Fashion, Futurity and Cultural Narratives: Virtual Influencer Kim Zulu in Cultural Tourism Marketing

Abstract

This study investigates how narratives about South African virtual influencer Kim Zulu in media coverage position fashion as a part of cultural tourism marketing. A qualitative research design and an interpretive worldview were adopted to analyse media articles published between 2020 and 2025. The analysis was conducted with Voyant Tools for topic modelling using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) algorithm, cluster analysis and interpretive reading of the corpus supported by three theoretical lenses, namely cultural tourism, Destination Image Theory and Afrofuturism.  The results indicate that fashion is not presented in isolation when reporting on Kim Zulu in media coverage. Rather fashion links to culture, futurity, and destination branding that strengthens South Africa’s visibility and appeal in the global tourism market. The paper adds to the literature on cultural tourism marketing, digital culture, and virtual influencer marketing while adding to research on digital cultural tourism in the Global South.