Perception Created by Social Media vs Reality: Lisbon as a Culinary Destination
Turunen, Emelia; Varjonen, Jennifer (2024)
2024
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024112529803
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024112529803
Tiivistelmä
This thesis is conducted as a qualitative research project. Its focus is on the perception created by social media compared to reality. The topic of which the perception comparing will be conducted on is Lisbon as a culinary destination. The topic is majorly relevant since Lisbon was voted the best culinary destination in Europe of 2024 in The World Culinary Awards this October.
According to Statista 36.5% of travellers search for inspiration for their upcoming trips on social media and 60% of gen-z generation tell they use it for travel purposes. The objective of the thesis is to find out how truthful and the travel content on social media is. Are the posts over romanticised, or can they be trusted?
The objective for the thesis is to find out how truthful perception social media gives on travel focussed content. How it influences the inspired traveller travelling to the destination based on the content. If the perception created by social media does not fulfil the expectations of the traveller or are misleading, then the value proposition of the trip showcased by the creators is not met. Possibly leading to less returning travellers.
The topic chosen for the research project was not familiar to either of the writers so that it was not possible to form a realistic perception of the destination beforehand. To start the project for going through content on the three chosen social media platforms. TikTok, Pinterest, and Instagram, all of which are in the top 15 most used social medias list of 2024. The platforms consist of endless culinary tourism content. The perception was created solely based on the content on the chosen platforms. The most relevant findings were made into a list of 10 establishments. It consists of restaurants, bakeries, food markets, and bars, that were highly recommended on the platforms. The establishments were assessed by using assessment tables. Consisting of five different criteria that were graded from 1-5.
The writers travelled to research the perception created earlier to see the reality in Lisbon, Portugal for a week. During the adventure the 10 establishments chosen by the writers were examined by visiting and experiencing them one by one. The assessment tables were used during the visits to ease the comparing. To see how the perception and reality were different and how they matched. Grading the criteria again based on the visits.
In the end of the thesis the results of the research will be discussed as well as the learning process of the writers will be evaluated.
According to Statista 36.5% of travellers search for inspiration for their upcoming trips on social media and 60% of gen-z generation tell they use it for travel purposes. The objective of the thesis is to find out how truthful and the travel content on social media is. Are the posts over romanticised, or can they be trusted?
The objective for the thesis is to find out how truthful perception social media gives on travel focussed content. How it influences the inspired traveller travelling to the destination based on the content. If the perception created by social media does not fulfil the expectations of the traveller or are misleading, then the value proposition of the trip showcased by the creators is not met. Possibly leading to less returning travellers.
The topic chosen for the research project was not familiar to either of the writers so that it was not possible to form a realistic perception of the destination beforehand. To start the project for going through content on the three chosen social media platforms. TikTok, Pinterest, and Instagram, all of which are in the top 15 most used social medias list of 2024. The platforms consist of endless culinary tourism content. The perception was created solely based on the content on the chosen platforms. The most relevant findings were made into a list of 10 establishments. It consists of restaurants, bakeries, food markets, and bars, that were highly recommended on the platforms. The establishments were assessed by using assessment tables. Consisting of five different criteria that were graded from 1-5.
The writers travelled to research the perception created earlier to see the reality in Lisbon, Portugal for a week. During the adventure the 10 establishments chosen by the writers were examined by visiting and experiencing them one by one. The assessment tables were used during the visits to ease the comparing. To see how the perception and reality were different and how they matched. Grading the criteria again based on the visits.
In the end of the thesis the results of the research will be discussed as well as the learning process of the writers will be evaluated.