Virtual influencer (VI) marketing is a growing phenomenon in many industries, including entertainment, fashion, beauty and retail. Despite several apparent benefits and opportunities, the adoption of VI marketing in tourism is still in its infancy. This research aims to explore key source and content factors that drive Instagram users’ engagement with VIs in the tourism context. Five virtual focus group interviews with photo elicitation will be conducted through Zoom among Instagram users. Theoretically, this research will expand the current knowledge of social media engagement and tourism marketing theory. It will develop a conceptual framework mapping the key source and content factors that influence Instagram users’ engagement with VIs in tourism. Practically, the results will primarily assist tourism practitioners and VI agencies in understanding and leveraging Instagram users’ engagement with VIs in the tourism domain.