The Implicit and Explicit Motivations of Tourist Behaviour in Sharing Travel Photographs on Instagram: A Path and Cluster Analysis

Instagram has been an emerging platform for tourists to share their experiences and connect with other users in the multiphasic travel stages. Despite the huge number of photographs shared on Instagram on a daily basis, it remains ambiguous regarding the underlying motives of tourists’ posting behaviour. Thus, this study aims to conceptualise a framework based on the internal and external triggers of sharing travel photographs through a mix methods design involving diary studies and questionnaires. By conducting a path analysis, this study presents and validates a theoretical model including various motivational factors; namely enjoyment, self-esteem, recognition, interests, social norms, goals, social ties, social status and prestige, self-efficiency, outcome expectations and memorabilia. Meanwhile, this research clusters young techsavvy tourists into four distinct segments based on their behaviour of using Instagram while traveling. By bridging motivational theories, social psychology, and social media in the context of tourism, this research extends literature related to user-generated content and Instagram. Practically, this research allows marketers to optimise the effectiveness of marketing strategies based on the characteristics of tourists and their behaviour on social media platforms.