A video. Always a video of a sunrise, only in one of the most beautiful -although unknown- national parks of china, located in the south of the country, on the island of Hainan. The video got 65,000 likes in a very short time, and that viralization translated into an explosion of visitors. Literally, the number of tourists to the park multiplied by ten. And all, through the work and art of Tik Tok.
Tourism has always been an important source of income and job creation for many countries around the world. But, with the arrival of the 21st century and new technologies (mainly phones with cameras and social networks) the visibility of tourist destinations increased to a scale previously impossible to imagine. In fact, The Tik Tok algorithm is characterized by reaching millions of accounts almost instantly, and generating the so-called “waves of visibility” that other platforms do not have.
Maybe that’s why today, just by searching for the name of a city or any other tourist destination, thousands of videos and posts will appear on our screen. Travelers from all over the world will then tell us everything about those destinations but – and that is the problem – they will only tell us the good things, the wonders of the place. But focusing on nothing more than the advantages and attractions ends up causing people to idealize those places, want to get to know them at all costs and often end up collapsing that place.
At the same time, this infinite number of videos on networks It makes many tourists choose to believe in everything they see, and with this same blind faith, they buy their tickets and reserve hotels without even knowing where they are located. This trend has led to many traveling uninformed and with zero knowledge of the country, traditions or even the language spoken in their destinations. Although it may not seem relevant, the ignorance of foreigners has caused many monuments around the world to prohibit entry to tourists for not properly respecting their sacred places.
This phenomenon that brings together mass tourism with ignorance of the destination and subsequent collapse of a beach, park or city is called “tourism”. Suddenly, a town is overflowing with people, saturating hotels and services in general. And this, which had already been happening in cities like Barcelona, Amsterdam or Venice, is now, thanks to Tik Tok, impacting much less known destinations.
Albania could be a good example of the latter. Although it is located in Europe, since it does not belong to the European Union its prices are much more convenient. Various Tik tokers have shown the beauties of this Balkan country and, as a result, some of its beaches and castles were invaded by travelers. However, many influencers, sponsored by local tourism companies or the government itself, have turned a blind eye to several of the country’s negative points: its capital, Tirana, is closer to looking like a Soviet city than Rome or Athens, Its infrastructure is very limited, making it almost impossible to move without a vehicle and the crime rates in the country are much higher than those of its neighbors, being The Albanian mafia is one of the most well-known and dangerous in the world.
Although not only Europe has been the protagonist of tourism. For sure, The region most affected by this phenomenon has been Asia, a continent that for many is a mystery and that, thanks to social networks, has opened up the possibility of enjoying paradisiacal beaches for many. and exotic foods at an incredible price. But then again, not everything is always rosy.
Let’s take the case of Bali, in Indonesia (the country with the most Muslims in the world, with all the anti-drug policies that implies), promoted as a must-see destination for its beauty, beaches and climate. What TikTokers don’t usually comment on is that tourist Bali has nothing to do with real Bali, something that was documented by the Mexican YouTuber Luisito Comunica.
According to him, despite being a comparatively cheap destination, it is very expensive for locals, in addition to the fact that the inhabitants of Bali do not have the best attitude towards tourists, whom they usually see as real invaders. In fact, just doing a Google search with the entry “foreigners in Bali” will bring up hundreds of news stories about tourists arrested, imprisoned and even executed for, for example, having used drugs. Marijuana, which in many places is regulated as in the neighboring country of Thailand, is punishable and is considered just as dangerous as cocaine or heroin. Another big problem that the Island presents is the saturation of its airport, which receives more than 400 flights and more than two million people a day.
Traveling is always a discovery, knowing the unknown is always a great experience. But Sometimes, a false recommendation can turn our biggest dream into our biggest nightmare.
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