Is it what you think before planning your holiday? Don’t worry everyone now a days has some similar thoughts. Because, the tourists are constantly looking at Instagram to find out what a place has to offer. Beautiful beaches, spectacular mountains and mysterious desert, every information and visual confirmation you need is on internet. Moreover, thanks to the tons of instagrammers and professional photographers who made us fall in love with their beautiful feed. Meanwhile, accelerating the idea of presenting yourself as a traveler and not a tourist among the young generation.
However, there are both pros and cons to this paradigm shift in the world of travel & living. On one hand It helped us in imagining and planning our vacation, and on the other it somehow effected the actual purpose of sightseeing. Of course it is debatable but undeniable.
According to research most of the people take their travel inspiration from social media, particularly from Instagram. Because when you see it, you can imagine and plan it. On top of that, these platforms present a visual story to you. This in turn encourages you to be a part of it. It excites the visitor to share the amazing experience with peers and influence someone new.
Instagram influencing your journey
Travel destination and the experience has been influenced by social media to a large extent. In present day a visual story presented or shared on Instagram influences our decision, planning and even the pattern of vacation. Gone are the days where we explored the unknown and new whenever we travelled. Now, we want to experience the particular things that we saw and imagined. This is how Instagram or any other social media platform is influencing our journey or vacation.
The stories generated by visitors are motivating us to create our own. It has become important for the visitors to collect visually captivating and appealing images for the feed. As a result, the experiences of the place, goods and services are ignored. And there is no stopping, the advertising, photo sharing, reels and engagements on Instagram is booming day by day. There is probably no place on earth that is not shared on the gram. With a simple hashtag you can find out the tiniest details in form of videos and pictures.
Therefore, It has changed and effected the entire thought process of travel and tourism.
Traveler or Tourist?
There is a fine line between these two very different types. A traveler is a person who often travels from place to place. And a tourist is a person who is travelling or visiting a place for pleasure. However, presenting yourself as a traveler rather than a tourist has increased among visitors because of social media. Therefore, the actual purpose of a tourist and sightseeing is altered. To be honest, I am a tourist and I travel for pleasure. However, sharing my visual content doesn’t make me a traveler. But with social media sharing and advertising, the difference is disappearing. What we enjoyed earlier has now become a liability to capture for the gram. This has largely effected our decision of selecting a travel destination.
Helpful or Misleading
As mentioned earlier, there are both pros and cons. It is debatable but undeniable that social media has given birth to a new era of travel and living. The whole process of travelling has changed, it has made us more familiar with the places. We are becoming more spirited in terms of traveling and it has also inspired many to become traveler. I think it is wise to concentrate on the positive side of it and use it to be more responsible and sustainable as a tourist and traveler. on the other hand, I also don’t want it to influence the primary essence of travel. The essence of visiting and exploring a place unknown as a tourist is essential to everyone, in order to enjoy a vacation.
To conclude, there is no good or bad thing about social media influencing your decision of choosing a travel destination. It should be insta-worthy but the experience must be pleasurable not demanding. Do not forget to enjoy the moment and capture the memories at the same time. Because that is all matters.
I am sure you are looking for that perfect destination right now for your next vacation. It you are looking for an Instagram worthy location don’t forget to let us know. Again, how many of you have made your travel bucket list to take the inspiration from the gram. If not hurry and keep traveling.
Love
JintyR.
