The vast majority of travel influencers on social media are failing to disclose when their posts are paid for ads, according to a new investigation, which raises further concerns about how influencers are policed.
The move follows a Kantar report which revealed two-thirds (61%) of marketing bosses are planning to hike their creator budgets this year, despite the fact that they appear to have absolutely no idea if they are getting their money’s worth.
The Advertising Standards Authority probe was prompted by the poor disclosure rates for travel influencer ads identified in its 2024 Influencer Disclosure Report.
Using insights from its Active Ad Monitoring system, the watchdog reviewed a sample of 531 social media posts on Instagram and TikTok, from both dedicated travel influencers and a random sample of influencers who posted travel-related content.
It revealed that only 20% of travel ads were adequately disclosed. A further 11% attempted to disclose advertising content but used inadequate or insufficiently prominent labels such as “PR”, “gifted”, “hosted” or “a f”. The remaining 69% made no attempt to disclose the content as advertising, while a third of the posts redirected to blogs that included affiliate links which were not disclosed upfront.
The reported stated: “We recognise that new influencers may be less familiar with the rules. However, the rules are clear. Ads must be obviously identifiable as such. If an agreement has been made to produce content in return for payment (be that money, a personalised discounted rate, or a free trip), these will be deemed as ads by the ASA. Such ads need to be disclosed to followers using appropriate ad disclosure labels.”
The ASA said the report provides a “baseline” from which to track progress in future reports, and added: “We will provide targeted guidance to travel brands that routinely partner with influencers, explicitly highlighting which travel disclosure labels are non-compliant.
“We will also engage with influencers and their agency representatives to set out our expectations. Content that redirects consumers to further content that is disclosed as an ad, should also be disclosed as such. Importantly, it should always be clear to consumers, when you are posting an ad.”
The report concluded: “Our rules make clear that ads must be obviously identifiable and it’s important that consumers know when they are being sold to.”
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