Pictorial Analysis of the Projected Destination Image: Portugal on Instagram

Destination image (DI) has an important role in destination choice. DI is considered as one of the main factors in destination competitiveness. The main aim of this study was to explore the projected image of Portugal as a tourism destination. The projected image was obtained through an analysis of the pictures of the official page of destination management organization of Portugal on Instagram (@visitportugal). The research used a sample of 1,306 photos. Samples included photographic and textual data. Visual content analysis and content analysis were adopted to analysis data. Appling content analysis for images refers to break a picture into a number of categories. The results showed that the projected destination images of Portugal were dominated by attributes related to natural attractions. In addition, the geographical distribution of the DMO photos showed that 880 photos (67%) of all 1,306 DMO photos were associated with nine destinations. Food/drink category was the most engaging image for followers. Additionally, the findings indicated that the most common applied hashtags for describing Portugal as a tourism destination and inspire travelers to visit were related to nature-based activities (e.g., nature, river, beach, ocean, sea).