Fourth International Conference on Tourism and Leisure Studies

Abstract

Souvenirs are an essential part of memorializing travel experiences. The proper souvenir can freeze a moment in time, capture the traveler’s original surprise, and serve as a genii’s carpet to transport the traveler back instantly into the mood, tone, and taste of the travel experience. Although we still collect physical souvenirs in our travels, photographs we post on Social Media have taken over the primary role of souvenirs memorializing our experiences. This paper will explore the implications of digital travel photographs as mediating souvenirs. We collected 638 photographs posted on Instagram of Tikal, Guatemala, on February 25, 2016, sorting the data into three categories–People, Places, Things—to pose the research question, what photos of Tikal are posted on Instagram and what does that data tell us? What is the purpose of posting travel photos on Social Media? Do digital travel photographs authenticate travel experiences? Does the very nature of digital travel photography destabilize the notion of authenticity? Is a travel photograph still a souvenir? How does Instagram shape tourist souvenir behavior and photography at Tikal?