TikTok and Instagram have inspired us to travel more than ever before. Yet how we travel has never been less interesting.
It’s safe to safe you’ve probably travelled overseas in the past year. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that Australians took more than 11 million trips overseas in the year to June, a 32 per cent jump from last year and the highest number on record. This comes despite a cost-of-living crisis that has punctured many Aussie’s wallets.
Beyond a need to ‘catch-up’ from time lost during COVID, social media apps like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube are giving us plenty of reasons to bon voyage for a summer getaway or winter wonderland. While we toil away at work, short form videos on ‘the best hidden spots in Tokyo’ or ‘the five reasons why you need Thailand’ bombard our feeds with a near endless places to see, cuisine to eat, and experiences that can’t be had anywhere else.
Travelling abroad is no doubt exciting, but in recent years a creeping feeling has emerged that maybe we’re going about this the wrong way. Perhaps, social media is making travel worse.
A multinational large crowd of tourists. Photography by frantic00 via Shutterstock
Algorithms Tell Us Where To Go
For younger Australian weaned on the internet, social media has defined how we travel. When planning for a vacation, many Millennial and Gen Z travellers create exhaustive lists of videos itemising everything from quirky cafes to hidden oddities to breathtaking natural vistas.
There is of course tremendous upside: these videos from locals and fellow travellers alike give a peak into a new side of these well-trodden tourist destinations. After all, who wouldn’t want to make the most of their holiday overseas? Who wouldn’t want to visit the best the country has to offer? And unlike most mainstream travel guides, social media has finally given a spotlight to those true hidden gems and out-of-the-way treats we’re all yearn for.
The problem, however, is that most tourists have the same idea. While it may seem we’re crafting a unique itinerary, we’re actually being herded into the same handful of places. Driven by algorithms, travellers plan trips to the same countries, to the same cities, to the same attractions, and even to the same restaurants.
And this has an adverse effect on the destinations themselves, with long queue times and sold-out venues at many unassuming venues. Content creators are making videos that, inevitably, make it impossible for anyone to visit the places they are recommending.
Meanwhile our trust in content creators is often unfounded. These heavily edited videos show off the most flattering side to the destination, rather than the endless queues and fees. In fact, local tourism boards are also getting onboard this trend, meaning you’re essentially being fed essentially travel propaganda without realising.
Photography by Thiago B Trevisan via Shutterstock.
Death of Spontaneity
This homogenisation of travel makes it all a little, well, boring. It turns travel into a checklist, marking one item from the next to feel like you’re not missing out. Since we’re all seeing the same content online, we all want that photo of the blue rooftops of Santorini. We all want to pose with the Trevi fountain. Yet as a result we’ve lost the spark of spontaneity, the siren call of serendipity that makes travel so thrilling.
Think back to your own trips abroad. What stands out the most? I’d wager it was those unplanned moments. The late-night karaoke escapades with locals that does on for one too many drinks. The unplanned road trip stopover to a local museum for pencil sharpeners. Those are the moments that stay with you long after the flight back, when you yearn for the next adventure.
That is not to say you should avoid planning or using social influencers. After all, the irony is not lost that Hunter and Bligh has plenty of local and international travel articles. It is just vital, however, that a packed schedule doesn’t come in the way of genuine surprise.
It’s hard to recommend the unknown when the known is so appealing. But next time you head into a new country, put down the phone and go off the beaten path. You never know what you might find.
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