Color and engagement in touristic Instagram pictures: A machine learning approach
Open accessAbstract
Color plays a critical role in recognizing tourist experiences and influencing their emotions. By classifying tourism photos on Instagram using machine learning, this study uncovers the relationship between color and user engagement based on pictures with different features. The findings show that the presence of the color blue in photos featuring natural scenery, high-end gastronomy, and sacral architectures contributes to user engagement. A red/orange color scheme enhances pictures regarding local delicacies and ambience, while the coexistence of violet and warm colors is crucial for photographs featuring cityscapes and interior design. By taking a broader lens from aesthetic philosophy and narrowing down to color psychology, this study offers guidelines for marketers to promote tourism activities through the application of color.
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- Authors
- Yu, J., & Egger, R.
- Affiliations
- Fachhochschule Salzburg (AT)
- Corresponding author
- Yu, Joanne
- Venue
- Annals of Tourism Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-07
- Volume
- 89
- Pages
- 103204
- ISSN
- 0160-7383 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3154496996
- Cited by
- 171
- References
- 82
- Citations by year
- 2026: 28 · 2025: 42 · 2024: 41 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 4
- FWCI
- 24.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Annals of Tourism Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Color perception and design
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Marketing and Social Media
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research
- Keywords
- Instagram, color, user engagement, color psychology, tourism marketing, natural landscapes, gastronomy, cityscape, interior design, sacral architecture, aesthetics, social media
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