Rethinking post-tourism in the age of social media

Abstract

The article explores how the culture of spreadable social media affects post-tourism, and, by extension, the boundaries of tourism. Post-tourism is understood as a generalized social condition that entails de-differentiation between tourism and other social realms as well as a complex set of reactions against this predominant trend. Through a case study of urban explorers the article demonstrates how spreadable media impose new layers of reflexivity and hesitation as to whether and how to share tourist representations. While spreadable media provide resources for personalized communication they also make it more difficult to uphold cultural boundaries and distinctions. Differences in handling spreadability testify to the extended role of post-tourism as a site of symbolic struggle among the aspirational middle classes.