Travel and Hyperreality
Do you follow any “travel influencers” on social media or even aspire to be one? Even if you’re not sure what a travel influencer actually is, they are shaping peoples’ experiences of travel.
A travel influencer is someone who posts travel-related content (typically videos and/or images) to social media accounts, hoping to gain a large number of followers, often in exchange for sponsorship money and ad revenue. They might be given free perks or get paid to share videos of resorts or other travel destinations as part of a new form of tourism marketing.
I thought of this at the beginning of a flight to London earlier this year, when a young woman sitting next to me on the plane unselfconsciously took duck-lipped, peace-sign flashing selfies for what seemed like a really long time before she conked out and slept for the remainder of the trip. Presumably these pictures are meant to be shared and say, “I’m on the plane about to take off to go to LONDON!!” giving an otherwise mundane moment before take-off on a long flight social meaning.
Throughout my travels, I noticed heightened moments of tourist selfie-taking or shamelessly posing as a companion takes countless pictures, mostly meant to highlight one’s most attractive angles rather than the famous location itself. The photoshoot isn’t done until the subject can review the photos and determine if they are acceptable, otherwise more photos are taken.
Just taking pictures of a location or of a plane wouldn’t convey the “I WAS THERE!!” message that presumably heightens the experience. French sociologist Jean Baudrillard referred to hyperreality as something that seems more real due to the collapsing of boundaries between the media image and the “original.” Social media came decades after Baudrillard made this observation, but it seems to be a prime example of the blurred line between image and “reality.”
Baudrillard’s ideas exemplify a school of thought called postmodernism, According to this perspective, the rapid reproduction of images in our mediated age renders meanings unstable, with no original referent but instead a torrent of images to navigate.
Smart phones allow us to create our own torrent of images, and social media almost demands that we share them. I once had a student who told me that she found Instagram stressful and depressing, and when I suggested that she delete the app—or at least not use it as much—she said this would basically be like disappearing, and that her friends and family would worry about her if she didn’t continue to post regularly.
Before smart phones and digital cameras, images did not circulate nearly so frequently, especially our own. If you took pictures, you were limited to how much film you had and then had to wait until the film was developed and prints made, often at a local drug store or a drive-up place called Fotomat.
Travel is a ready-made opportunity to experience hyperreality. We might decide where to visit based on images, if not from travel influencers than from historical texts or even fictional texts like movies and television. Locations made famous on social or from traditional media draw tourists by the thousands; the beautiful town of Hallstatt, Austria, was apparently the inspiration for the Disney film Frozen and now draws about ten thousand tourists a day, making life difficult for the 700 locals whose town is overrun with tour buses.
Being a sociologist who has read Baudrillard does not render me immune to hyperreality. While in the Alsace region of France, I visited the towns that were supposed to have inspired the Disney film Beauty and the Beast. It’s been a long time since I saw the movie, first released in 1991, and while it was not the primary reason for visiting, it added to the allure.
As you can see from the photos below, it looks like a fairy tale, at least my imagination of what a quaint old French village would look like based on previous images. This image is “always already” there for more than just me, which is likely why it’s iconic status was cemented via stories about its inspiration for Beauty and the Beast. Baudrillard even wrote about Disneyland in his book Simulations, noting that its fantasy exists to provide the illusion that America itself is real.
The image of this village brings tourists, as the photos detail, along with many souvenir shops, boulangeries (bakeries), and restaurants. We left just as several tour buses unloaded hundreds of people, ready to take their pictures and add to the already flowing torrent of images.
Shops and restaurants occupy buildings in a town that dates back to the sixth century, and vineyards in the distance frame the town.
And yes, inserting myself as part of the fairy tale scene was part of the pleasure of visiting. While I’m no travel influencer, nor did I feel like I had to take a picture at the spot where everyone else takes their selfies, my visit was shaped by my expectations of what these villages would be like, how I would experience them, and how tourist information guided me to these spots.
Thinking about fairy tales, rather than the region’s contentious history of being alternatively annexed by France and Germany over the last few centuries, makes for a more romantic view of this town, more likely to draw visitors and their selfies.
Photos courtesy of the author
Travel in the context of hyperreality involves the blending of real experiences with simulated or imagined ones, creating a world where distinctions between the two become increasingly difficult to identify. In today’s interconnected world, where digital advancements shape how we engage with the world, travel experiences are often framed by online platforms that offer a curated version of destinations, transforming them into idealized fantasies. For instance, the growing use of systems such as the online passport appointment system could possibly shift the travel experience, making the process of obtaining travel documents feel almost automated and detached from the real-world complexity it once involved. In this sense, technology might turn travel into an event that feels both accessible and distant, where the anticipation of visiting a place may not always align with the authentic experience of being there.
Posted by: Jeffrey Rix | December 11, 2024 at 11:24 PM
Your blog provides an insightful take on how travel influencers shape the concept of travel, yet it seems to overlook a key aspect: the accountability of influencers in shaping hyperrealistic expectations.
Posted by: Influencers Gone Wild | December 25, 2024 at 02:30 AM
Travel influencers definitely shape how we perceive destinations! Their curated content brings the world closer, much like how storytelling is shaped in books. Proper book editing can also help craft experiences that resonate, making your narrative just as impactful.
Posted by: Brandon Allan | December 25, 2024 at 12:09 PM
Have you read Simulacra and Simulation? Also, do you have a working understanding of semiotics and structuralism?
Posted by: Delta X Executor | January 07, 2025 at 09:33 AM
We are arguing about someone's actions, their facial expressions, your thoughts of the significance of those expressions, their reaction to your thoughts, your reaction to their reaction.
Posted by: Flix Vision | January 07, 2025 at 09:37 AM