Facebook, heritage and tourism reorientation. The cases of Tenerife and Fuerteventura (Canary Isles, Spain)

Abstract

The interactivity of internet 2.0 and conversations arising in the virtual environment social networks can be considered as representative of the average opinion of citizens and tourists, and analysis thereof, therefore, constitutes a valid tool with a view to exploration. We consider the fact that the constant presence of discourses relating to the heritage of certain destinations, the island of Tenerife and Fuerteventura in this case, can be used as an indicator of the achievement of objectives in the reorientation of heritage-based tourism. The text analyses discourses relating to cultural and natural heritage of Tenerife and Fuerteventura in the social network Facebook. We performed a qualitative analysis of the recorded comments, photographs and videos in an attempt to study themes such as the relevance of heritage in the image shared through this medium in connection with the potential tourists, the type of heritage promoted and the differences among users according to the references to heritage elements in their discourses.