Tsechu Festival Of Bhutan – A
May 26, 2019
In today’s date, Instagram has become an immensely popular tool for sharing experiences, especially amongst the people of our generation. Whether it’s about the delicious dinner I’ve have had at a neighborhood restaurant in Saigon, the animals I spotted during our game drives in Maasai Mara or the rainbow that I saw behind the gorgeous waterfall in Sikkim – everything goes up there, to be viewed by the world!
Facts to be stated, 97% of millennials have said they share posts of their vacation on social media and with over one billion active monthly users, it’s clear that Instagram has the power to shape how we travel. And that’s not all – an entire creed of people, calling themselves as ‘Instagram Influencers’, are putting their heart and soul in tickling our wanderlust bugs and making us long for a vacation that might seem to be too hard for our bank accounts! But what’s the big deal in dreaming, isn’t it?
And I too, happily joined this club to indulge in witnessing the nooks and corners of places around the world!
Undoubtedly, there has been a major shift in the way people used to travel, over the last decade. During the yesteryears, traveling was synonymous with ‘vacation’ or ‘a holiday’ where people would just go with the family, relax at a fine resort, eat the best dishes available, and return back home once the holiday duration got over. Instagram has absolutely turned this upside down! Today, people are more keen on researching extensively about the place & experiencing the authenticity of the local life, while traveling to a new country. It’s no longer just a matter of relaxation but a more thoughtful encounter that takes us a step ahead in life, allowing us to immerse ourselves fully in the journey & evolve as a person, while we’re on the go. Things are not restricted to clicking photos for the family album and sticking them, but rather, sharing those experiences with friends, colleagues, and an even wider social circle.
It’s an undeniable fact that people of all age groups are keen to travel – it might be a place close to the city where you live or to a faraway country! The concept of budget traveling has spread like a storm and people are now ready for different kinds of experiences like homestay accommodations, local transportation, volunteer trips, cultural engagements, etc. Everything one does during our trip, has a story in it, which mostly remained within us – till Instagram gave us that space to share it with the world. Now, everyone has become a narrator of their journeys, sharing their experiences on the roads with their friends & followers and thus, inspiring others to break free of their routined life (even if that’s for a short phase) to embark on a journey & see the unseen!
Let’s be honest – we all want to do something that someone else has already done, and probably, do it better than them! The same goes for traveling, and this has increased manifold – all thanks to Instagram. If you see your friend planning a summer trip to Sri Lanka, you’ll either think of going there during your winter holidays or maybe, go a step further and book your tickets for Bali. To say the least, humankind derives joy from replicating others and there’s a sense of competitiveness that works. The good thing happening amidst all of this is that the economy of these countries is boosted and local communities are often benefited as a direct effect of tourism.
But on the contrary, we also need to keep this in mind that we should be responsible travelers & do our bit in protecting the environment, keeping a check on our carbon footprints, as we travel the world.
Millennials no longer follow the celebs these days, instead, the Instagram Travel Influencers are followed more than ever! From the places they choose to explore, to the attire they don and the meals they eat – everything is posted on social media, which eventually ends up tickling our nerves and make us book the tickets! Not just individuals, but there are organizations as well, who have come up with interesting handles and hashtags like #beautifuldestinations #passionpassport etc., and ensuring the fact that people step out of their comfort zone and embark on an adventurous journey!
According to an article published in Times Of India – ‘Just by searching through popular hashtags or geotags, a traveler can stumble across a new destination they may have never heard of. This has allowed smaller cities or destinations with less traffic to expand their audience and gain more tourists than ever before.’
There was a point in time when Paris meant Eiffel Tower and India meant Taj Mahal – you might be laughing at it, but you can’t deny the truth! Thanks to Instagram, people have now started exploring the nooks and corners of the place they are visiting.
During my trip to Cambodia, I got to know about this picturesque island called Koh Rong Samloem and I was absolutely awestruck to see the turquoise waters, bordered by white sandy beaches and the limestone karsts here and there, standing tall amidst the sea! Whether it was about exploring Cape Schanck near Melbourne (Australia) or walking down the streets of Da Lat in Vietnam, spending a night in Khonoma (Asia’s first ‘green village’) in Nagaland, or wandering around the snow-laden paths of Spiti Valley in winter – I did make a choice to tick these off my bucket list and shared it with the world through Instagram, so that others can also set out and experience the beauty that these places have to offer.
Everywhere in the world, there are innumerable things to be explored which were hidden gems even till the last decade, but Instagram is slowly bringing them to light, providing travelers with an array of options.
Are you also getting influenced and planning your trips to some of the most ‘Instagram-worthy’ destinations? Let me know in the comments below & also, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram! 🙂
An absolute foodie and a die-hard ‘mountain-aholic’, I love to read and write! (Give me a book and I’ll love you all the more!)
Over the last few years, I have had the opportunity to travel to a lot of places across India and abroad, and I escaped to the mountains often – blame it on my ardent love for the quaint Himalayan towns and Lemon-Honey-Ginger tea!
