Skift published an interesting article yesterday, entitled “Selfies Are Changing The Fundamental Reasons Why We Travel.”
The conclusion is basically that many travelers care just as much about how they can utilize a trip for social media as they care about the trip itself.
I don’t think the article comes to any surprising conclusions, though it does concisely sum up a major trend in travel, and something travel providers should be catering towards:
The rise of social media is creating a new breed of travelers for whom the ability to instantly publicize their trip is as important as the experience itself.
So-called “social-capital seekers” increasingly structure travel with online followers in mind and aim to document it instantly via Facebook Inc., blogs, Twitter or “selfie” photos on Instagram Inc., the Future Foundation report for booking system specialist Amadeus IT Holding SA said on Thursday, predicting the “appetite will be ravenous for moments of shareable wish-fulfillment.”
As the ranks of the social network-savvy armed with smartphones impaled on selfie-sticks proliferate, people increasingly target trips that offer the greatest social returns, while destinations that lack crowd-sourced cachet — or the vital Wi-Fi connectivity — risk being shunned. Benefits of digitally documented trips include basking in adulation “like a rock star returning from a world tour,” Amadeus said.
“We can foresee a market for ‘clout-boosting breaks’ filled with consciously feed-friendly moments designed to help users top-up their network influence,” the study said. “A holiday is not entirely one’s own: it is made for sharing.”
Check out the entire article. It’s certainly true for me, though admittedly I’m not representative of the average consumer, since I “do” this for a living.
Does social media impact the way you travel?
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