User-Generated Content from Instagram and Sustainable Destination Image

The rise of social media has made the destination image process more complex, reduced the extent of control for destination management and marketing organisations (DMMOs) and empowered the visitor. However, the role of social media platforms in co-creating destination images is under-researched. Exploring the visitors’ experiences expressed on Instagram is relevant to achieving the transition of sustainable destination development. Hence, this study aims to contribute new knowledge on how user-generated content from Instagram can enhance sustainable destination images analysed by sustainable experience dimensions. Findings from an empirical Instagram experiment for a destination in eastern Norway demonstrate the importance of combining sustainable experience dimensions with seasonal variations for meaningful individual experiences and enhancing the sustainable destination image. The Instagram posts are not merely selfies with nature and culture as a backdrop but reflect engaging in activities or just being in the mountain environments. DMMOs can promote destination images, routing traffic away from vulnerable areas and provide educational courses related to local traditions. Instagram posts reveal essential aspects to users, which can be used in future destination image processes to systematically pay attention to the user’s perception of the destination’s qualities and sustainable experience potential.