Abstract

This paper will discuss the real life impacts which social media has had and continues to have on the way travelers and prospective travelers interact with travel publics, the travel decisions-making process, and the tourist destination. Specifically, it will focus on how Generation Z’s values of aesthetics and shareability have been reinforced by online travel publics on Meta’s social platforms, particularly Instagram, and made travel-related decision-making more superficial which leads to the exploitation of unprepared destinations faced with sudden virality around the world causing mass influxes in tourism. This paper will present case studies regarding select effected destinations and will include largely observational research on Gen Z and their interactions with travel influencers, digital travel publics and other user generated content on Instagram and Facebook. These studies will support the argument that social media has harsh negative implications on the tourism industry, encourages bad behaviour amongst travellers and in turn, interferes with the environments in which tourist attractions exist.

Body 1

Generation Z (Gen Z), who are defined in this paper as young adults aged between approximately 13 and 28 years old, make up a consumer market unlike any other. As Gen Z is well known for being a generation of digital natives (Chang & Chang, 2023), meaning they are savvy with, and reliant on, technology (Siregar, Helmi & Sembiring, 2024). This provides reasoning as to why there is a modern emphasis on the role social media influencers play in marketing.  39% of Gen Z Americans aged 18 to 23 in a 2019 McKinsey survey stated that the most dominant persuading factor in their purchasing decisions was social media (Bhargava, Finneman, Schmidt & Spagnuolo, 2020). A stark contrast to the only 25% of millennials, and 13% of Gen X participants who answered the same.

The significant correlation between Gen Z’s trust in Instagram influencers and how reliable information is perceived to be, has been studied and is believed to play an influential role in travel decision-making (Kimilli, 2023). Young people may also be influenced by specific algorithms where they remain in a ‘filter bubble’ of limited destination information (Băltescu & Untaru, 2024). In the case of travel decisions this can create a focus on the most visually enticing or aesthetically pleasing photos and increase motivation for individuals to visit those destinations. However, this can easily manipulate travellers into flocking to a singular aesthetic attraction within a destination that may not have the capacity for a sudden inpour of tourists.

Susilo, Ahmad and Florestiyanto (2025) even delved into the concept of oversharing and how Gen Z’s behaviour online can be characterised in this way. The authors list “the need for social validation, fear of missing out (FOMO), and the desire for a strong digital presence” (pg. 1) as significant factors in why oversharing is so prominent amongst this generation.

Body 2

“Online travel community members mostly seek social and hedonic benefits. Members join the community for exchanging travel information and tips and sharing their travelling experiences with others” (Arsal, Backman & Baldwin, 2008, pg. 84). These digital travel communities provide a uniquely modern opportunity to gain inspiration from people with no strict geographical boundary. Arsal, Backman and Baldwin (2008) reiterate the findings of previous research which has indicated that digital word-of-mouth communication can be one of the largest influences for travelers’ decision making, specifically prior to trips being taken, including simply deciding where to visit.

Understanding the relationship and interactions between people and online travel publics is key to realising the impact of social media on the tourism system and real destinations. Kemp and Childers (2021) observed a positive correlation between social media engagement and an individual’s sense of belonging. This could suggest that the more one posts similar photos to others within the travel public and engages with other users, the more one may feel they belong. Alternatively, the desire to belong may provide a motive for engaging with and mimicking others’ social media content, sharing photos of themselves in the same tourist destinations.

However, if we consider the impact which travel influencers have on these digital publics, there seems to be a dominating narrative which is largely based in western cultures and first world perspectives, forgetting emerging economies (Li et. al, 2024). Gen Z “tend to seek out richer digital and gamified tourism experiences yet attends fewer cultural activities than Millennials” (Chang, Kong & Baul, 2023, pg. 51)

Body 3

From London’s red telephone boxes to Santorini’s blue and white dome buildings, to Lawson, Japan’s famous convenience store, Instagram has turned tourism destinations into photo shoot locations. Reflecting on the implications of, and preventative measures taken against social media driven tourists, provides an insight into how Instagram’s effects can be observed in real life. Hussain et al. (2024) explains that there is a direct correlation between tourist numbers in a location and consumption of social media content relevant to that travel destination. The following will address the effects of social media driven travel in some of the destinations previously mentioned, such as Japan and Greece, as well as touching on other western destinations affected by the influence of digital travel publics on tourist numbers and behaviour.

Lawson is now a tourist photo stop located in the town of Fujikawaguchiko as it has a clear view of Mount Fuji. It became an Instagram famous spot after photos began spreading around social media about two years prior to the construction of a 2.5 metre high, black screen across the road from Lawson convenience store which attempted to deter tourists (Hirao 2025). As the result of Lawson’s picturesque location becoming viral was a continuous increase in tourists who merely wanted a good photo, without supporting any businesses in the small town which was previously only known for its authentic nature-based experience. Marcus (2024) reiterated on behalf of a local official that littering, obstruction of the walking paths and roads, and jaywalking, were included in the bad behaviours demonstrated by visitors. Hirao (2025) reported that there will be an eight-foot-tall barrier built to permanently block the view and prevent negative behaviours by tourists, in addition to erecting new signs in front of the store warning against these behaviours which have negatively affected businesses and locals alike.

Now iconic sites, which seem to be significantly more so nature-based sites, are becoming the subject of shared and endorsed photos across social media (Regensburger & Wandinger, 2023). The result being these ever-intensifying levels of overtourism, seeing large influxes in destinations with unsuitable infrastructure and an overall lower capacity for tourism than the tourist numbers being generated by social media influence. “Digital platforms have allowed access to valuable information and opinions, photos, videos influencing and encouraging people to change their preferences and adopt a peculiar travel behaviour” (Popescu et. al, 2023, pg. 719).

Santorini, an island in the Greek Cyclades, is well known for picturesque white and blue buildings built along the cliffsides. Having become such a viral destination, specifically due to the unique photo opportunities the island provides, it has even been nicknamed ‘Instagram Island’ (O’Hare, 2024). Local authorities have had to take action, after discourse amongst locals led to protests against tourist-focused businesses taking away access to natural resources and experiences from local people. A cap of 8000 visitors entering Santorini by cruise ship is to be placed on tourists per day (Popescu et. al, 2023).

Regensburger and Wandinger (2023) discussed travel publics and their interactions with hashtags. Debating the perception of these photos, are they souvenirs or simply mimicry? In regard to the hashtag #GrandCanyon, the authors state that “not only are all people traveling to the same places and taking pictures of the same sights, but they are taking photographs from the same angles and distances” (pg. 279).

In general, governments both local and national have had to step in across the globe, specifically actions have been taken by European countries including popular cruise destinations like Prague, Barcelona, Copenhagen and Venice, as well as many other Greek islands. Many of these destinations have had to take similar approaches to limiting overtourism and its effects, through limiting visitor numbers or introducing additional fees for entrance to areas of some destinations, especially for day trippers. 

Body 4

“The popularity of social media presents both opportunities and challenges for destination managers” (Chang, Kong & Baul, 2023, pg. 50). Social media has become a valuable asset in marketing and in shaping individuals’ perceptions of travel destinations, but the characterisation of destinations on social media can be partly blamed for over-tourism across the world (Jani, Ratnoday & Bajpai, 2024). In a study of 100 Gen Z adults in Romania “85.7% of respondents consider that everyone needs to build a personal brand, but also the majority of respondents (71.5%) opinionate that social media networks are helping them build an online personal brand” (Vitelar, 2013, pg. 265). It could be argued that this reflects a general self-awareness amongst young adults of how they are perceived online both through personal posts and interactions within different digital public spaces.

People across the world have formed countless public and private travel groups on Facebook including ones which I have personally joined and observed member interactions on, such as Gals Who Travel, Tokyo Travel Tips and Solo Girls Travel. From my personal observations I identified a common theme across these groups, that being posts relating to the desire to create relationships and find authentic cultural and local experiences in tourism destinations world-wide.

As postulated by many of the studies mentioned in this paper, social media should not be entirely omitted from the travel industry, as the digital space can have and has had strong positive effects on the economy of many towns and on how travellers perceive some destinations. However, there needs to be an increase in awareness within digital travel publics about authenticity and responsible tourism activity.

Conclusion

In many ways, from marketing travel brands to forming authentic travel communities, social media presents itself as a near boundaryless opportunity for destination managers to advertise experiences and for internally motivated travellers to search for better quality and more sustainable tourist activities. However, as previously mentioned, those presumed to be social media driven tourists influenced by external digital factors, have exemplified bad tourist habits and behaviours which have negatively impacted the destination, its people and its natural environment. This paper focused on how Generation Z’s values of aesthetics and shareability have been reinforced by online travel publics on Meta’s social platforms, in particular Instagram, and made travel-related decision-making more superficial which exploits suddenly viral and unprepared destinations around the world with mass influxes in tourism. Through multiple case studies and discussions surrounding previous research conducted on social media’s influence on Gen Z and their travel decisions and behaviour as tourists, this paper has comprehensively argued that social media has fundamentally changed and damaged the tourism and travel industry. There has been a level of neglect on the part of Gen Z individuals and of digital travel publics which needs to be addressed. To conclude, the argument that there are serious ramifications of the influence of online travel publics on tourist destinations has been adequately rationalised but the interactions which users have with each other in these digital spaces should be studied further in order to understand the limitations and potential opportunities they provide for resolving social media-induce overtourism.

References

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