Tourism in the age of mobile media : the mediatized tourist practices in Icelandic tourism

Abstract: Mediation processes are becoming increasingly salient in western society, and since tourism is one of the characteristics of modern societies the tourism practices follow this increase. The increasing emphasis on the visual as a prominent sense for our understanding of the physical world has led to increase desire for photography. Social media has created platforms for new remedies of photo sharing which does not require face to face interaction anymore. Due to mobile devices media has become more mobile and there for created a desire to be connected. Thus, social media has persuasive power that encourages engagement which drives tourists to share their experiences. Tourism and media are intertwining fields which have been widely researched with marketing emphasis however, more research is needed for the more social aspects of these converging fields. By applying the theory on mediatization and the tourist gaze, this case study emphasizes on the tourist practices with the use of mobile social media through the viewpoint of tourism workers in Iceland. Furthermore, the study aims to investigate the tensions that emerge when media and tourism intertwine and how mobile media shapes the norms and values of the tourism practices. Through in-depth interviews with tour guides in Iceland and participant observation on day tours in the south coast of Iceland, this study therefore, gives an understanding of how the mobile social media and its persuasive power increases photo sharing practices. Furthermore, how these practices can affect the meaning of place and the norms and values that follow the places tourists travel to. Moreover, the study gives an insight into how these practices play as enablers for overtourism and cause unsustainable practices and negative attitude towards tourism in the country. The results of this study show that as society is getting increasingly mediatized and impacts social change, and tourism being a part of society the connection between media and tourism should not be ignored.