Picture Perfect Japan: Constructing Destination Image through Tourist-Generated Content

Abstract

This thesis investigates how tourist-generated content (TGC) – created by foreigners for foreigners – shapes destination image and visit intention through visual storytelling on social media. Focusing on the Chūbu and Tōhoku regions of Japan, the study analyses 180 content samples across three content types: micro-content (e.g. Instagram Reels), meso-content (YouTube videos under 30 minutes), and macro-content (videos over 30 minutes, including Twitch livestreams). Employing existing frameworks in tourism and social media research – such as destination image formation (Gartner 1994), tourist gaze (Urry 1990), authenticity (MacCannell 1973; Cohen 1988), and parasocial interaction (Horton & Wohl 1956) – seven criteria are assessed using visual content analysis: cognitive, affective, and conative image dimensions, trust, familiarity, authenticity focus, and parasocial interaction. Special Interest Tourism (SIT) forms are also measured to determine predictable narrative and structural patterns across these content types. Findings reveal that platform features and content structure – rather than geography alone – determine how destination image is constructed. Micro-content exhibits emotionally congruent and aesthetic, performative authenticity, often serving as an initial prompt for destination interest. Meso-content balances cognitive and affective dimensions, combining visual appeal with detailed narration and increased viewer-engagement. Macro-content exhibits the highest potential for authenticity and trust-building, often providing immersive and vicarious experiences with a resonant narrative. The study culminates in a typology of TGC-based destination branding, mapping how micro-meso-macro-content interacts with specific tourist gazes and image dimensions. This typology contributes to both tourism research and online destination branding, offering insights into how social media platforms mediate the emotional, cognitive, and behavioural components of visit intention – particularly in overlooked or post-disaster regions. The findings hold practical value for destination marketing organisations (DMOs), creators, and researchers interested in the nuanced construction of visual tourism media. Show more