TikTok tourists: How social media has changed travel

Travel has been radically altered by the presence of social media, both in how it is advertised, perceived and carried out. Masses of travel based short-form content and the capacity for instant virality have shifted the way people all around the world approach travelling.

As with most topics when it comes to social media, travel is faced with much romanticisation. Be that videos of nearly empty European streets and squares, or historic English towns in the bright sunshine (which truly is a rare occurrence!), travel content on social media is almost always being romanticised in some way. But what you are seeing is not necessarily representative of realistic travel experiences, with perfectly framed videos and carefully posed pictures being presented as the “travel experience.” While this could raise a false expectation of what travel is or should be like, it could also bolster the general desire among (especially) young people to go traveling by exposing the more idyllic aspects of the experience, leading to more people taking it on – something which is certainly positive.

However, this kind of romanticisation has a further, more sinister outcome. You can often find videos framing travel as vital or necessary to living a fulfilling life. This video of the idyllic Cypriot countryside abundant with wide platters of food and elegantly minimalistic fashion is captioned “almost forgot that this is the whole point”. This presentation of a perfect travel experience is not only unrealistic for the majority of people by virtue of its content, but also its form. What we are seeing is a carefully curated, tailored, edited and prepared social media post – not a realistic travel experience. Thus, even for those able to pay for such holidays, this perfect vision will almost certainly not be what they encounter. But the aforementioned accessibility issue is one of great importance; framing travel – especially travel abroad – as “the whole point” of life makes those who are unable to undertake such experiences’ lives essentially meaningless. It is a luxury to be able to travel abroad – many people won’t be able to afford it, or be able to take time off of work to do so. Overall, this romanticisation is not inherently problematic, but as with all social media, it is constantly important to bear in mind how everything being viewed is constructed, presenting an idealised image of reality – not the thing itself.

Clearly, social media exposure and so called “TikTok tourists” aren’t always for the worse, but can actually shine a light on places which would otherwise be overlooked by the masses

“Hidden Gems” are places which are said to be the perfect location for travelers. Beautiful, authentic, and most importantly, not crammed full of tourists – until they go viral on social media. There are countless examples of complaints about these once quaint little spots now overflowing with tourists, sometimes simply sparked by a single social media post! This could be natural beauties, cute cafes or whole towns, and this same trend seems to be happening all over the world where tourists may visit. One TikTok complains about the shift of Queen’s Wood Cafe in north London, which had gone from being a “hidden gem” to an “Instagram-fuelled queue”. Claims that the charm of a place like this is lost by the gaggle of tourists queuing and taking photos and videos are abound in the comment section. But it’s not all negative – some commenters point out that attention like this on social media is clearly good for business.

Another example of a similar case to this is Biscuits to Baskets, a little bakery/coffee shop located in the owners’ garden on a residential street in a small town in Canada. This quiet spot, previously a quaint hidden gem, was paid a visit by the TikTok “food critic” Keith Lee, who now has 17.4 million followers. His video has now received almost 900,000 likes, and in a matter of days there were over 200 customers queuing up in the owners’ driveway – to the dismay of some regular customers. But ultimately, this is seen as wholly positive by the owners, who even have a dedicated page on their website for the exposure they were given by Lee’s visit, describing how their “little spot has been buzzing with energy”, and how they were “beyond excited” to be visited by him. Clearly, social media exposure and so called “TikTok tourists” aren’t always for the worse, but can actually shine a light on places which would otherwise be overlooked by the masses – but that comes with its challenges.

Instead of letting your attention be guided by these impersonal algorithms, truly individualise your experience and make it your own

I feel the problem is not the fact that this place is suddenly being visited by so many new people – although that certainly can be an inconvenient and unwelcome change for regular customers – but the fact that these people are ruining the kind of experience a place like this should have. Take the aforementioned Queens Wood Cafe, tucked away in a London park. Finding a place like this, when it was relatively unknown, would be a magical experience: stumbling across a beautiful building, looking like something out of a fairytale, only to find it’s a cafe open for business. Entering, finding a seat, relaxing comfortably, maybe chatting with the staff and enjoying the peace and quiet. Comparably, even if you were to stumble across this place without having previously known about it, you would first have to wait in a long queue of people, and would then feel pressured by the crowd of people waiting just outside the door for you to leave. The experience is certainly changed drastically by its new-found social media fame.

This brings me to what I think we should take from these various ways in which social media has affected how we travel. Social media can serve to enhance one’s travel experience, becoming exposed to new places, and vivifying our interest in and desire to travel. That being said, it can also hinder it, creating false expectations of what travel should be, and possibly limiting the scope of what travel can look like, putting oneself at the whim of the social media algorithms. So my suggestion is this: next time you’re exploring a new place – be that a new city in your own country, or even somewhere abroad – try following your nose, asking a local for a recommendation, or looking at a map you find on the street. Carve out your own pocket in this place, and see what grabs your attention. Instead of letting your attention be guided by these impersonal algorithms, truly individualise your experience and make it your own. I think doing this – even just every once in a while – can help give travel a bit more soul, purpose and excitement. Maybe this is a more fulfilling experience of the world, not perfectly curated for our feeds, but intimately yours.