In a world inundated by social media, the traditional methods used to plan travel have become ancient memories. Paper maps, travel agents and recommendations from friends and family at the neighborhood barbecue have been deleted and replaced with Facebook maps, Foursquare check-ins and customized Snapchat filters.
More important than these apps; however, is the geo-location capability and authenticity of Instagram tags. Before traveling to a specific location, travelers can hop on Instagram and search tags for that location to see the most recent posts and possible recommendations from previous travelers who have visited within the past few hours or days.
Similarly, Instagram tags can clue travelers into the most popular and highly visited places, steering them instead on a road to lesser-known sights and fewer crowds. For travelers who are visiting religious locales and unsure of what to wear, browsing visitors’ photos on Instagram will provide more information about culture-sensitive clothing options for more conservative countries.
Although some travelers lament social media is working against the travel experience by distracting the traveler from his or her surroundings and instead encouraging them to focus on snapping the best photo, there are small ways this new method of travel research can benefit the explorer who seeks to roam where guidebooks do not.
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