Abstract
Online photo-sharing is commonplace in present-day tourism, yet previous studies revealed contrasting implications of mobile connectivity and holiday photo-sharing on the tourist experience. To address this, the present study explores tourists' online photo-sharing behaviour and motivation, and the subsequent gaze that is pursued. An inductive and qualitative approach was applied through 17 in-depth interviews with tourists from 11 countries. The findings reveal nine motives for sharing, classified into internally and externally-driven motives. Online photo-sharing was found to offer value targeted towards the tourist-self and others through viewership of the intended audience. The study then introduces a shift from the tourist gaze to a shared gaze and extends the literature on the communal nature and boundaries of this gaze, shaped by motives for sharing holiday photos online. It offers insights that will assist tourism providers with leveraging the shared gaze to enhance value, transform tourists into co-marketers, and improve destination performances.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
