Health Literacy and Communication Open (Dec 2024)
Likes, comments, and emergency responses: exploring the burden of social media tourism on land managers and the need for risk communication
Abstract
Background The impact of social media on tourism has led to adverse health outcomes such as an increase in injuries and deaths at photogenic but hazardous locations, highlighting the challenges for land managers in ensuring visitor safety in the digital age.Aims The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of how land managers are adapting to the emerging safety issue of social media-driven tourism and its attendant risk-taking behaviour. The study further aimed to elucidate potential risk communication strategies that land managers are considering to avert this issue.Methods Between March and June 2023, 14 online surveys administered via Qualtrics and 18 semi-structured interviews were carried out with Australian national park and local council land managers. This process enabled us to understand how land managers see the issue of social media and selfie-related incidents and the impact of social media on visitation, highlighting the key challenges that face land managers when dealing with social media-related incidents and how they are adapting to these novel land management circumstances in risk mitigation and via online communication strategies.Results Only half of the surveyed land managers actively collected data on selfie-related incidents and half identified photography incidents as an issue. The majority of land managers believed that those aged 15–25 were most at risk. Interviews pointed to the emergence of a "new tourist", whose behaviour wasn’t influenced by traditional safety communication. The conflicting priorities within land management organisations further complicated solutions, with a tension between online promotion of desirable locations and a lack of digital communication regarding injury risks.Discussion With past research advocating for "no selfie zones" and signage, the current study suggests a need for direct digital health and safety messaging to social media users, underscoring the necessity to develop co-designed online strategies, including social marketing, to address these challenges.
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