Recently, a traveller sent me an Instagram reel and asked if we could include that exact experience in the itinerary. The same café, the same road, the same visuals they had already seen online.
Around the same time, another traveller told me, “I don’t even want to read the itinerary properly. I just want to go with the flow".
Both experiences stayed with me.
One arrived with expectations shaped by content. The other arrived with curiosity.
It made me wonder how much algorithms now influence not just where we travel, but also how we experience places.
The same cafés, viewpoints, and hidden gems keep going viral until suddenly everyone wants to be in the exact same place. And somewhere along the way, travel starts feeling less personal and more repetitive.
At the same time, it’s also contributing to overtourism in places that were once quiet and undiscovered.
Of course, digital visibility helps destinations and smaller operators get discovered. But I’m curious how others here see this shift.
Are algorithms helping us explore more meaningfully? Or are they slowly deciding travel for us?
Yeah, it's hard to really know. I've found so many cool destinations through social media, but I still keep my curiosity and adventure when I arrive.
I guess there has always been curious and non-curious travelers. The non-curious in the past would follow a guidebook sentence by sentence, going to every restaurant, hotel, and destination it says. So now, the non-curious have just replaced guidebooks with social media, but still act the same.
Maybe the medium has changed more than the behaviour itself. Earlier it was guidebooks, now it’s algorithms and reels.
I think what concerns me more today is the scale and speed at which social media influences movement. One viral reel can suddenly send thousands of people to the exact same location almost overnight.
But I agree with you. Curiosity probably still comes down to the traveller more than the platform itself.
"The last time I was at Shibuya Crossing, in 2014, I crossed the street, went upstairs to have a coffee at the Starbucks overlooking the landmark and spent a nice, quiet 20 minutes watching the ebb and flow of commuters. In 2026 you couldn’t move without hitting a Westerner filming themselves for some kind of content, their cameras raised above them while they narrated the event (whether there was actually an audience I’ll never know), each one an oblivious centre of their own universe while the 1000 people around them were just trying to get past them so they could cross the road and get home."
This is really sad, and honestly a repetitive pattern we’re now seeing across the world.
It really says a lot about where travel is headed.
For many people, travel has become more about experiencing places through the lens of content creation first. Somewhere along the way, we seem to have forgotten how to simply be present in a place without performing it.
Its really about what someone thinks travel is for, isn't it?
Social media made its way into Indian tiger reserves in a harmful way too. All the geotagged photos that people take on safaris cause vehicle pile-ups as all the jeeps and guides converge on the same location where someone sighted a tiger.
I wrote for Travel Weekly about the Indian Supreme court's latest ruling banning mobile phones in tiger reserves. The ruling is a good thing and isn't the only one. Kenya, Norway, the Galapagos, are all tightening restrictions around visitors crowding to take photos and videos of animal sightings.
The algorithm is doing the job it was designed to do very well - surface what people already want, or reveal a want they didn't know they had.
The algorithm is simply amplifying human desire at scale.
What I find interesting though is how travel for many people now also comes with a need for validation. The thought of “I have to post this on Instagram” has become so dominant that people are sometimes collecting proof of experiences more than the memories themselves.
It’s slowly changing the intention behind why people travel in the first place.
I’d say social media isn’t shaping travel more than travel itself, but it’s definitely reshaping how people discover, choose, and experience destinations.
Travel used to begin with guidebooks and agencies. Today it often starts with a reel, a review, a creator, or an AI recommendation. Experiences are becoming more intentional, visual, and experience-led than ever before.
The real opportunity is making sure the experience lives up to the content.
I agree, Nishadani. The way travel is being presented has definitely changed.
I still remember watching Fox Traveller and following Maeve O’Mara as she explored different cuisines and cultures around the world. There was something very authentic and exciting about it.
Today, the same kind of storytelling has shifted to reels, reviews, creators, and algorithms, just in a much faster format.
And because of that, people are now choosing destinations emotionally before they even fully understand them.
Your last line is very true. Some experiences are being marketed more beautifully than they are actually being experienced. Which is why I also feel people showcasing places online carry some responsibility.
Somewhere along the way, travel shown through Social Media has started creating the same reactions and expectations for everyone, instead of letting people experience places in their own unique way.
I believe social media is shaping modern tourism more than ever, sometimes even more than the destination itself. Today, many travelers first fall in love with a place through a photo, video, or story they see online.
At the same time, social media can also create unrealistic expectations or sometimes highlight only one perspective of a destination. I remember having clients from China who were inspired by beautiful images of Mount Kilimanjaro, but many of the famous postcard views are actually taken from the Kenyan side in Amboseli. In Tanzania, we experience the mountain differently from other angles, but both sides are beautiful in their own way.
I think this also shows the importance of better storytelling and forward-thinking marketing from destinations and tourism businesses. Social media has become one of the most powerful tools in travel, and how we present places online can strongly influence where and why people choose to travel.
Promoting a destination on Social Media can create very specific expectations. Sometimes travellers arrive expecting a “picture-perfect” version of a place without realising that destinations are often experienced differently depending on the season, geography or even the pace of travel.
I also feel this is where honest storytelling becomes important. The most meaningful travel experiences often come from moments that are difficult to capture in a perfect social media frame, conversations with locals, slow mornings, unexpected detours or simply the atmosphere of a place.
Social media is incredibly powerful, but I think the challenge for the industry now is balancing inspiration with authenticity.
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Is Social Media shaping travel more than travel itself?
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Something I’ve been thinking about lately.
Recently, a traveller sent me an Instagram reel and asked if we could include that exact experience in the itinerary. The same café, the same road, the same visuals they had already seen online.
Around the same time, another traveller told me, “I don’t even want to read the itinerary properly. I just want to go with the flow".
Both experiences stayed with me.
One arrived with expectations shaped by content. The other arrived with curiosity.
It made me wonder how much algorithms now influence not just where we travel, but also how we experience places.
The same cafés, viewpoints, and hidden gems keep going viral until suddenly everyone wants to be in the exact same place. And somewhere along the way, travel starts feeling less personal and more repetitive.
At the same time, it’s also contributing to overtourism in places that were once quiet and undiscovered.
Of course, digital visibility helps destinations and smaller operators get discovered. But I’m curious how others here see this shift.
Are algorithms helping us explore more meaningfully?
Or are they slowly deciding travel for us?
Yeah, it's hard to really know. I've found so many cool destinations through social media, but I still keep my curiosity and adventure when I arrive.
I guess there has always been curious and non-curious travelers. The non-curious in the past would follow a guidebook sentence by sentence, going to every restaurant, hotel, and destination it says. So now, the non-curious have just replaced guidebooks with social media, but still act the same.
That’s actually a very good point, Tyson.
Maybe the medium has changed more than the behaviour itself. Earlier it was guidebooks, now it’s algorithms and reels.
I think what concerns me more today is the scale and speed at which social media influences movement. One viral reel can suddenly send thousands of people to the exact same location almost overnight.
But I agree with you. Curiosity probably still comes down to the traveller more than the platform itself.
Here's a good article I read today (via @travelfish) on this:
Japan's Tourism Troubles Are Being Fuelled By Social Media Assholes
aftermath.site/japan-overtourism-social-meida-tiktok-instagram/
"The last time I was at Shibuya Crossing, in 2014, I crossed the street, went upstairs to have a coffee at the Starbucks overlooking the landmark and spent a nice, quiet 20 minutes watching the ebb and flow of commuters. In 2026 you couldn’t move without hitting a Westerner filming themselves for some kind of content, their cameras raised above them while they narrated the event (whether there was actually an audience I’ll never know), each one an oblivious centre of their own universe while the 1000 people around them were just trying to get past them so they could cross the road and get home."
:/
oh this is depressing !
This is really sad, and honestly a repetitive pattern we’re now seeing across the world.
It really says a lot about where travel is headed.
For many people, travel has become more about experiencing places through the lens of content creation first. Somewhere along the way, we seem to have forgotten how to simply be present in a place without performing it.
Its really about what someone thinks travel is for, isn't it?
Social media made its way into Indian tiger reserves in a harmful way too. All the geotagged photos that people take on safaris cause vehicle pile-ups as all the jeeps and guides converge on the same location where someone sighted a tiger.
I wrote for Travel Weekly about the Indian Supreme court's latest ruling banning mobile phones in tiger reserves. The ruling is a good thing and isn't the only one. Kenya, Norway, the Galapagos, are all tightening restrictions around visitors crowding to take photos and videos of animal sightings.
The algorithm is doing the job it was designed to do very well - surface what people already want, or reveal a want they didn't know they had.
You’re absolutely right, Nupur.
The algorithm is simply amplifying human desire at scale.
What I find interesting though is how travel for many people now also comes with a need for validation. The thought of “I have to post this on Instagram” has become so dominant that people are sometimes collecting proof of experiences more than the memories themselves.
It’s slowly changing the intention behind why people travel in the first place.
I’d say social media isn’t shaping travel more than travel itself, but it’s definitely reshaping how people discover, choose, and experience destinations.
Travel used to begin with guidebooks and agencies. Today it often starts with a reel, a review, a creator, or an AI recommendation. Experiences are becoming more intentional, visual, and experience-led than ever before.
The real opportunity is making sure the experience lives up to the content.
I agree, Nishadani. The way travel is being presented has definitely changed.
I still remember watching Fox Traveller and following Maeve O’Mara as she explored different cuisines and cultures around the world. There was something very authentic and exciting about it.
Today, the same kind of storytelling has shifted to reels, reviews, creators, and algorithms, just in a much faster format.
And because of that, people are now choosing destinations emotionally before they even fully understand them.
Your last line is very true. Some experiences are being marketed more beautifully than they are actually being experienced. Which is why I also feel people showcasing places online carry some responsibility.
Somewhere along the way, travel shown through Social Media has started creating the same reactions and expectations for everyone, instead of letting people experience places in their own unique way.
I believe social media is shaping modern tourism more than ever, sometimes even more than the destination itself. Today, many travelers first fall in love with a place through a photo, video, or story they see online.
At the same time, social media can also create unrealistic expectations or sometimes highlight only one perspective of a destination. I remember having clients from China who were inspired by beautiful images of Mount Kilimanjaro, but many of the famous postcard views are actually taken from the Kenyan side in Amboseli. In Tanzania, we experience the mountain differently from other angles, but both sides are beautiful in their own way.
I think this also shows the importance of better storytelling and forward-thinking marketing from destinations and tourism businesses. Social media has become one of the most powerful tools in travel, and how we present places online can strongly influence where and why people choose to travel.
You're right, Lowassa.
Promoting a destination on Social Media can create very specific expectations. Sometimes travellers arrive expecting a “picture-perfect” version of a place without realising that destinations are often experienced differently depending on the season, geography or even the pace of travel.
I also feel this is where honest storytelling becomes important. The most meaningful travel experiences often come from moments that are difficult to capture in a perfect social media frame, conversations with locals, slow mornings, unexpected detours or simply the atmosphere of a place.
Social media is incredibly powerful, but I think the challenge for the industry now is balancing inspiration with authenticity.