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Millennial travel vlogs: emergence of a new form of virtual tourism in the post-pandemic era?

Urjani Chakravarty (School of Social Sciences & Languages (SSL), VIT Chennai, Chennai, India)
Gulab Chand (Amity Centre for Linguistic Studies (ACLiS), ASLA, Amity University, Amity Education Valley Campus, Gurgaon, India)
Udaya Narayana Singh (Amity Centre for Linguistic Studies (ACLiS), ASLA, Amity University, Amity Education Valley Campus, Gurgaon, India)

Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes

ISSN: 1755-4217

Article publication date: 27 July 2021

Issue publication date: 11 October 2021

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present the authors’ perspectives on the new narrative styles adopted by international millennial travel vloggers during the COVID-19 pandemic. They aim to promote virtual tourism, and the authors present six examples of millennial vloggers. Considering tighter government regulations relating to travel, vloggers have developed novel ways of content creation through “travel writing.”

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used narrative analysis to review their sample of vlogs and how specific changes in each vlogging stage are motivated by viewer expectancy.

Findings

Millennial vlogger couples are using the YouTube platform to meet the demand for virtual tourism.

Research limitations/implications

This study provides new ways of looking at travel vlogging as an occupation and means of entertainment. However, the current dynamic situation may well lead to further challenges for this kind of research.

Practical implications

The implications relate to the provision of a better understanding of the scope for virtual tourism and how it can lead to new avenues for tourism development.

Originality/value

The authors reviewed millennial vloggers during the COVID-19 pandemic and applied narratology to the vlogs to better analyse the changes caused by the pandemic.

Keywords

Citation

Chakravarty, U., Chand, G. and Singh, U.N. (2021), "Millennial travel vlogs: emergence of a new form of virtual tourism in the post-pandemic era?", Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, Vol. 13 No. 5, pp. 666-676. https://doi.org/10.1108/WHATT-05-2021-0077

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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