I can’t lie, there have been plenty of times I’ve found myself scrolling through Instagram, envious of all the travel photos I see. I find myself wishing that I could be sponsored by some big shot company and sent abroad to experience new cultures and new places to share with my very small following. That’s the beauty of digital marketing; it sparks emotion in an audience to convince them to buy what you’re selling.
I spent five years in a marketing role, so I know all about how to sell stories to get people to buy things. Sure, travel isn’t a bad thing to sell, but there’s an ever growing trend of influencers showing the difference between what you see online and what you see in real life. The reality of these tourist locations is usually in complete contrast to what we see on our feeds. Streets are overcrowded, queues are never ending for everyone to get that ‘perfect’ picture, and the vibrancy of a place is down to a good camera, good editing skills and at the very least, good weather.
What has happened as a result of these paid promos are cities full of tourists, pushing housing pricing up for the locals and creating almost hostile environments. Several countries have introduced new laws around drinking alcohol to curb bad behaviour from tourists. I, myself, saw plenty of distressing behaviour when I went on holiday to Benidorm. From outright drug use to people fighting in the streets, drunk out of their minds. It wasn’t a very inviting place to be which was a shame; the beauty was overshadowed by the negativity from holiday goers.
Outside of the bad behaviour, people have become concerned with getting the ‘perfect’ photos that it even leads to disrespectful behaviour. I’ve lost count of the number of posts I’ve seen of tourists in Japan purposefully shaking cherry blossom trees before they’re due to drop their petals, just to capture a picture for Instagram or a video for TikTok.
It’s not all bad; Japan is currently trying to entice foreigners, offering payment for tourists to spend time in more rural places as part of their Regional Revitalization Program. With more of the population moving to cities, Japan is worried about rural towns disappearing. This sounds like a brilliant idea, right? Foreigners can experience more authentic culture whilst being paid to be there. What people need to keep in mind, however, is just how different cultures can truly be. Traveling somewhere on holiday is a very different experience to living there.
My dream is to be able to travel the world and I know that makes me more susceptible to these marketing tactics. What we need to remember is that social media is an artform in its own right; art embellishes, exaggerates and creates. As long as we keep that in mind, we can stave off disappointment. Above all, remember to stay respectful of the place you’re visiting and experience the trip through your own eyes, not through a lens.
Words by Megan Ingram-Jones
Featured image courtesy of Mesut Kaya via Unsplash. No changes have been made to this image. Image license found here.