What happens when people use TikTok and Instagram to make travel plans
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According to new research, nearly three out of every four travelers use social media to find holiday inspiration.
For younger travellers, the numbers are even more impressive. An April 2022 report from Arrivia, a travel company, revealed that 60% of Gen Zs and 40% among millennials used social media to travel.
Only on TikTok, 74.4 billion people have seen the hashtag “travel”, while 624 million Instagram photos are also about travel.
There’s more to Instagram’s perfect travel pictures than meets the eye. Expectations may not match realityWith many photographs edited to look betterThey are actually more than that.
Now, disillusioned travelers are retaliating using the same media that lead them away. The disillusioned traveler publishes their videos, which show the real beauty of places found on social media.
Is this a Disney film about a town?
Olivia Garcia, 26, a South Florida graphic designer and YouTuber, was inspired to stop by her South Florida road trip for a TikTok clip.
This video captures Gastonia, North Carolina’s tiny city, in its beauty. It shows snowcapped mountains and even a place that looks like it was straight out of a Disney film. Garcia claimed Garcia didn’t need any more convincing to come visit Gastonia.
Problem? The video’s imagery was in fact from Switzerland.
The video was part a TikTok series that joked about North Carolina’s beautiful spots. One video named the soaring Milan CathedralAs the “new Bass Pro Shops at Concord Hills Mall near Charlotte.”
Garcia stated, “We arrived in town, and it was just an ordinary town.” Garcia said, “There weren’t any mountains. “It wasn’t like in the video.”
Garcia recorded a TikTok video that documented her visit to Gastonia. It showed an abandoned gas station, and some rundown buildings. She noted, however, that she did not focus on the more “fun” parts of Gastonia.
“You always think like, okay, you see this happen to other people, but it never happens to you — I’m smart enough to know when things are real and when things aren’t real,” she said.
Garcia spoke to Gastonia’s mayor after her viral video was posted. He offered to give Garcia a tour of Gastonia if she returned. To share her story, she also made an appearance on the “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”
Garcia advised, “Do your homework… You might end up anywhere you don’t wish to be,”[And]Don’t be fooled by everything that you read on the Internet.
A ‘beautiful, hidden garden pool’
Lena Tuck (a travel blogger aged thirty) also became a victim of a TikTok video.
While driving from Brisbane to Melbourne, Tuck said, she made an impromptu decision to visit a “beautiful, hidden garden pool” that she had seen on TikTok — the Yarrangobilly Caves thermal pool walk.
It looked as if there was an out-of-world place in which topless men were feeding you grapes, she stated.
But on the drive there, her phone lost reception — which meant she had no directions to guide her — and she had to drive on a rough, unpaved road for 10 minutes before trekking nearly half a mile down a steep hill.
She was shocked to see the pool crowded with screaming children and families when she arrived at it. It looked a lot like a public pool.
In a TikTok video, she stated that “all I can remember is how many people peed inside here.”
CNBC’s She said that “It is… the complete antithesis to an Instagram experience and that’s why I think the whole experience was so funny.”
While she agreed that people need to be more spontaneous and open-minded than others, she advised travelers to conduct “more research” than what they likely did.
The waters of the ether
Pictures of Terme di Saturnia in Tuscany, Italy show stunning blue water and steam rising gently from them.
Ana Mihaljevic (28 years old) said this was impossible to believe.
According to the digital marketer and self-employed project manager, her visit was “highly” affected by posts on social media that depicted an idyllic scene.
Mihaljevic stated that the water looked green and smelled like rotten eggs from sulfur. The place was crowded with people taking photos for social media.
She added, “It’s certainly not a place for relaxation.”
Markus Romischer (29-year-old travel photographer) agreed that springs look different when viewed on social media. A video he made, titled “Insta vs. Reality: Europe Edition,” which showed his dismay at the Tuscan springs and other spots around Italy, Madeira, Switzerland, Madeira and Rome.
He was able to see it in person and tell that online photos had been heavily Photoshopped. He said that the springs were “warm and the color is special” but that if you look at only the social media photos, it’s “a bit sad”.
Romischer said that early mornings tend to be less crowded. When he arrived at 6:00 a.m., there were few people — mostly “grannies” — but the afternoon was a different story, he said.
“At midday, so [many]He said that buses were coming from all directions and the bus was full.”
Romischer stated that tourists attractions will always be busy. Romischer shared one tip: “Don’t google ‘what’s to do in Tuscany” and visit the first on the list.
Mihaljevic recommends that travelers do extensive research, just like the other people who fell for social media photos.
It’s fine to go on vacation without doing any research. However, be ready that it won’t be the same as what you see online. While some places may be better than others, there will always be disappointments.
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