggers were gainfully employed in their respective pro- context of narrative inquiry according to Riessman (1993,
fessions as a software engineer (Nuseir Yassin), English as cited in McMullen and Braithwaite 2013). When a nar-
teacher (Drew Binsky), accountant (Christian LeBlanc), rative analyst is transparent in the process of interpretation
and corporate employee (Kyle Jennerman). Foreign by describing particular discourse or theoretical framework

Table 2  Selected non-Filipino vloggers

Facebook page name Real name Nationality Age No. of Fol- No. of vlogs about Self-description on Facebook
lowers (as of the Philippines (as of
2018) 2018)

Nas Daily Nuseir Yassin Israeli 25 7,073,913 30 My name is Nas. It means people
in Arabic. I make 1-min videos
about myself and others. Eve-
ryday
I wear the same t-shirt, and I have
a company. That’s it!
https​://www.faceb​ook.com/nasda​
ily/
Drew Binsky Drew Binsky American 27 741,832 16 I’m Drew Binsky. I make daily
travel videos, inspiring people
to step out of their comfort
zone and bring peace upon one
another. 140 + countries visited
since 2012. Thanks for joining
me on this wild adventure:)
https​://www.faceb​ook.com/drewb​
insky​/
Becoming Filipino Kyle “Kulas” Jennerman Canadian 29 724,583 439 #BecomingFilipino is the journey
of a 29-year-old Canadian shar-
ing happiness, adventure, and
Love of Filipino Culture
https​://www.faceb​ook.com/
becom​ingfi​lipin​o/
Lost LeBlanc Christian LeBlanc Canadian 25 459,541 72 My name is Christian LeBlanc
and I quit the corporate jungle
to pursue my passion for film
making and sharing the world
through my lens
https​://www.faceb​ook.com/lostl​
eblan​c/
How vlogging promotes a destination image: A narrative analysis of popular travel vlogs about…

(Reissman 2008), mentions which aspect of the story is to make an independent purchase decision (“Advantages
included or excluded, and describes how inferences are and disadvantages of Instagram marketing,” 2018) for a
made, then he is capable of achieving a high degree of trust- destination.
worthiness (Greenhalgh et al. 2005).
Validity in qualitative research then can be measured by
the suitability of tools, processes and data. As Leung (2015,
Key findings and discussion
p, 326) wrote it:
Whether the research question is valid for the desired Online destination images of the Philippines
outcome, the choice of methodology is appropriate for created on Facebook by vlogs
answering the research question, the design is valid
for the methodology, the sampling and data analysis Before looking at the online destination images of the Philip-
is appropriate, and finally the results and conclusions pines created on Facebook by the selected travel vlogs, some
are valid for the sample and context. salient descriptive statistics are worth examining. Table 3
describes the specific vlogs that were analyzed, including
In lieu of the traditional concepts of validity and reliability,
the length of the video, the number of views, the number
Garman (1996) set out the following principles for narra-
of interactions, and the number of shares as of this writing.
tive analysis to be valid and reliable: Verite (Does it address
Despite being the shortest in length, at 1:05 min, it is Nas
the why?), Integrity (Is it logical?), Rigour (Is it in-depth?),
Daily’s “How Cheap is the Philippines? (Day 298)” which
Utility (Is the work relevant to the profession?), and Vitality
has the highest number of views at 28 million, highest num-
(Is it important and meaningful?)
ber of comments (113,000), reactions (395,000), and shares
Essentially, travel vlogs contain the fundamental ele-
(276,000) among the four vlogs. Lost LeBlanc comes sec-
ments of a story such as plot, character, structural pattern,
ond, Drew Binsky at third, and the last is Becoming Filipino
and organization expressions. In this context, therefore,
vlog. It should be recalled that Nas Daily has the highest
only the most viewed videos about the Philippines created
number of followers among the four vlogs, as shown ear-
by each of the four selected non-Filipino vloggers were
lier on Table 1.
examined and it does not investigate all vlogs produced by
the vloggers, no matter the number. The content or mes-
sage, the language used, the visuals or scenes, characters, Functions: linguistic data comparison
music, and other elements of videography are included in
the analysis of these vlogs. The perceived online destination Words, phrases, and complete sentences were units of syn-
image created on Facebook is discussed thematically and tax used in constructing the message of each vlog. The four
the potential of vlogs to promote destinations and influence vlogs about the Philippines utilized the English language,
tourists is discussed using Barthes and Duisit (1975) three given the fact that the vloggers are English native speakers
levels of description—functions, actions, and level of narra- from Canada and the United States of America. However,
tion. Overall, Riessman’s (2002) global, local, and thematic for vlogger Kyle Jennerman of “Becoming Filipino” he
coherence serve as the framework of this study. The impor- occasionally code switched to Bisaya, the local dialect in
tance of this study rests on its ability to convince DMOs to Southern Mindanao where he currently resides.
utilize social media influencers with millions of followers
Super maayo driver. Gusto ko magdrive like langgam.
or integrate UGCs in revitalizing the creation and promo-
Asa man ang key?
tion of destination brands because vlogs have strong poten-
(This driver is super good. I want to drive like a bird.
tial to reach a global audience that is willing to explore and
Where is the key?)
navigate places recommended by vloggers they follow. For
this study, Facebook was chosen among various media for Moving on, the perceived online destination image (Mak
vlogs because there are more opportunities of collaboration 2017) of the Philippines by the four non-Filipino travel vlog-
between producers/marketers and consumers in Facebook, gers can be categorized into two main descriptions based on
and it enhances a proactive social marketing strategy due to the content of the vlogs—(1) cheap and (2) fun and beau-
its capacity for exchange of communication (Smith et al. tiful. This perceived ODI is affirmed using the Systemic
2012). As a social media, Facebook caters to a mature audi- Functional Linguistic Theory of Michael Halliday (1978),
ence who may have the capacity to make purchase decisions where language is one of the semiotic systems used to make
by themselves. On the other hand, other social media such meanings. Hence, the meanings conveyed by each vlog are
as Instagram, which is primarily a photo-sharing network, that, as a destination, the Philippines is a heaven, paradise
target teenagers and young adults who may possibly have in Southeast Asia where travelers can experience an enjoy-
the intention to purchase but may not have the means yet able vacation.
 R. Peralta

Table 3  Descriptive statistics of selected travel vlogs (as of 2018)

Nas Daily Drew Binsky Becoming Filipino Lost LeBlanc

Most viewed vlog “How cheap is the Philip- “This is why the Philippines Skylab driving in Monte- Philippines Top 10 (Travelers
about the Philip- pines? (Day 298)” is my favorite country on vista Compostela Valley— Paradise)—2017
pines https​://www.faceb​ook.com/ earth” Mindanao, Philippines https​://www.faceb​ook.com/
nasda​ily/video​s/76581​594 https​://www.faceb​ook.com/ https​://www.faceb​ook.com/be lostl​eblan​c/video​s/11869​
02​37227​/ drewb​insky​/video​s/13990​ com​ingfi​lipin​o/video​s/vl.358 89564​73006​0/
65490​13037​6/ 76​17478​92376​/15370​31319​
89540​1/?type=1
Length (in minutes) 1:05 1:40 6:23 15.28
Total number of views 28 million 5.3 million 1.1 million 12 million
Number of comments 113,000 3,900 1800 47,400
Number of reactions 395, 000 138,000 19,000 236,000
299, 000 likes 114,000 likes 19,000 likes 185,000 likes
35,000 love 20,000 love 68 haha 41,000 love
18,000 wow 3200 wow 58 love 8800 wow
5,4000 haha 217 haha 10 wow 193 haha
151 angry 15 sad 1 angry 25 sad
17 angry 19 angry
Number of shares 276,000 107,000 34,000 250,000

The Philippines is an affordable destination $2 for this meal, $41.50 for a haircut and $0.07 for
a jeepney ride.
Two out of the four vlogs highlight the affordability of the
While Nas Daily and Drew Binsky have liberally described
Philippines as a travel destination in Southeast Asia in terms
the Philippines as a cheap destination, Christian LeBlanc
of food, accommodation, transportation to name a few. Nas
offers options for his viewers in Lost LeBlanc to spend
Daily devoted his entire 1-min video in explaining why he
more if they choose to stay in luxury accommodations
likes the Philippines simply because it is cheap. Using the
or to spend less if they opt for more affordable hotels. In
US dollar as a currency and comparing some items to Hong
his 15-min vlog describing the top 10 places to see in the
Kong and New York, where he used to live, he narrates:
Philippines, he mentions the following deals:
Money. I don’t like spending it. That’s why I like the
The great thing is you can guarantee that you can
Philippines. It’s very cheap! A full day tour in this
find some extremely beautiful hotel if that’s in your
island would cost you 20 bucks and maybe $25 for this
budget. You can also find some relatively discount
one. A haircut for $17 in Hong Kong, here you could
ones, too. So, budget shouldn’t be too much of an
get it for $1. An Uber ride for one hour? Will cost you
issue here. (Referring to Boracay)
$3! Welcome to the Philippines! A romantic date for
two will set you back $15! Now, you’re not gonna go …. and relatively expensive accommodations, so
on a date, island hop, and get a haircut every single this definitely something that you have to save up
day but what I think you might like to do is drink! for. It’s a very small island and all the accommoda-
It’s soooo cheap in the Philippines that this bottle of tions in the island are quite expensive. (Referring to
rum costs $1.10! For that price I can buy 30 bottles to Malapascua)
get the whole village drunk for the price of two cock-
tails in New York City! Enjoy! And the best part is This is a place for anyone on any budget. (Referring
that while you drink your cheap drinks you can make to Bohol)
friends with locals because they all speak English here. It’s more inaccessible than El Nido and it could defi-
That’s 1 min! See you tomorrow! nitely be a bit of an expensive place to visit because
it’s so inaccessible. You either take a five-hour ferry
Similarly, Drew Binsky, in his 1:40 min vlog, also convinces
from El Nido or you can fly directly from Manila.
his audience that the Philippines is his favorite country by
Definitely expect to pay top dollar because the flights
giving five reasons, second of which is affordability. He says:
aren’t cheap. This is not a cheap place to go. (Refer-
The Philippines is one of the cheapest countries in ring to Coron)
Asia which allows you to have more fun for less. Try
How vlogging promotes a destination image: A narrative analysis of popular travel vlogs about…

The Philippines has fun and beautiful attractions Dumaguete is an incredible place and there’s a lot to
see and do here. It’s a place I spent almost two weeks
Tourists visit a place for various reasons and most often scuba diving and exploring its beautiful nature.
than not, they have emotional needs that need to be satis-
There’s a night life, there’s a great restaurant and a
fied by a destination based on its destination brand person-
whole lot of nice hotels and resorts.
ality which may potentially turn tourists into loyal custom-
ers (Dickinger and Lalicic 2015). A tourists’ perceived This is the most incredible landscape that I’ve ever
online destination image depends on the brand personal- seen.
ity represented by a destination brand. Three important
From exploring the jungle to exploring the beautiful
dimensions in the Brand Personality Scale developed by
beach that surrounds the entire island.
Aaker (1997) were found important by Ekinci and Hosany
(2006): sincerity, sophistication and excitement. Sincerity I don’t think I’ve seen more beautiful sunsets in my
is depicted by expressions such as good, friendly, charm- entire life.
ing, modern; Sophistication is manifested by words like
Coron is simply out of this world. I can’t compare it to
absolutely amazing, stunning, beautiful, nice; and Excite-
anything, to be honest.
ment is illustrated by descriptions such as cool, fantastic,
happy, fun, enjoyable, fresh. All these brand personality …this is the most amazing thing – the local Filipino
dimensions are evident in three of the four vlogs examined people are some of the friendliest and most accom-
as illustrated in the following lines enunciated by Drew modating people.
Binsky, Christian LeBlanc, and Kyle Jennerman.
In riding and driving the skylab for the first time, Kyle Jen-
Drew Binsky generally describes the people and the
nerman (Becoming Filipino) screams,
country this way:
This is highly crazy but it is really!
….the happiest people you’ve ever met - that’s the
This is amazing! I’m driving the skylab!
Philippines…. But it’s not only me who is smiling.
I mean, the country’s slogan is “It’s more fun in the
Narrative intent
Philippines” so believe me, it’s a happy place.
Juxtaposing drone shots of islands and natural attractions In particular reference to the travel vlogs under study, the
in the Philippines, Christian LeBlanc (Lost LeBlanc) global intent of the vloggers may be varied: promoting a
describes the people and the natural attractions on the destination, making themselves popular as vloggers, entic-
islands in this manner: ing people to visit a place, making income from videos,
or simply telling a story. For the local coherence, the lan-
It is some of the most beautiful landscapes and the
guage, music, images, local characters, style of videography,
most incredible people you might come across.
and other visual and non-visual elements embedded in the
The night life is pretty good and the food selection vlogs significantly help make the vlogs more persuasive and
is great. compelling. For thematic coherence, food, people, culture,
destination, transportation, lifestyle, and culture frequently
The island of Boracay is extremely beautiful. Some
appear in the vlogs studied. Content and visual analysis of
of the bluest waters you’ll ever see and some of the
the videos as well as viewer responses support the arguments
finest white sand beaches.
that travel vloggers and their respective vlogs play a key role
It’s very unlikely you’ve ever heard of this place but in creating an online destination image of a place. Stories
Malapascua is home to one of the most beautiful and images in vlogs vividly create destination images, and
creatures I’ve ever seen – the thresher shark. these are necessary and fundamental for place branding and
marketing.
El Nido is easily one of the most beautiful places in
the Philippines and arguably, the world.
Actions: How characters in vlogs reinforce online
It is really an awesome feeling because as you drive destination image
down this narrow road, you feel like you’re going
through a tree tunnel. It’s great for Instagram goals In narratives, the tellers or actants are those who perform
and it’s definitely an awesome feeling as you ride on the act of narration (Barthes and Duisit 1975). In vlogs, the
your scooter. tellers refer to none other than the vloggers themselves who
are the content producers and narrators. To make their vid-
eos more authentic, the inclusion of local characters add to
 R. Peralta

the dynamics and creativity of the videos. For Nas Daily, image which refers to the tourists’ emotions or feelings
the local characters are scattered throughout the video, but toward the place. The affective image reinforces the cogni-
significantly, in all his videos, the local characters are usu- tive image of a destination as not only beautiful but a happy
ally seen with him toward the end of the video when together place, as well.
they conclude by saying “That’s 1 min! See you tomorrow.” Overall, the online destination image of the Philippines
Unlike Nas Daily vlog, Drew Binsky opens his vlog with created by the four vloggers can be succinctly understood
a greeting from a group of locals in the Philippines saying through Fig. 2.
“Welcome to the Philippines!” He also includes individuals
in his vlog when he describes the fun in the Philippines and Level of narration: How scenes and shots in vlogs
further states his reasons for considering the Philippines as reinforce online destination image
his favorite country, one of which is that the Filipinos are
hospitable and friendly. Promoting a destination is a persuasive act because it entices
In the Lost LeBlanc vlog, the integration of local charac- potential tourists to visit a place. How persuasive a vlog
ters are minimal because the focus of his vlog is the top 10 is depends on various factors that include not only persua-
islands in the Philippines which make it a traveler’s paradise. sive language but compelling shots or scenes, as well. The
Christian LeBlanc does the narration throughout the video non-verbal elements of a vlog are fundamental in ensuing a
and in most shots, he is seen portraying the role of a traveler successful destination marketing strategy. In the four vlogs
by swimming in the beaches along with his girlfriend, div- that were examined, scenes were realistic as most of the
ing in the seas, riding a scooter around the islands, kayak- sequences were taken in the Philippines—actual people,
ing with his friends, and simply doing anything that tourists attractions, drinks, islands, rides, and food among others.
would do. Videos, compared to other sources media such as written
Meanwhile, in describing how fun it is to drive a skylab, texts and photographs, are more complex to create because
Kyle Jennerman includes local characters throughout the they require a certain skill of videography, cinematography,
video as part of the community where he is, in the public and photography. However, videos can show a lot more than
market where they took the skylab, and as the passengers pure text, pictures, or audio; hence, there are a lot more
who went riding the skylab as he drove it around until they things that a vlog can cover compared to a typical textblog,
got back to the public market. Although he is the main char- photoblog, or audioblog (Gao et al. 2010) essential for des-
acter and narrator, some of the local characters appear as tination branding and marketing. Putting sequences in shots
co-tellers. In the opening of his video, he is seen eagerly require not just spatial understanding of a destination, but
riding the skylab with other passengers. also a dose of creativity and passion.
The meaning evoked by such images purport to an In the case of Nas Daily 1-min video, the scenes are fast,
authentic perceived destination image, that of comfort, ease, as he enumerates the items that are cheap in the Philippines.
and safety in dealing with the locals. This reinforces the He supports the statements with actual videos such as get-
image of a place and makes it more attractive for potential ting a haircut, taking an Uber ride; he gives away and enjoys
travelers and influence their purchase intention of a destina- bottles of rum and other drinks. Similarly, Drew Binsky also
tion. Watching media influencers or travel vloggers enjoy a flashes actual people, places, and food as he narrates his
destination translates to what Kim et al. (2017) call affective reasons for choosing the Philippines as his favorite country.
Becoming Filipino vlog on the skylab has more movements
in the sense that the video shows how the character experi-
ences riding and driving a skylab. Following the character
Online na on Image riding and driving the skylab made the quality of the video
of the Philippines somewhat amateurish as the videographer was also heard
talking behind the camera or video, whatever equipment
he was using. Among the four vloggers, it is Lost LeBlanc
Perceived Online D na on Projected Online D na on vlog which displays an interesting and creative videography
Image Image
whereby shots are taken with proper light, a combination of
wide, high angle, establishing, and extreme long shot, and
full shots to show the grandeur of the islands. Underwater
Fun and
Cheap
beau ful
Diverse natural and cultural video shots are also widely used in this vlog to illustrate
des na on a ac ons
a ac ons scenes of seeing the marine life, swimming with the sharks,
and experiencing the crystal clear waters of the destination.
Fig. 2  Perceived and projected online destination image of the Philip- The drone shots provide an aerial view of the islands show-
pines ing its breadth and beauty. Slow motion shots are also used
How vlogging promotes a destination image: A narrative analysis of popular travel vlogs about…

in underwater scenes, waterfall shots, and full shots giving convenient, and profitable to tap popular vloggers as they
a panoramic view of the attractions. already have a high following and their vlogs have the ten-
On the part of audience contribution, the vloggers estab- dency to go viral, increasing the chances for a purchase deci-
lish a certain level of connection with their audience by sion of a destination.
requesting them to comment, like, or share the videos. On
the part of Nas Daily, saying “See you tomorrow!” makes
his audience tune into him for more videos as he is sup-
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