Rodríguez-Hidalgo, Alma BelénSixto García, JoséTamayo-Salcedo, Ana Leticia2025-09-242025-09-242025Belén Rodríguez-Hidalgo A, Sixto-García J and Tamayo-Salcedo AL (2025) The persuasive communication of Instagram influencers to promote tourism in the Riviera Maya. Front. Commun. 9:1502109. doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2024.1502109https://hdl.handle.net/10347/42876Introduction: Destination management organizations are using influencer marketing to implement alliances with influencers to actively stimulate tourist visits. This study analyzes the tourism promotion strategy employed by the content creators hired by the Quintana Roo Tourism Promotion Council to promote the Riviera Maya in Mexico. Methods: Using a mixed methodology approach and drawing on the functionalist paradigm of communication, the content of the publications is examined. Results and discussion: The results show that the physical appearance and communication skills of influencers have an impact on tourists’ travel intentions. Moreover, the analysis concludes that the motivation conveyed by the influencer shapes the reception of the message.eng© 2025 Belén Rodríguez-Hidalgo, Sixto-García and Tamayo-Salcedo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Attribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Persuasive communicationTourism marketingInfluencerPurpose of the tripTourism promotionInfluencer marketingjournal article10.3389/fcomm.2024.1502109open access