The caché of where

The “selfie” craze and the incredible popularity of mobile photography, made possible by cell phone cameras, has been a boon to the travel and hospitality industries, to be sure.

So have social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, which, to some extent, have become a showcase for bragging about where you’ve been and what you’ve eaten.

People want to be seen and noticed at trendy destinations. “Look at me at so and so” is a boon to one’s personal brand.

But according to a recent article in the Washington Post, this trend may have gone a bit too far—to the detriment of travel destinations like Italy’s Amalfi Coast. To quote from the article…

“Social media has a lot to answer for,” said Lara Capraro, a Positano local whose late father ran a tour boat operation. “People treat the Amalfi Coast like a theme park. I don’t know how much longer it can go on like this…

the long queue at the Via Cristoforo Colombo overlook, where selfie-takers posed with their arms high in the air and their backs to the pedestrians struggling to get around the hordes; the endless parade of buses, cars and Vespas rumbling past, blowing plumes of exhaust; the dismayed expressions of residents who watched overtourism devour their beloved villages.”

Where people are doing something has become as important, if not more so, than what they’re doing. And the tourism and restaurant industries are a lot richer for it. Then again, you have to wonder whatever happened to traveling and dining out merely for the joy and excitement of discovering something for your own enjoyment and enrichment.