Human Value Manifest in Instagram: A Visual Content Analysis of DMO Photography

Abstract

The relationship of social media and tourism marketing through image projection by which visual content is produced was well documented. However, minimal research was reported on the human values promoted through the usage of social media in the context of marketing tourism by various elements of Destination Management Organization (DMO), such as government, tourism industry, and official marketing agency. Since visual content was widely used to attract visitors, this paper aims to highlight and discuss the prominent human values within photographs posted on Instagram of the three categories of DMO. Visual content analysis was applied to measure those values promoted through the collected photograph. Findings of this study shown values classified into self-transcendence and conservation categories are more prominent than those of selfenhancement and openness within Instagram of all marketer categories. Both theoretical and managerial implications of this study to tourism study were discussed.