Destination Images of Africa Reflected in Social Media Photographs

Abstract

Nature-based tourism is important in Africa, but do tourists show natural resources when they share destination image(s) on social media and for which of the 54 countries? For the over 11 million photographs from Africa on Flickr, most were from South Africa (15%), Egypt (14%), Morocco (11%), Kenya (8%) or Swaziland (7%). Using a content analysis of 100 photographs per country we found they mostly show aspects of tourism (62%), particularly nature-based tourism (38%) such as wildlife (16%) and landscapes (20%), but also ‘traditional’ cultures (21%). Using linear models, we found that international tourism, economic factors, and nature (biodiversity and protected areas) explained much of the variation in the number and content of photographs among countries in Africa. While recognizing limitations with social media, and the small sample used, these results provided insights into how these destinations are perceived, which on Flickr reflected an ‘out of Africa’ nature-orientated view.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Photographs posted to social media can provide insights into people engaging with nature as tourists

• These photographs can be an inexpensive tool when assessing destination images including among countries

• Destination image for some countries in Africa as seen on Flickr focus on nature and ‘traditional’ cultures

Keywords:

• Conservation
• Flickr
• image content analysis
• nature-based tourism
• traditional cultural tourism

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge funding from Griffith Graduate Research School (GGRS), Griffith University, Australia to the lead author. We also acknowledge Clare Morrison and Sjirk Geerts for reviewing an earlier draft and four reviewers for their suggestions on how to improve the manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Griffith University Graduate Research School.