BENIDORM – Where previously destinations were promoted in magazines, social media is now being used to attract tourists to Spain. Benidorm shows how the city is using TikTok and Twitch to increase tourism.
Whether you like all these modern developments and social media or not, they can provide opportunities in several areas. This includes tourism in Spain. Each social medium speaks its own language and has its own audience. This means that each medium requires its own approach to reach a certain target group.
Benidorm progressive in the use of social media for tourism purposes
Several cities in Spain are already using social media to show how beautiful their city is. Visit Benidorm president Leire Bilbao explains to Spanish news site Hosteltur.com how the resort is using new social media such as TikTok and Twitch to attract tourists.
TikTok
TikTok uses an entirely new algorithm every day that determines what content appears on people’s screens. Although TikTok initially mostly attracted younger users, the pandemic has changed that and the medium is now also attracting a more mature audience. Today, young people between the ages of 16 and 24 represent 41% of the more than 1 billion users.
The presence of Visit Benidorm on TikTok must therefore be approached differently than, for example, on Instagram. Generating enough content, quality videos, following trends, and regularly going live on the account should ensure that Benidorm sticks with people.
The time and energy put into Visit Benidorm’s TikTik account have paid off. In July 2018, Benidorm was the first Spanish destination to upload a video and now the account has more followers (15,600) and more average likes (213,500) than, for example, Visit London.
Twitch
This social medium is called ‘the television of the future’. This video site focuses on live streaming of personal channels. Everyone can make live broadcasts on subjects of their own choice via their own channel. Leire Bilbao says that Twitch can present a great opportunity for Visit Benidorm because it can reach a very wide audience.
The turning point of this medium is that it requires a lot of effort because longer live broadcasts require a lot of preparation. This medium also peaked during the toughest months of the lockdown. Today, Twitch has more than 26 million daily users and 41% of its audience is between 16 and 24 years old.
Spanish cities reach specific target groups through targeted use of social media
Vlogs from streamers, the influencers on Twitch, are all the rage and are a cheaper marketing trend. Visit Benidorm taps into this with podcasts about the history, gastronomy, and things to do in the Spanish city.
With these new media, Benidorm holds the key to reaching specific target groups and making them curious to visit the well-known seaside resort in Spain.
Related post: Tourism in Benidorm before TikTok
