Don’t think of millennial travel as copycatting, it’s actually Pokemon Go
‘I was there’, can be as important as ‘I discovered this’.

Do you know anyone who’s on holiday in Portugal right now, I do. Anyone who’s just come back? I do. Anyone that’s moved there…yes, just a few. Portugal is this year’s Iceland and a perfect example of how people still move in herds.
Despite the waves of new travel apps from Party With A Local to Trips (Lonely Planet’s new image-forward offering), there is one driving more tourism for young people than any of them. In this space, Instagram is still king. A picture isn’t just worth a 1000 words, it can mean €1000 in local tourism if you can convince someone to fly there, nudged by the perfectly framed shot.

This is no secret to the travel industry: capture something and they will come. The Riad Jasmine is perhaps one of the most famous examples: the overhead shot of someone relaxing in a medina pool is now a key shot for millennial travellers in Morocco. This was coined by travel blogger Lauren Bullen but is now replicated from around the world. There is a certain amount of play for personalisation but the key ingredients are always the same.
If exploration is about new discovery and young people thrive on ‘authenticity’, why so much replication?
For young people, travel has two major drivers. Firstly, as a productive fuel for stories (an output, content for sites like Instagram), and secondly as collecting experiences (ticking off the bucket list, even CV building) in order to qualify (as an adult or global citizen?). One is about leading, the other about following. Instagram drives modern youth tourism in both these areas: it provides inspiration to explore, and also templates to complete.
But, if exploration is about new discovery and young people thrive on ‘authenticity’, why so much replication?

This generation has been raised on remixes as hits, memes as art and any bit of output a potential input for reworking.
Like a selfie, these collected images watermark you against the experience. I was there, can be as important as I discovered this. These are often linked to restaurants, hotels or bars where your experience (the food, a drink, meeting someone) can take place. This is where your story can come from. These shots don’t need to be unique, they are confirmation you are part of the tribe with just enough wiggle room to shape your own experience, whether it’s the outfit you wear or face you pull. These behaviours treat the world like Pokemon Go, go catch (snap) them all.
See these pursuits in the same way as visiting a mini Eiffel Tower or Empire State. You’re ticking it off, it doesn’t matter if there are a queue of 12 other people waiting patiently, out of shot, behind your lens. You’ve got it. Now move onto the next.
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