The recently released results of the latest Expedia ‘State of the Nation’ survey of Australian travelers has thrown up a startling revelation.
There are few things about travel and showing-off that one always knows, at least anecdotally. But, to have data to support what would otherwise be rubbished as a pre-conceived notion, is unprecedented.
The survey results, released on Tuesday, found that photo opportunities for social media were very important to 85 per cent of the respondents. Its as simple as this: the primary motive behind travel may not be just to explore new places anymore, but also to click pictures there, and strut them off on the internet.
It is the age of the social network: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, the useful smart phone and the selfie stick. With these social and psychological changes, a new job with the title of “digital influencer” is gaining currency. These people are expected to market holiday destinations and travel brands to an online audience, to inspire people to travel.
Their daily grind includes posting pictures with catchy captions on the social network, sponsoring the content, and providing measurable deliverable to the the employer. These deliverables are in the form of likes, engagements and new followers to the brand’s social media accounts.
Travel company Amadeus IT Pacific in its company’s research on future “traveller tribes” found one of the six types of travellers were ‘social capital seekers’, who would zero in on a destination based on the traction it would lend them on social media.
Call it narcissistic, but the changes in the world economy, society and politics, has placed the individual at the centre of his own universe. The endorsement and inspiration, needless to say, comes from social media and ends on social media, often. With the new trends in, travel companies will have to be prepared for the future of travel.
(Source: The Sydney Morning Herald)