Dubai to Bastar bet on influencer aura to lure travel

From blazing, hotshot Dubai to remote, unsung Bastar, tourism hotspots—old and emerging—are opening their doors to social media influencers in a bid to gain footfalls from their follower base.

- Pratishtha Bagai

Tourism boards of countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Japan, as well as Indian states like Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Bihar, are offering free familiarization trips (FAM trips) to influencers—sometimes paying them too—in an effort to convert followers to tourists.

The influencer push by state tourism boards comes in the backdrop of domestic tourism shooting up 45% to 2,509.63 million in 2023 from 1,731.01 million in 2022, according to the India Tourism Data Compendium 2024 by the ministry of tourism.

"Content creators are redefining how people discover destinations, using authentic storytelling to inspire travel," said Amiya Swarup, partner, marketing advisory at consulting firm EY. "Indian state tourism boards have a unique opportunity to tap into this creative power and showcase their hidden gems to the world."

Take Shiva Yadav, a Mumbai-based creator who gave up his sales job at an IT giant two years ago to create content full-time and now has more than 33,000 followers on his Instagram handle @shivatells where he explores some of India's remotest areas through his travel diaries.