Ideologies of Travelling: a Media Context

In this research, the author introduces the most popular hospitality exchange network – CouchSurfing.org – as an important medium of alternative tourism. By applying tourist typology theories it is possible to differentiate traditional tourists and alternative, “drifter” type of travelers. The author created a qualitative research, using both survey with open-ended questions and self-representative texts on the website. The study concludes that the norms of the community are shaped by the members themselves and passed down through interaction with each other – in order to maintain the specific ideology of alternative tourism.