“I’m a traveller, not a tourist.”
“I’m a traveller, not a tourist.”
Anti-tourism, Hypertourism and the Role of ICT Networks in Alternative Tourism
The general presence of ICTs in every segment of the current economy brought tremendous changes to tourism industry in the past two decades. Communication networks and mobile devices do not only provide tools for planning and organizing trips, but also for recording and sharing experiences. Thus new media, and most of all social media, play a pivotal role in individual touristic practices. These new technologies serve as sources of information, tools to get preparations done, guides on the way and interfaces to reflect on the experiences.This paper examines alternative interpretations of touristic practices through online representations of hypertourism and anti-tourism. These contemporary practices emphasize the role of individual interpretation in the consumption of touristic goods and destinations. Besides being alternatives to organised mass-tourism, hypertourism and anti-tourism pose a critique of tourism industry as well.