Date on Honors Thesis

Spring 4-27-2026

Major

Public Relations

Minor

Advertising

Examining Committee Member

Dr. Marcie Hinton, Advisor

Examining Committee Member

Dr. Maranda Goke, Committee Member

Examining Committee Member

Ms. Erin Carrico, Committee Member

Abstract/Description

Media-induced tourism refers to any travel that is in some part motivated by the consumption of mass media related to that location. Media-induced tourism and mass-tourism have led to nation branding and destination marketing across the globe, two industry phenomena that have worked to skyrocket tourism in places where it was not previously a large driver of the local economy. The expansion of mass media availability and the birth of social media mean the media roles of producer and audience member have blurred. Ordinary people now have the influential power of large media corporations. In destination marketing, the user-generated content of social media has the potential to alter the location’s destination image, destination brand, tourist trust, and tourist expectations. Social media algorithms reward visual appeal and simple language, creating a system where stereotypes are perpetuated and influencers aesthetically sanitize the locations they are promoting.

Currently, Germany has not experienced the level of internet virality regarding travel-related content that other European locations such as Italy, Greece and Spain have. In order to study the impact of social media on media-induced travel for students studying abroad an in-depth interview-based case study was conducted involving six college students who studied abroad in the city of Regensburg, Germany.  Mass media, and social media specifically did not serve as a motivating factor for the students to study in Germany. However, mass media stereotypes perpetuated by social media’s sanitization of locations for aesthetic purposes, as well as the German nationality’s characterization in American legacy media, influenced the subjects expectations for the country prior to their trip and may have contributed to an increased level of culture-shock

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