Influencer Trends 2025 Report: Learnings for Destination Marketers in Film and TV Tourism
In today’s evolving travel landscape, influencer engagement remains a vital tool for destination marketing professionals looking to engage tourists. The latest Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report from Influencer Marketing Hub provides a timely update on current best practices for working with the booming influencer and creator economy, breaking down some key emerging trends. The report not only offers valuable insights on the current state-of-play but also a refresher on some key fundamentals when engaging with influencers. For those working in film tourism, screen tourism, and location marketing, authenticity is key and you don’t need to have big budgets necessarily to work with them.
As more and more people seek trips to see locations they have seen on the big and small screen, this report on trends around influencer strategy, offers valuable insight to those overseeing destination marketing strategies. Here are nine key highlights from the report that can help shape your influencer partnerships and boost your destination’s appeal in 2025.
- Strong ROI Validates Continued Investment
Influencer marketing consistently delivers higher returns than many traditional channels, with measurable impact. Globally, and especially in North America, brands report earning $5.20 for every $1 spent on influencer campaigns. For marketing in the area of film tourism and location based tourism, this highlights the value of partnering with creators who can authentically showcase destinations and locations connected to film and TV productions. - Micro and Nano Influencers Drive Authentic Engagement
While large-scale influencers attract wide audiences, micro and nano influencers with smaller, more engaged followings often deliver higher engagement rates. In Europe and North America, micro-influencers average engagement rates close to 4 per cent, outperforming mega-influencers. Destination marketers focused on film and TV tourism can benefit from collaborating with niche creators who are passionate about culture, films and TV, or travel in general. Especially when it comes to the world of fandom around iconic film and TV productions, where their audiences are far more invested into what these influencers get up to and what they are covering. - Video Content Reigns Supreme in Social Travel Inspiration
Short-form videos on platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and Snapchat Stories command significantly more engagement than static images – 49 per cent more globally. This trend is especially strong in Europe and North America. Using immersive video storytelling that highlights iconic filming sites or behind-the-scenes moments can invite travellers to connect emotionally with your destination. - Authenticity Remains a Non-Negotiable Factor
People increasingly value genuine, relatable content over polished or overly commercial posts. With 86 per cent of North American consumers citing authenticity as a deciding factor in influencer followings, destination marketers should prioritise working with creators who can create organic content, as close to their style, that their audiences find relatable. Authentic endorsements build trust and are more likely to lead to the audience searching for more details around your destination and then booking a trip. - Multi-Platform Campaigns Extend Reach and Impact
Campaigns spanning Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat report 30 per cent higher success rates in Europe and North America, due to tapping into diverse audience behaviours. Film tourism and location marketing strategies should, where capacity allows, embrace a multi-channel approach, tailoring content to fit each platform’s unique style to maximise reach and engagement. Remember though, where your audience tends to view content, so which platforms, plus what channels you are currently on, needs to be factored in. - Transparency in Paid Partnerships Enhances Trust
Clear disclosure when content is paid for is vital to maintain consumer confidence, particularly in Europe where 79 per cent of consumers expect transparency. Ensuring influencers clearly label paid partnerships protects the destination’s reputation and nurtures long-term audience loyalty. Many an influencer and brand has come unstuck from not being clear that a post was paid for, leading to backlash from their fans and the wider public, who increasingly do not like to be lied to. Remember as well, it is illegal to do so and can lead to fines; for example, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the US require clear and prominent disclosure of any commercial relationship. - Long-Term Influencer Relationships Deliver Superior Results
One-off influencer posts can generate a buzz and interest, but the real fruits of working with influencers come from sustained or longer-term partnerships which foster deeper engagement and allow for richer storytelling. In North America, long-term collaborations have seen a 20 percent boost in engagement compared to one-off campaigns. For tourism and destination marketers, ongoing influencer relationships provide opportunities to develop evolving narratives that keep destinations top of mind. A caveat is that if you are starting out, you may not want to commit straight away to anything beyond one trip until you have seen how the content lands and how you found working with them as well. - Storytelling is the Key to Emotional Connection
Narrative-driven influencer content outperforms purely promotional posts, with 70 per cent of consumers in Europe and North America more likely to engage with stories. As before, something that screams an advert and does not offer real value to the audience does not work as well anymore. Many audiences are much wiser to brand and paid for deals and have a degree of fatigue around influencers selling stuff to them. When it comes to travel, people do want to be inspired to an extent and imagine themselves travelling to the destination. Just showing beautiful shots of your destination and the influencer having a great time does not work however, nor does just going through a check-list of what looks like a an extended travel brochure.
When it comes to screen-induced tourism markets, destinations with connections to the world of film and TV already have an advantage as they already have many compelling stories to tell. It should therefore be relatively easy to think of the story being shared in the content, integrating themes of film history to the destination, on-location shoots, stories of the before and after transformations, and overall experiences of seeing the places in real life. This helps destination marketers avoid falling into overly promotional content and helps to create emotional resonance that motivates travel. - Data-Driven Influencer Selection Enhances Campaign Efficiency
A majority of marketers, 65 per cent in Europe and North America, now rely on analytics tools to evaluate influencer relevance, audience fit, and engagement before partnerships. While some destinations may lack the resources or expertise for advanced platforms, there are accessible ways to leverage data. Start by reviewing publicly available metrics on influencer profiles, such as follower count, average likes and comments.
Many social platforms offer built-in insights or stats on creators that can guide your decisions. Additionally, simple spreadsheets tracking key performance indicators can help you assess which creators consistently deliver results. Using data, even at a basic level, helps destination and location marketing teams target creators whose audiences align closely with their campaign goals, optimising both impact and budget.
Key Takeaways for Destination and Location Marketing Teams
Authenticity is critical. Influencers’ audiences connect through their unique content style. When content feels too polished or scripted, followers quickly sense it is an advert and disengage, even more so in 2025. Treat influencer partnerships as true collaborations and allow creators the freedom to communicate in their authentic voice to keep their community engaged and the content relatable.
Smaller creators can create significant impact without large budgets. You do not need to work with big-name influencers to achieve results. Micro and nano influencers often deliver high engagement and better return on investment because of their passionate and more niche audiences. Smaller creators provide cost-effective opportunities to cut through the noise and inspire travel interest. Plus, on the whole, they tend to be more willing to collaborate and work with you, unlike bigger names where there are often more contractual restrictions about what they will and will not do.
Focus your efforts on the right platform. Established influencers may be active across multiple channels, but if you are starting out or refreshing your content strategy, concentrate on the platform where your target audience is most engaged or where you have the strongest presence. Whether that is Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube, mastering one platform often beats spreading resources too thin. If well established on more than one, then great. Remember though, do not rule out a creator posting on platforms you may not be on if that is where they have audience engagement.
Do your homework: research creators carefully. Make sure the influencer’s style and audience align with your destination and campaign goals. Authentic connections between the influencer’s followers and the destination are essential for success. The last thing you want is backlash from their core audience who do not align or buy into the destination. Look at the types of comments being posted (though remember the comments space can be like the wild west at times and is not always a good indicator of overall sentiment). Due diligence ensures your collaborations are relevant and effective.
Content relevance: As part of doing your homework, content relevance is key. In other words, it’s about making sure the influencer regularly shares content that relates to what you want to promote – for example, travel, culture, film locations, outdoor activities, or local experiences. Sometimes the brief is to go outside your usual audience, but other times it may be too far a stretch from what you represent. This may seem obvious, but do they like the film or series of films that you are looking to promote? There should be a genuine overlap of between the creator and interest in the film and seeing the locations (as well as the overall destination), even if they are not a super fan – at least knowing they like it or are interested in finding out more, so that it is believable with their audience.
Adopt a test-and-learn mindset. Influencer marketing is an evolving landscape. Use early campaigns to learn what resonates, refine your approach, and build ongoing relationships. Flexibility and patience are key to unlocking long-term value. As stated earlier, do not sign up for a long-term engagement with one creator, especially if it is your first experimentation in this area. There are exceptions, but on the whole start small and slowly work up to more content with them.
Final Thoughts
While authenticity is essential, it does not mean marketers can be completely hands-off and just let the creator arrive and shoot without much of a brief or direction. In the wider area of travel influencer partnerships, success requires thoughtful collaboration, working with the influencers to develop a clear plan or treatment that outlines a degree of expectations and deliverable. This is alongside along with breaking down the key experiences, assets, and story elements connected to your destination and its film or TV heritage that they can weave in.
Providing access to relevant locations, along with guiding them on additional assets especially with regards to the film and TV worlds that they may not have experience with, helps influencers craft compelling content that aligns with your goals while maintaining their authentic style. This balance of guidance and creative freedom is key to maximising impact and striking the right balance when it comes to social media travel marketing. See it as a collaboration, a paid-for collaboration of course, but do remember to bring them on as a creative partner in the overall direction of the piece.
